Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
Soft, lightly spiced, and studded with dried fruit, these sourdough hot cross buns are a beautiful addition to your Easter table—or a cozy weekend breakfast any time of year. Made with a naturally leavened dough that’s enriched with butter, ale, and warm spices, this recipe is a nod to tradition with a homemade, heartwarming twist.
You don’t need to be a pro baker to pull these off, but they do require a little extra care and time—which makes them perfect for slower mornings, holiday prep, or a special kitchen project with your kids.
You’ve probably heard the nursery rhyme, but hot cross buns are more than just a catchy tune. These slightly sweet, spiced buns have been enjoyed on Good Friday for centuries—though they’re so good, there’s no reason to wait for spring. They’re soft, rich, and full of flavor, with a pillowy crumb, golden crust, and signature cross piped across the top.
This sourdough version brings even more flavor and depth, thanks to a slow overnight levain and the magic of wild yeast. The result? A beautifully risen bun with complex flavor and just the right amount of sourdough tang.
What you’ll love about this recipe
- Deep, rich flavor – A blend of ale, tea-soaked fruit, warm spices, and sourdough creates a bun that’s layered, flavorful, and not overly sweet.
- Soft, fluffy texture – The enriched dough gives these buns a soft and pillowy interior, while the slow rise ensures a light, airy crumb.
- Holiday-ready (but delicious any time!) – Perfect for Easter, brunch, or a special breakfast. They freeze beautifully too!
If you’re baking these sourdough hot cross buns for a special celebration, you might also enjoy exploring more festive breakfast bakes that feel just as meaningful. My sourdough cinnamon rolls and sticky pecan rolls are perfect for cozy weekend mornings or holiday brunch tables—soft, gooey, and full of that classic comfort. For something a little more elegant, try your hand at sourdough danish pastries; they look impressive but are easier than you think and make any occasion feel extra special. Whether it’s Christmas morning, Mother’s Day, or just a weekend when you want to treat your family, these recipes are a beautiful way to bring people together with the warmth of homemade bread.
How to make sourdough hot cross buns
These buns take time, but they’re absolutely worth it. For the full recipe and measurements, scroll down to the recipe card below—but here’s an overview of how this cozy bake comes together:
Step One: Mix the levain and prep the fruit (Night Before)
In one bowl, mix your active sourdough starter, ale, spices, and flour to create the levain. In a second bowl, soak your dried fruit in hot black tea. Cover both and let them rest on the counter overnight.
Step Two: Mix the dough (Next Morning)
Drain the fruit and add it to a large mixing bowl along with the melted butter and egg. Stir in your spiced levain from the night before. Then add the flour, sugar, and salt and mix until everything is combined. Let it rest for 10 minutes before moving on.
Step Three: Bulk fermentation with stretch + folds
The dough will be sticky—that’s what makes the buns soft! Don’t add extra flour. Use damp or oiled hands for stretching and folding. Let the dough rest in between rounds:
- Stretch and fold, then rest 30 minutes (covered)
- Repeat two more times, resting in between
- Final stretch and fold, then rest for 2 hours
Optional: For more sour flavor, refrigerate the dough overnight after this stage and continue the next day.
Step Four: Shape the buns
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 100g pieces (about 20 buns). Shape each one into a ball and arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet so they’re almost touching.
Step Five: Final rise
Cover the pan with a towel and let rise at room temperature for 3–4 hours, until puffed. If needed, you can refrigerate at this point and bake the next morning. Let them come back to room temperature before baking.
Step Six: Bake and glaze
Preheat the oven to 350°F. While the oven heats, mix a simple flour and water paste to pipe crosses on the buns. Pipe one long line down each row, then across.
Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the tops are golden. While the buns are hot, brush with a quick sugar glaze to give them that signature shine. Let cool slightly before serving.
Baker’s Schedule (Estimated Timing)
This schedule assumes you want warm buns by brunch the next day. Adjust as needed based on your starter and kitchen temperature.
