This quick and easy Easter Bread has all the flavour of hot cross buns with none of the hard work.
I love hot cross buns, and there is absolutely nothing like the homemade. However Spring is always a busy time for us and I often find that Easter food preparation gets left until the last minute. That’s where my Last Minute Easter Bread comes in.
Easy to make in your bread machine, this fragrant, delicately spiced loaf will fill your house with Easter smells while it is baking. All you have to do is pop all the ingredients in the bread machine and before long the smells of cinnamon, ginger and cloves will be wafting through the house while you get on with the rest of your Easter preparations.
Whether you serve it sliced warm from the bread maker or sliced and toasted later, Easter Bread is sure to become a family favourite. If there are any leftovers, you can use them to make a seriously delicious Bread and Butter Pudding.
Last Minute Bread Machine Easter Bread
The method for adding ingredients to the bread making machine in the recipe below is one I found a few years ago when I just couldn’t get my bread machine to work the way I wanted it to. I stumbled across it in The Bread Machine Book by Sonia Allison (which is now sadly out of print.) It suggests adding the liquid ingredients first, then half the flour, then the sugar, salt etc. You then top it all with the remaining flour and then put the yeast on top. This method has worked so well for me that I now use it all the time. Feel free to substitute the method of adding the ingredients your bread machine manufacturer recommends.
Great sliced fresh and spread with butter or toasted and topped with your favourite spread, my Easter Bread makes a lovely breakfast on any day of the Easter weekend. In fact, it’s actually good all year round just as a fruit loaf.
However, it’s at this wonderful time of year that my Easter bread really comes into its own. Wishing everyone who is celebrating a very Happy Easter!
Last Minute Bread Machine Easter Bread – Printable Recipe
Last Minute Bread Machine Easter Bread
Ingredients
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- about 1 cup apple juice at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 cups strong white bread flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- ½ to ¾ cup dried fruit or nice juicy raisins
- grated rind of one orange
- 2 teaspoons instant or fast acting dried yeast
- liquid honey to glaze
Instructions
- Beat the eggs lightly in a measuring cup and bring the measure up to 1¼ cups with apple juice.
- Beat the eggs and apple juice together lightly.
- Pour the liquid into a bread maker bucket and add the oil.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour and spices.
- Put half this mixture on top of the water in the bread maker bucket.
- Add the sugar and salt.
- Put the remaining half of the flour mixture on top.
- Mound the yeast on the top of the flour mixture in the middle.
- Mix the dried fruit or raisins with the orange rind and place in the fruit dispenser of your bread machine. (Or set aside to add when you hear the ‘raisin beep’.)
- Put the bucket in the bread machine and set it to the correct setting (usually the ‘Raisin bake’ setting).
- When the bread is baked, carefully remove it from the bread maker bucket and put it on a wire rack to cool.
- Squeeze a bit of honey over the top and brush with a pastry brush to glaze.
- Allow the Easter bread and honey glaze to cool a little before slicing.
did you make this recipe?
Make sure to tag #apriljharris on Instagram and follow @apriljharris for more.
More Celebration Recipes
Raspberry Bakewell Tart Squares
Easy No Bake Orange Cheesecake
Comments & Reviews
Janette@culinaryginger says
I’d love a slice or 3 warm with lots of English butter, lovely recipe.
April Harris says
Thank you so much, Janette! It really is lovely warm with butter – and toasted too 🙂
Joanne T Ferguson says
Looks delicious April and can almost smell it from here!
Pinned and shared the bread love today!
April Harris says
Thank you so much, Joanne, and thank you for pinning and sharing too 🙂
Miz Helen says
Hi April,
Hope you and your family had a great Easter! Your bread looks awesome, I love homemade bread. Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great week.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
April Harris says
Hi Miz Helen, We had a lovely Easter, thank you. I hope you and your family did too! Thank you for the compliment about my bread – and thank you for hosting Full Plate Thursday.
Hadia says
Looks so delicious, April! And I can see that it so simple to put togther. Thank you for sharing, pinning
April Harris says
Thank you, Hadia, and thank you for pinning 🙂
Pauline Wiles says
April, I’m really looking forward to trying this. I love (British) hot cross buns but am not a fan of the ones sold here in California. And the fact that a bread machine does the hard work is perfect!
April Harris says
Thank you, Pauline. I hope you enjoy it! Happy Easter!
Pauline Wiles says
April, I made it this morning (spur-of-the-moment decision). My bread machine is smaller so I halved the recipe and although I didn’t have any apple juice, orange juice worked OK. Even the fact I forgot the oil entirely (oops) didn’t ruin the effort. It was delicious and I’ll be making it again.
April Harris says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and it worked so well. Orange juice would be lovely – it would add a really nice flavour too. Thank you so much for letting me know you tried the recipe and liked it!
Pauline Wiles says
Serendipity! I was erasing photos from my phone and found one I’d taken of this bread… I wasn’t sure what it was but thought it looked really yummy.
Just read your Easter email and it suddenly made sense!
April Harris says
What a wonderful coincidence, Pauline! I’m so glad that you found the recipe again 🙂
The Ninja Baker says
Thank you, April. A) For a yummy looking loaf of Easter bread. AND B) The suggestions on how to load the flour and wet ingredients. AND C) The idea for switching out the apple juice for other liquids….I’m thinking Japanese plum wine =)
April Harris says
I’m so glad you like the recipe, Kim! You can definitely switch out the liquids – Another friend used orange juice and that worked too, but I think Japanese Plum Wine would be even nicer 🙂
Miz Helen says
Hope you had a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for sharing your special post with us at Full Plate Thursday! Have a great week and come back soon!
Miz Helen
April Harris says
We did, thank you so much, Miz Helen. I hope your Easter weekend was lovely too. Thank you so much for visiting and sharing. Hope you have a lovely week!
Luke Pattison says
I have been making this for a couple of years in the oven, I find it needs a bit more flour, maybe 50g to 100g and is exactly the same smell and flavour as hot cross buns (UK). I use a mixing machine with a kneading arm, add all the wet ingredients then all the dry, leave in a warm place to double in size then 40-45 minutes at 200C. Great idea, thanks for the recipe!
April Harris says
I’m so glad you like it, Luke! I find it smells like hot cross buns as well 🙂 I’ve never got round to trying it in the oven, it’s great to know it works (with a bit more flour) so well. Thank you so much for letting me know!
Pauline Wiles says
I’m really not much of a baker (although an enthusiastic eater), but I had great success with this recipe! So I just wanted to mention, if I can make this, you definitely can too!
April Harris says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Pauline! Thank you so much for your kind comment 🙂
Miz Helen says
Hi April,
This is a great go to bread recipe that will be delicious! Thanks so much for sharing your post with us this week and hope you have a very special weekend!
Miz Helen
April Harris says
Thank you so much, Miz Helen! I hope your weekend is very special too. Happy Easter!
Miz Helen says
Congratulations!
Your post is one of our Top Ten Post this week on Full Plate Thursday. Thanks so much for sharing it with us and come back soon!
Miz Helen
April Harris says
Thank you so much for featuring my post, Miz Helen! Have a lovely weekend!