I’ve never made hot cross buns before and didn’t want to risk making them without a recipe. The recipe I used came out so so so soft and fluffy, I think I’ll be baking these year round now.

Tweaks: The recipe does not call for an eggwash, but baking an enriched bread without a shiny coating of eggwash felt incredibly wrong. I think my body physically forced me to use an eggwash. For extra shine, I brushed the buns with hot honey water while they were fresh out of the oven. Also, I omitted the allspice and used a mixture of raisins and dried cranberries because I’m wild.