- Cooling: 20 minutes
- Baking: 30 minutes
- Final Proofing: 3-4 hours, depending on the temperature of your house
- Shaping: 20 minutes
- Bulk Proof + Stretch and Fold: 4 hours, depending on the temperature of your house
- Mixing: 15 minutes
- Levain: 8 hours
- Feeding of starter: 4-6 hours, depending on starter and the temperature of your house.
Want to spread the work out? Pop the dough or shaped buns in the fridge overnight at either the bulk fermentation or final proof stage—just bring them back to room temp before baking.
Sourdough is better when shared
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment and rating below.
Love and links are always appreciated! If you’d like to share this recipe, please link to the post directly for the recipe, please do not copy and paste or screenshot. Thank you so much for supporting me. XOXO – Jenni
Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
Soft, spiced, and just sweet enough—these sourdough hot cross buns are a beautiful way to celebrate Easter or any special occasion. Made with ale, dried fruit, and sourdough starter for incredible flavor.
- Prep Time: 1 day 9 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 33 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 20 rolls 1x
- Category: Holiday Bread
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Buns
- 325 ml Spiced Ale or stout
- 150 g 100% hydration sourdough starteractive
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 800 g all purpose flour
- 325 g mixed dried fruit I used raisins, prunes, cherries and cranberries but you use whatever combination you want
- Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon save the orange for the glaze
- 200 ml hot black tea
- 1 large egg
- 50 grams melted butter
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
Cross topping:
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoon water
Glaze:
- 3 Tablespoons boiling water
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange juice
Instructions
The night before:
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In a large bowl, mix together the ale, starter, spices and 250 g of the flour.
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In a medium bowl mix together the dried fruit and the hot black tea.
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Cover both bowls and allow them to sit on the counter overnight.
In the morning:
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In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the plumped up fruit (discard the tea), the egg and melted butter together.
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Stir in the spiced beer levain.
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Mix in the flour, sugar, and salt just until combined and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Bulk Proof + Stretch and Fold:
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Remember the dough will be sticky, and that’s ok! Use wet hands or hands that are lightly oiled in vegetable oil to stretch and fold the dough.
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Do not add extra flour or that will create buns that are hard as a rock. Stretch and fold the dough.
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Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
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Stretch and fold the dough, recover, and let it rest for another 30 minutes.
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Stretch and fold the dough, recover, and let it rest for an hour.
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Stretch and fold the dough, recover, and let it rest for 2 hours.
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*Recipe Note: These hot cross buns don’t have an overly sour sourdough flavor. If you want a more pronounced sourdough flavor, you can do a cold retardation of the dough here. Place the dough in the fridge for 12-18 hours, covered with plastic wrap. Let it come back to room temperature before moving on to the next step.
Shaping of the dough:
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Lightly dust your counter with flour.
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Weight out 100 gram balls of dough (you should get 20), roll them into balls and place the prepared baking sheet so they are almost touching.
Final Proofing:
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Cover the baking sheet with a tea towel and allow it to sit at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
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*Recipe Note: You can, at this point, refrigerate the dough and bake the buns the next day. Make sure to bring the rolls back up to almost room temperature before baking. Don’t let the buns get fully proofed before you stick them in the fridge or they could overproof.
Baking:
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Preheat the oven to 350F.
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When the oven has preheated, make the paste for the crosses.
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In a small bowl whisk together the flour and water to form a paste. The paste should have no clumps and be a thick paste.
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Place the paste into a zip-top bag and snip off one corner. Pipe crosses onto the tops of the buns by tracing lines down the center of each row of buns first vertically and then horizontally.
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Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
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While the buns are still hot, mix together the boiling water and sugar for the glaze (and orange blossom water, if you want), and brush over the top. This will help the buns stay soft and look shiny.
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Allow to cool for 20 minutes at least, then Enjoy!
