These lightly spiced, pillowy potato flake sourdough hot cross buns are perfect for Easter, springtime brunches, or a quiet weekend bake with your family.
This version stays true to tradition with a soft, enriched dough, warm spices, and sweet raisins. It’s made even better by the use of an active potato flake sourdough starter, which gives the buns a beautiful, homemade texture.
I was always intimidated by the cross on the top of the rolls, that I put off making these for a long time! I should not have been so scared to give it a try because not only were they super simple to make, but they are so soft and delicious. A perfectly textured sweet roll! Get started with the recipe on Good Friday and have it ready for Easter!
Plan to make rolls, but not sure if a sweeter roll is the way to go? Try my pull apart potato flake dinner rolls instead!
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Tools Needed
Before you begin, gather these tools to make the process smoother:
- Stand mixer with dough hook attachment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Kitchen scale (for best accuracy)
- Bench scraper
- Piping bag or small plastic bag (for the flour cross)
- Pastry brush
- Baking sheet or 9×13” baking pan (This USA pan is my favorite!)
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
Dough
- ½ cup active potato flake active starter
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup (100g) dark brown sugar
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) salted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt (5g)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (see note)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 3 and 1/2 cups (500g) bread flour (spooned & leveled)
- ½ cup dark raisins (60g)
- ½ cup golden raisins (60g)
Flour Cross
- 1/2 cup (63g) all-purpose flour or bread flour
- 6–8 Tablespoons (90–120ml) potato flake starter (active or discard)
Orange Icing
- 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) fresh or bottled orange juice
Instructions
Mix the Dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the milk, starter, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract, eggs, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, raisins, and flour.
Knead the Dough
The dough should be a little sticky to the touch and soft—able to be handled with only minimal sticking to your fingertips.
If it’s too sticky and not pulling away, mix in additional flour 1 Tablespoon at a time—but only after the full kneading time has passed.
You want a soft, slightly tacky dough. Avoid adding more flour than necessary, as this can dry out the dough.
Bulk Fermentation:
Lightly grease a large bowl with oil and place the dough ball inside. Cover with a lid, plastic wrap, or beeswax wrap. Let rise until doubled in size—this could take several hours depending on the strength of your starter and the warmth of your kitchen. In a warm place it should take around 8-10 hours.
However, I do want to note that cinnamon can hinder the dough rise, so if you add more than the amount on the recipe, it will take longer to rise.
Shape the Buns
When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press flat.
Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces. (You can just eyeball it– doesn’t need to be perfect, however, if you like them to be exactly the same size you can weigh your dough, then divide that number by how many rolls you want to make and that is how much each dough ball should weigh.)
Shape each piece into a smooth ball by pulling up the sides of the dough and pinching it on the bottom to seal. And then, with he seam side down, pull the dough ball towards you against the work surface, to help create tension and a smooth surface on the top of the dough. .Arrange in the prepared baking dish.
Final Rise
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again until puffy and nearly doubled in size—this will likely take another 3-6 hours. Rise time depends on conditions.
Preheat Oven and Add the Cross:
Once the rolls have completed the second rise. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
While it is preheating, add the cross. Add additional water if needed. Spoon the flour paste into a piping bag or zipped-top bag. Snip off a small piece at the corner. Pipe a line down the center of each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses.
Bake
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and allow rolls to cool for a few minutes as you prepare the icing.
Make the Orange Icing
In a small bowl whisk the orange juice and powdered sugar together. Then drizzle or brush on top of the buns. It will thinly glaze the rolls. Serve immediately.
Tips for Success
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Make sure your eggs, butter, and milk are at room temperature to help the dough come together smoothly.
- Starter Strength: Your potato flake starter should be active and bubbly for the best rise. If you’re using discard for the flour cross, that’s perfectly fine.
- Flavor Boost: You can soak the raisins in warm water or orange juice for 10–15 minutes before adding them to the dough for extra plumpness and flavor.
- Make-Ahead Option: After shaping, you can cover and refrigerate the buns overnight. Let them come to room temperature and finish rising before baking the next day.
