Gluten-Free, Dairy-free, refined sugar-free Hot Cross Buns Recipe
Nothing says Easter more than delicious, spongy, spicy Hot Cross Buns! This is a great recipe to make with the kids and the buns will be a delicious and nutritious addition to their lunchboxes long after the Easter holidays have passed!
Equipment
- 1 baking tray
- parchment paper
- 3 small mixing bowls
- 1 Whisk
- 1 medium size mixing bowl
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 electric beater with dough hooks
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 pastry brush
Ingredients
- boiling water
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 1/3 cup raisins
- 1 tsp guar gum
- 1/4 cup psyllium husk
- 1 cup hot water
- 100 g ghee, butter or coconut oil
- 3 eggs, extra large beaten
- 3 cups cassava flour
- 1/2 tsp desert or sea salt
- 1 tsp ground All Spice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom seeds
- 2 tsp aluminium-free baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 1 orange, zest only or zest of 2 naartjies
- 1 cup warm water
For the egg wash
- 1 egg beaten
For the crosses
- 4 Tbsp cassava flour
- 1 Tbsp tapioca flour
- 1 Tbsp erythritol powder, or ground xylitol
- 35 ml warm water
- squeeze lemon juice
For the glaze
- 1 orange or 2 naartjies juiced
- 1 Tbsp erythritol
Instructions
- You will need a warm, draught-free place for the Hot Cross Buns to proof / rise. You can use your oven – turn it on to a low setting, or turn the oven light on.
- Line a baking tray with parchment / baking paper.
- In a small mixing bowl, add the yeast, honey and warm water. Whisk to combine, and set aside to activate.
- In another small mixing bowl, cover the raisins with some hot water. Set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the guar gum, psyllium husk and hot water. Stir to combine and prevent lumps from forming. Cut the ghee / butter / coconut oil into small lumps and add to this mixture. Gently stir in the 3 beaten eggs. Set this bowl aside.
- (If you have turned your oven on to create a warm space for proofing, you should turn it off now – keep the door closed to keep it warm.)
- Now for the dry ingredients. Grab a large mixing bowl. Add the cassava flour, salt, all spice, vanilla powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda, lemon and orange zest. Stir gently to mix (cassava flour is a very ‘dusty flour’, so stir slowly and gently to prevent a dust cloud!)
- Pour the yeast mixture, psyllium husk mixture and 1 cup warm water over the dry ingredients. Using an electric beater fitted with the dough hooks and on low speed – combine the dry ingredients with the wet.
- Drain the raisins from the soak water, add them to the dough and stir to mix in..
- Turn your dough onto a surface dusted with cassava flour. Dust your hands with cassava flour to prevent the dough from sticking to them.
- Roll the dough into baguette-shaped ball. Cut of small handfuls of dough, roll into a bun shape and place on the baking tray. Leave some space (but not too much) between each dough ball to as they will ‘grow’ when they are proofing. You don’t want to leave to much space though as otherwise your buns will end up being a bit wide and flat!
- Place the baking tray in the warm oven with a small bowl of steaming hot water alongside it.
- Leave to rise for 20 minutes.
- While they are proofing, make the mixture for the crosses and the glaze.
- For the crosses: Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl (cassava flour, tapioca flour, erythritol and water).
- For the Glaze: Place the orange juice and erythritol in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, simmer for a couple of minutes and set aside to cool.
- Remove the proofed buns from the warm place.
- Turn your oven on to 175°C (350°F).
- Brush the buns with beaten egg (egg wash).
- Transfer the cross mixture to a piping bag and pipe crosses onto the buns.
- Place the buns in the oven, and get your plate ready!
- Bake the buns for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden.
- Remove from the oven, brush with the orange glaze, step back and marvel at your brilliance – then eat them while still warm!
- You can store the leftovers (if there are any) in the freezer. Defrost overnight, slice in half and pop into the toaster to ‘refresh’ them (or in a warm oven for a couple of minutes).
Notes
There are a few processes happening simultaneously in this recipe – so the ingredients have been divided accordingly. I would tick each one off as you have added it so you know you have not missed anything!