Hot Cross Buns

Last year I attempted to make Hot Cross Buns, and they turned out like hard rocks. I was so disappointed and apprehensive to try them again, but I have come a long way since then and thought I would give it a go. I did a bit of hunting and found this wonderful recipe from Nicole Hunn at glutenfreeonashoestring. She has a lot of amazing recipes and is my new favourite person. So a big thank you to her for this one.

I have made some minor adjustments to make them dairy free as well, I use a different mix to make the crosses and my method differs slightly here and there, but you can check out her original recipe here.

We had some visitors on Easter Sunday and when they arrived I had my new recipe Hot Cross Buns baking in the oven. All the while chatting away with our friends I had in the back of my mind, 'I wonder if they are going to work? Will they work? Please let them work.' And just as our visitors were getting ready to leave, the buns came out and I was all smiles and wanted to jump around with excitement because they looked wonderful, they had risen beautifully and smelled delicious. I let them cool just a little then served them still warm, sliced open with a little margarine spread on them. Everyone went quiet, then raved about how good they were. Success! Yum, yum, and... yum. I was so happy. 

I'm not sure I can wait a whole year till next Easter to make these again. In fact, why should I? I don't have to wait till they are being sold in the shops. I can make them whenever I want. Tee Hee. Giggle. Horray!

Here you are, my slightly adapted recipe:

Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups / 350g gluten free flour blend (I used Doves Farm Plain White Flour Blend)
• 1 3/4 tsp xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend already contains this)
• 1/2 cup / 100g granulated sugar (I prefer to use 65g of fruit sugar instead)
• 3 tsp instant yeast
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 3/4 tsp salt
• grated zest of 1 orange
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 170g raisins/sultanas or other dried fruit *see note*
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
• 1 cup warm soya milk (should be at about 100 degrees F)
• 2 medium eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
• 112g unsalted dairy-free butter, melted and cooled

For the Egg Glaze:

• 4 Tblsp confectioner's sugar
• 1 medium egg

For the Cross

• 2 Tblsp gluten free flour, plus more if needed
• 1 Tblsp coconut oil or vegtable oil
• 2 Tblsp water, plus more if needed

*note* I used raisins in this recipe although I try to avoid them in my diet because of my colitis and the fact that they are high in insoluble fibre because of the skin on them. If you need to avoid this then use dried fruit without skins such as mango, pineapple, apple or pear etc.

Method:

1. Whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, granulated sugar, yeast, cream of tartar, cardamon, cinnamon and allspice. Add the salt and zest of orange and lemon and whisk again to combine.
2. In a separate small bowl, place the dried fruit and toss them with a Tblsp of the dry ingredients and set the bowl aside.
3. Add the vanilla, vinegar, milk, eggs and egg yolk and the butter to the dry ingrdients and mix on low speed with a dough whisk. Turn mixer up to high speed and mix for about 6 minutes uninterrupted.
4. Add the dried fruit to the bowl and mix by hand with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
5. Using a floured 1/4 cup scoop, scoop out a little more than a 1/4 cup of the dough at a time, dropping onto a floured surface, then gently coating with flour and shaping into a ball with floured hands, placing each ball onto a parchment lined baking tray or roasting tray, with a small gap between each roll. You should end up with 11 buns each weighing roughly 95g.
6. Place the dough buns in a warm and draft free environment to rise until about 1 1/2 times their original size, about 1 hour. They should have risen so that the gaps have closed between each bun.
7. While the buns are rising, make the egg glaze and the mixture for the cross. For the egg glaze, in a small bowl, place the egg and beat it well. Add the confectioner's sugar and beat to combine well. Set aside. 
8. For the cross, mix the flour, oil and water together in a small bowl. If the mixture is too thick, add more water, if it is too thin, add more flour to get the right consistency for piping. Set aside.
9. When the dough buns have finished rising, preheat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas Mark 5 and put the cross mixture in a piping bag with a flat nozzle. Brush each bun carefully and generously with the egg glaze. Then pipe a cross over each bun and then place the tray in the centre of the preheated oven and bake, rotating once during baking, until the buns are golden brown and firm to the touch, about 25-35 minutes.
10. Allow buns to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them and breaking apart into individual buns to cool on a wire wrack.

Oh I wish I had one right now.