Potato Flake Sourdough Hot Cross Buns: Serving & Storage
These hot cross buns are best enjoyed the day they’re baked, but they also keep well covered at room temperature for 1–2 days. Reheat briefly in the microwave or oven to refresh them. They also freeze beautifully — just hold off on the icing until after thawing and reheating. You might find it helpful to check out my post on the best way to store and freeze your rolls made with a potato flake starer.
Optional Add-Ins & Flavor Twists for Potato Flake Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
Want to customize this hot cross bun recipe? You can easily swap or add to the raisins for variety. Try dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, candied citrus peel, or even a handful of chopped pecans or walnuts. Just keep the total mix-ins around 1¾ cups to maintain the dough’s balance.
For an extra layer of flavor, you can also stir in orange zest or lemon zest when you add the butter. And if you love warm spice, consider adding ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves or cardamom to the mix. Instead of an orange glaze, make and apricot glaze instead by combining apricot jam with powdered sugar and a splash of milk.The spice profile is totally flexible—feel free to adjust it to suit your tastes!
Icing Cross: If you prefer to make a cross from icing instead of the flour mixture, You can use the orange glaze with a few adjustments and pipe it onto the buns after baking and the rolls have cooled. Increase the powdered sugar to 1 cup but keep only 1 Tablespoon of orange juice to yield a very thick icing. Replace the orange juice with milk and add a splash of vanilla extract, if desired. Feel free to also make the orange glaze for topping if you want double icing—a cross and glaze all over.
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The Best Potato Flake Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook
- Dough scraper
- measuring cups and spoons
- Kitchen scale (for accurate measuring)
- 9×13-inch baking dish
- Plastic Wrap or Beeswax Wrap
- Small piping bag or zip-top bag for cross
- Small bowl and whisk for icing
Ingredients
Dough:
- ½ cup active potato flake starter
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ½ cup dark brown sugar 100g
- 5 Tablespoons 71g salted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into pieces
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt 5g
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 3½ cups bread flour 500g
- ½ cup dark raisins 60g
- ½ cup golden raisins 60g
Flour Cross:
- ½ cup 63g all-purpose flour or bread flour
- 6-8 Tablespoons potato flake starter (active or discard) 90–120ml
Orange Icing:
- ⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 Tablespoon 15ml fresh or bottled orange juice
Instructions
Mix the Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the milk, starter, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract, eggs, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, raisins, and flour.
Knead the Dough
- Using the dough hook, mix on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase the speed to medium-high. Knead for about 15 minutes, until the dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
- The dough should be a little sticky to the touch and soft—able to be handled with only minimal sticking to your fingertips.
- If it’s too sticky and not pulling away, mix in additional flour 1 Tablespoon at a time—but only after the full kneading time has passed.
- You want a soft, slightly tacky dough. Avoid adding more flour than necessary, as this can dry out the dough.
Bulk Fermentation:
- Lightly grease a large bowl with oil and place the dough ball inside. Cover with a lid, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Let rise until doubled in size—this could take several hours depending on the strength of your starter and the warmth of your kitchen. In a warm place it should take around 8-10 hours.
Shape the Buns
- When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press flat.
- Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces. (You can just eyeball it– doesn’t need to be perfect, however, if you like them to be exactly the same size you can weigh your dough, then divide that number by how many rolls you want to make and that is how much each dough ball should weigh.)
- Shape each piece into a smooth ball by pulling up the sides of the dough and pinching it on the bottom to seal. And then, with he seam side down, pull the dough ball towards you against the work surface, to help create tension and a smooth surface on the top of the dough. .Arrange in the prepared baking dish.
Final Rise
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again until puffy and nearly doubled in size—this will likely take another 3-6 hours. Rise time depends on conditions.
Preheat Oven and Add the Cross:
- Once the rolls have completed the second rise. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- While it is preheating, add the cross. Add additional water if needed. Spoon the flour paste into a piping bag or zipped-top bag. Snip off a small piece at the corner. Pipe a line down the center of each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses.
Bake
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and allow rolls to cool for a few minutes as you prepare the icing.
Make the Orange Icing
- In a small bowl whisk the orange juice and powdered sugar together. Then drizzle or brush on top of the buns. It will thinly glaze the rolls. Serve immediately.
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