Gluten free hot cross buns – for Easter

Ollie

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Hot cross buns are a form of spiced, sweet, English buns. They are associated with the end of Lent, and are eaten on Good Friday in many countries. The cross is representing the crucifixion of Jesus and the spices are signifying the spices used to embalm him.

Ingredients:
Bun:
Gluten free flour mix* 500g (375g + 125g (for the ferment))
Gum Arabic 3tsp
Yeast (instant dried) 11g (ferment) (Fresh 10g : Active Dried 5g: Instant/Quick/Easy Dried Yeast 3g)
Sugar (cane) 65g (50g + 15g (ferment))
Hemp Milk** 220g (110g + 110g (ferment)) (Milk** tempC = 54C– flour tempC)
Baking powder 1 1/2tsp
Apple Cider Vinegar 3/4tsp
Eggs 100g (2 large, lightly beaten)
Salt 1tsp
Butter (room temperature) 40g

Spices and fruit:
Cinnamon 1tsp
Nutmeg 1/2tsp
Raisins 75g
Sultanas 50g

Eggwash:
1 Egg yolk beaten with a dash of Hemp milk

Runny dough mix:
GFflour mix* 50g
Baking powder 1g
Water 50g
Grapeseed oil 50g
Vanilla extract 1tsp

Glaze:
Honey (warmed to become clear) 50g (this will be sticky!)
Or,
Egg (lightly beaten) 50g (1 large)
Sugar 25g
Water 25g

Method:
Prove yeast (to check that it works) In a bowl, mix 1/2tsp of the sugar, 11g active dried yeast, with 20ml of the hemp milk** and add 1Tbsp of the GFflour*, stir to a paste, cover and prove for 5mins

Make a ferment/sponge starter: to the proofed yeast add 90ml hemp milk**, 15g sugar and 125g sifted GFflour* and make a paste, whisking it with a spoon until it is smooth and creamy, cover and allow to rise for 30mins

In a mixing bowl, add Gum Arabic to sifted GFflour*, whisk by hand, add the rest of the sugar, and baking powder and whisk; slowly add the apple cider vinegar, rest of the hemp milk** and lightly beaten eggs and mix well at medium speed

Add the ferment to the mixing bowl, and mix at medium speed (2mins), until it all comes together; mix in spices and salt, scrape down sides and bottom and mix for 7mins at medium to high speed

Add half of the softened butter and mix at low speed until incorporated (1min), scrape down sides and bottom, and repeat until all is absorbed, add the other half of the butter, repeat, finally mixing at high speed (4mins) until all is incorporated (scraping down as required)

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a lightly oiled plastic wrap, and allow it to rise for 1hr (I put mine on top of a preheated oven)

Wash and dry fruit, place in a strong plastic bag and pour in some hot water, seal and shake, and leave for 30mins minimum; pour, and shake off the liquid, dry the fruit and add to the dough in the mixing bowl and at the lowest speed, just incorporate

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a lightly oiled plastic wrap, and allow it to rise for 1hr – 2hrs (looking for a rise of 140-150%, don’t be fooled by recipes suggesting rising to twice the size)

(I normally put the risen dough in the fridge overnight – if you are making the buns all in one day, then put it in the fridge for a minimum of 30mins)

Pre-heat oven to 220C (NB, this recipe is made using a convection oven, and all ovens vary, so you may need to play with the timing)

Spoon and weigh a piece of dough into a 75-100g piece (so that there will be about 12 in total), make the piece of dough into a ball by placing each piece on a lightly floured surface and rolling it against your finger and thumb; then curl your fingers down to create a small ‘cage’ for the ball as you are rolling, moving your hand over the dough and the ball rolling around in the ‘cage’, and repeat for each piece of the dough

Place individual balls, a finger width apart, on a prepared (sides lightly greased) baking tray covered with parchment paper (12 balls fit in a 8in x 12in baking tray)

Cover with a plastic bag and prove for 1hr (check to see when it is done by seeing how the dough bounces back when you poke it with a finger (rapid – needs more time), slow and finger leaves a mark (done)) (even if this test indicates that no proving is required, still do it as it has an effect on the top ‘crust’)

Egg wash bun tops; make runny dough mix for the ‘crosses’ and, using a narrow tip icing bag pipe the crosses (max width 5mm) onto the buns

Bake for 5mins in the middle of the oven at a temperature of220C, then reduce the oven temperature to 200C and then bake for a further 10-15mins (the buns are done when the internal temperature is 90-95C) and the top is a golden brown

Make the glaze, and then glaze the buns immediately they come out of the oven

Cool for 10mins before moving to a wire rack to cool completely

Enjoy!

*Gluten free flour mix:
Brown rice flour 304g
Sorghum flour 76g
Potato starch 122g
Tapioca starch 30g
Arrowroot starch 228g (or Corn starch)

Total flour mix weight: 760g (50% flour and 50% starch, by weight)
 
Thanks for the recipe. It has been a decade since I last had hot cross buns, so having a Gluten free recipe makes it a possibility again.
 
This is an edit (cannot find the button to do that!)

An ingredient was missed off the list, after the 'Gluten free flour mix*
and that is:

Gum Arabic 3tsp

My apologies for the omission.
 
Thanks PS for the recipe, they sound extremely tasty. I would like to see pictures :D
 
Thanks al lot for the recipe Prodigal Son! I might give it a try if I can find all the ingredients! :)
 
Jenn said:
Thanks PS for the recipe, they sound extremely tasty. I would like to see pictures :D

I can attest to the fact that they are indeed, absolutely delicious! :D
 
fabric said:
Jenn said:
Thanks PS for the recipe, they sound extremely tasty. I would like to see pictures :D

I can attest to the fact that they are indeed, absolutely delicious! :D

Well then, a testimonial - sounds great! Appreciate it PS :)
 
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