Why Didn't My Hot Cross Buns Rise?

Our answer

Nigella's Hot Cross Buns (from FEAST) are spiced sweet buns packed with dried fruit. The recipe calls for a 7g (¼-oz) sachet of easy-blend yeast (also called instant yeast, fast action yeast, easy bake yeast or sometimes as breadmaker yeast). This is the type of yeast that does not need to be dissolved in liquid before using, but can just be stirred directly into the flour. If you have used active dry yeast then it is likely that the yeast did not activate properly as the grains of dried yeast are too large to dissolve fully once they have been mixed into the flour. Also you need to leave enough time for the chilled dough to prove before baking, which can take longer than for a regular second prove as it needs to warm up enough for the yeast to become active again.

However, hot cross buns are not meant to be as light and spongy as a regular bread loaf. It is worth mentioning that the 7g of easy blend yeast is enough to make a loaf with up to 500g flour (vs the 400g of flour used in the recipe). But the dough is a very enriched dough with added butter, milk and eggs. All of these ingredients retard yeast, meaning that it will not be as active as in a regular bread dough and so the hot cross bun dough will not rise quite as much as a plainer bread dough.