Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns (with video demo)
a beautifully squishy and spiced hot cross bun, for my gluten free readers!
As I mentioned last week, I have been experimenting more with gluten free bakes to help manage my eczema at the moment… I’m sure it won’t be a forever thing but for now, I am enjoying the challenge especially creating seasonal recipes in the run up to Easter! So these are my gluten free hot cross buns and I really hope you love them too! A word of warning though… the dough is very wet and I would highly recommend an overnight proof to let the flavours develop and the dough thicken up before shaping the next morning.
makes 8 buns
Ingredients
550ml oat milk/ plant based milk warmed to 50c
7g dried active yeast
125ml sunflower oil
160g gluten free plain flour (I use Freee plain flour)
120g buckwheat flour
a pinch of salt
25g psyllium husk
15g chia seeds
15g ground mixed spice
15g ground cinnamon
150g caster sugar
200g sultanas/ raisins (I actually used last year’s homemade mincemeat but dried fruits work perfectly here!)
zest of one orange
for the crosses
30 grams of GF plain flour
enough water to form a thick paste
1/2 tablespoon of sunflower oil
Pinch of baking powder
Glaze with apricot jam/ honey once baked
Method
First mix together the flour, sea salt, mixed spice, cinnamon, chia seeds, psyllium husk, orange zest and sultanas in a large bowl. Then add the yeast and sugar to the warmed milk and let it bloom for 5 minutes. Add the milk mixture and sunflower oil to the dried ingredients and stir together to form a wet consistency. Don’t panic, it is very wet at this stage but the psyllium husk and chia seeds will form a gel to help solidify the dough a bit overnight in the fridge.
Cover the bowl and leave in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, tip out your dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Adding a little sunflower oil to your hands, roll them into small bun shapes and place them in a greased/ lined baking dish (see the video below for more details if you need guidance).
Cover and leave to rise for about an hour in a room area.
Meanwhile, prepare your cross mixture, mixing together your GF flour with just enough water to make a thick but viscous paste. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe crosses over the buns.
Preheat your oven to 180c and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and baked through.
Glaze immediately with apricot jam/ honey. Leave to cool and enjoy! Don’t forget to tag me on instagram (@lilys_loaf) if you give these a go, I would love to hear from you.