Easter is the perfect time to dust off those aprons and get busy in the kitchen – and what could be more tempting than the smell of freshly baked buns? We've got all the beautiful bread inspiration you need to celebrate the long weekend, from traditional hot cross buns to traybakes with a twist.

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See our Easter baking collection for plenty more ideas.

1. Easy Easter brioche

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Bake this simple, soft and buttery Easter brioche with the kids for a special seasonal project, using a food processor or by hand. It’s delicious toasted and spread with butter and marmalade or apricot jam.

Browse more brioche recipes.

2. Carrot cake monkey bread

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Combine two classic American and English bakes to produce a showstopping carrot cake monkey bread. Zingy carrot cake spices mixed with sticky, sweet monkey bread create a bake so irresistible, you won’t hesitate to pull it apart!

3. Hot cross buns

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Easter wouldn’t be the same without hot cross buns. Follow our step-by-step instructions for perfecting these classic spiced fruit rolls. They require a little more effort, but with a bit of patience and careful piping, you can have beautiful buns, finished with a sticky apricot glaze.

Avoiding wheat? Try our gluten-free hot cross buns which are based on the above version, with a few simple ingredients swaps.

Get in the mood for Easter with more hot cross bun recipes.

4. Apricot & almond Chelsea buns

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These gorgeous glazed buns are the ultimate teatime treat. They may look complicated, but our simple steps will help you to nail the technique. Your hard work will be rewarded with fluffy buns topped with a sticky-sweet dried fruit and nut topping.

5. Spiced fruit & pistachio bread wreath

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Impress with our decorative spiced fruit & pistachio wreath. We’ve given the classic Eccles cake a ‘bakeover’ by incorporating the currant and mixed peel filling into this stunning circular bread. Perfect for afternoon tea over Easter weekend.

6. Simnel spiced breakfast loaf

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Bake a celebratory breakfast loaf filled with beautiful simnel-inspired flavours – cinnamon, citrus zest and mixed spice. This reinvention of a classic Easter bake combines malted grain and white bread flour to create an impressive swirled cross-section. Toast and butter slices for a moreish treat.

7. Hot cross cinnamon buns

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Hot cross bun meets cinnamon swirl in this delightfully sticky bake, topped with a smooth cream cheese icing. Mix up the flavours by soaking the fruit in orange juice or booze overnight, or use additional spices like cardamom, mixed spice or cloves.

8. Ham, potato & cheese stuffed loaf

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Easter isn’t all about sweet treats! Bake our ham, new potato & cheese stuffed loaf for a bank holiday centerpiece. The recipe uses a ready-made bread mix, so you can focus on making the crème fraîche, cheddar, spring onion and ham filling. You can freeze this pie for up to two months, just bake for 2 hours and serve with fresh salads such as tomato & onion and cucumber and pea.

Get more savoury Easter lunch ideas.

9. Simnel share ’n’ tear buns

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If you can't choose between Easter bakes, we’ve devised one to capture them all! This marvellous mash-up combines hot cross buns, simnel cake and Chelsea buns into a tempting tear ’n’ share loaf.

Try more tasty tear & share breads.

10. Hot cross bread & lemon pudding

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Any buns to spare? Use them up in this comforting citrus bread & butter pudding. Enriched with double cream and lemon curd, this indulgent dessert is best served with ice cream.

Indulge in more decadent Easter desserts.

Check out more delicious Easter baking ideas...

Top 10 showstopping Easter bakes
The best Easter baking recipes
Top 5 Easter biscuits
Fun Easter baking for kids
Top 5 next level simnel cake recipes
Top 5 Easter nest recipes

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Are you baking anything for Easter? Leave a comment below...

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