Spiced Christmas tea buns

Hide the Christmas ‘to do’ list and take a moment to enjoy these spiced buns topped with butter.

A basket with spiced Christmas tea buns
By Saga Magazine | Published - 2 Dec 2025
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Prep time
45 mins
Cooking Time
15 mins

Ingredients

  • 10g sea salt (1 tsp)
  • 480g strong bread flour
  • 20g dark rye flour
  • 20g fresh yeast (or 2tsp dried yeast)
  • 1 tablespoon of good quality honey
  • 200g milk at room temperature
  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 3 eggs  (2 for the recipe and 1 for the egg wash)
  • 100g walnuts
  • 200g dried cranberries
  • 70g caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spice
  • Pinch of ground cinnamon
  • 2 pods cardamom crushed
  • Pinch of salt for the egg wash
  • Slow Churned butter (for serving)

Method

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 180°C
  2. Place the rye flour and 230g of the bread flour into a bowl.  Crumble in the yeast.  Add the honey and the milk and mix to a thick batter.  Leave to rest for 30 minutes.
  3. Add the remaining flour, two of the eggs and the butter and work the dough by stretching it and folding it over onto itself for about 10 minutes until soft and supple.  Do not add flour or oil to the work surface as it will alter the recipe quantities and the quality of the finished buns.
  4. Crush the walnuts and mix into the dough with the cranberries, sugar and spices.  Rest for about one hour until the dough has doubled in volume.
  5. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces.  Mould into balls, and place onto a baking tray.  Prove for one hour until the buns have risen to nearly double the size.  Beat the remaining egg in a cup with a pinch of salt.  Brush over the top of the buns.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
  6. To serve, cut the tea buns in half.  Toast and spread generously with butter.

Our thanks to Lurpack for providing this recipe.

(Hero image credit: Getty)

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