I absolutely love Hot Cross Buns and it’s simply not Easter without them. However, I love toasting hot cross buns so this raisin bread gives me all the joy of my beloved Easter treat with the added benefit that slices can easily be toasted. However, this bread is so soft and fluffy, you’d be forgiven for eaten slice after slice as is. No toasting necessary. To make this as easy as possible, I adapted my Easy White Bread recipe and just added the flavors of hot cross buns. No egg necessary and if you don’t have butter, you can use oil! If you are not a fan of raisins or dried fruit (cranberries, chopped apricots, etc. can be used instead of raisins), use chocolate chunks or leave them out entirely. This bread recipe will be delicious regardless.
Ingredients needed
This recipe requires the usual ingredients you would need for bread: flour, yeast and liquid. If you want the dough to be a little richer, milk is a great substitute for water. Softened butter creates a moist baked loaf but I’ve made this with oil too. The spice and raisins add flavor and texture. You could use allspice too, but I don’t often have that in my kitchen.
Flour: I used cake (wheat) flour but you can use all purpose flour or bread flour too. Stoneground flour will need a little extra rising time but most commercial bread flours will react the same as all purpose or cake flour. Yeast. Milk / Water: I used half milk and half water but you can use only milk or only water if you prefer. Sugar. Spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger. Butter. You can use vegetable/canola oil too if you prefer. Raisins. Use any dried fruit you like or substitute with chocolate chunks/chips. Salt.
How to make raisin bread
Can you freeze raisin bread?
Yes absolutely! Freeze slices of raisin bread and toast from frozen. Alternatively, the dough can be frozen in a loaf pan and baked from frozen. Baked raisin bread will last for up to 3 days wrapped in foil on the kitchen counter.
Easy bread recipes
