Bakery owner Chris Waack said the bakery had been making hot cross buns since it opened in Stawell 18 years ago.

“It’s a recipe we’ve been using for years,” he said. 

“We just gradually tweaked it with input from our bakers and now we’ve won Australia’s best hot cross bun.”

Judges decided the award at the 2014 Victorian Baking Show in Shepparton on February 23.

With Easter next month, Mr Waack said he was expecting a surge in sales for the winning buns.

“We’re expecting some really big sales over Easter hopefully,” he said. 

Mr Waack said the secret to refining the bun to award-winning standard could partly be attributed to the fresh ingredients used in the baking process.

“When we’re making our buns we source the best ingredients, use good Australian fruit and our bakers put in a lot of care,’’ he said.

“They’re a good old-fashioned hot cross bun, they’re not doughy and they’ve got lots of fruit.”

The awards were again a happy hunting ground for Waack’s, with the bakery also winning the state title for its white vienna loaf, pull-apart loaf and wholemeal pipe loaf and third place for its white sliced bread and turkish pide.

Mr Waack said the buns were available at the bakery’s three locations in Stawell, Horsham and Ararat.