Since hot cross buns are a traditional Easter food, I thought I would try making them gluten and dairy free. I got in the mood for them earlier this week when I saw this vegan, refined sugar free and gluten free version from Without Adornment.
These buns are best when warm. If you have any left over the next day, just heat them a little in the microwave. My family really enjoyed them, and I bet you will too.
Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- 1 cup potato starch
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch
- 2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
Wet Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 3 Tablespoon Earth Balance Buttery Sticks or butter
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 cup warm water (105° - 115°)
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup raisins and/or dried cranberries
For the Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 – 1 1/2 Tablespoons almond milk, regular milk or other milk substitute
Instructions
- Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In your mixer bowl, beat together the eggs, butter, and vinegar for 3 minutes on medium high speed.
- Add the water and dry ingredients. Beat on high for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the raisins and/or dried cranberries.
- Spoon the dough into the pan to make 12 rounded rolls. You can smooth the rolls by dipping a large metal spoon into cold water then rubbing the back of the spoon over the top of the roll. Dip the spoon into the cold water between smoothing each roll.
- Cover the pan with a piece of plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. I put mine in a warm oven for 20 minutes, then put the pan on top of the stove for 10 minutes while the oven preheats.
- Bake at 375° for 25 – 30 minutes until browned on top. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool until no longer hot, but still warm.
- Combine the powdered sugar and milk, adding just enough milk to make the glaze moist. Put the glaze in a zip lock bag with 1/4 inch of the corner cut off and squeeze it onto the buns in a cross shape.
- Serve warm. Reheat cold buns in the microwave until warm and soft.
Courses Bread
This post is submitted to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. Maggie of She Let Them Eat Cake is hosting this month’s Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free carnival with a theme of Springtime Brunches.
They look really lovely, Linda! I’ve never had hot cross buns before, gluten free or gluten full, but I bet yours are the best. 🙂 Your family is lucky to have you baking for them!
Hugs,
Shirley
Thanks, Shirley. I only had hot cross buns a couple of times before going gf and don’t remember them much at all. I thought they would be fun to make though, and they were.
These look delicious Linda, and the texture looks absolutely perfect!!
Happy Easter!
Heidi
Thanks, Heidi. Happy Easter to you too!
These look wonderful. Happy Easter!
These look lovely and I love all of your photos! Thank you so much for linking up to this month’s Go Ahead Honey! I’m so glad you did!
These look good. My only downfall with recipes likes yours is I can’t eat egg. I usually sub it with flaxseed or EnerG. Just not the same. Do you have any other suggestions?
Thanks Have a great Easter.
I don’t have experience baking egg free, but you could try this recipe.
Sorry. Here’s the link. http://withoutadornment.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/vegan-refined-sugar-and-gluten-free-hot-cross-buns/
Thanks Linda, I may have to try them and let you know. I don’t think I have baked or cooked with cardamom. What does it taste like? Maybe I will do a google search.
Thanks again.
I have always been able to substitute tofu for eggs. It helps things hold together. Maybe if you use it with the egg substitute which causes rising. That seems like it would work. I’ve done alot of substituting because of my egg allergy too. Finally about 2 years ago I found out I could eat fertile eggs. Don’t ask me why. Whatever works.
Linda, I found my answer.
Cardamom Substitute
In case you wish to make the influence of cardamom flavor a little milder, try using cardamom seeds, that come in the market, without pods as a cardamom substitute. Only seeds are mild in flavor, they just provide enough of the required amount.
Other than that, a substitute for cardamom would be brown cardamom, which is a bit cheaper, with the same flavor and aroma. There are a few other spices that one can try using as a cardamom substitute, that are ground nutmegs, mace, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, etc. Make sure you use these spices in certain combinations like equal parts of nutmeg and cinnamon or equal parts of cinnamon and ground clove. Try using equal parts of ground clove and nutmegs.
These look fantastic! I made hot cross buns the other day but they were no where near as nice as yours! (It probably didn’t help that they were vegan, too. 😛 haha)
Linda, I hope you won’t be upset at this remark, but I like your buns!! 😉 They look wonderful!
Megan, you had me worried there for a second, but then you made me laugh! I’m glad you like my buns. 🙂
We have Hot Cross Buns every Easter. I wish I would have had this recipe a few days ago…then I could have eaten the Hot Cross Buns with everyone else! (Of course, who am I kidding that I would actually have time to make them?) Totally keeping this for next year!
Linda,
Thank you for working your recipees toward more protein. I’ve noticed so many recipees out there are full of carbs only. Can’t help wondering if this is causing diabetes to be connected with CD, Along with all the other nutrient defficiencies.
Hi
I cannot have potato starch..what orther starch do you recommend..would looove to make these 🙂
Robin, I would try corn starch. I hope it works for you.
Made these today and they were fabulous! I love that they are not too sweet. Even my gluten-eating-lovin’ husband enjoyed them. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed, them Tara. Thanks for letting me know.
Did the recipe call for cardamom? I love it, but didn’t see it on the recipe above.
No, it doesn’t call for cardamom, but feel free to add some!
Hi, Linda. Thanks for the informations about the angel cake pan. For what can I substitute the sorghum flour in this recipe? I don’t find it in Brazil (in my city).
Hi Lucia. I haven’t tried any substitutes, but millet flour would be my fist choice. If you don’t have that, try rice flour.
These should you use stevia or coconut sugar instead of brown sugar
These look great but I’m allergic to eggs and yeast. I can use flax eggs or Ener-G egg substitute as a work-around but finding a sub for yeast is ry tough. I’ve read that you can use baking soda and lemon juice mixed together and add it as the final ingredient. Are you familiar with this or have another yeast substitute that you can suggest?
Hi Kim. I’m sorry, but I’d have experience with egg or yeast substitutes. You might just want to adapt a recipe such as my drop biscuits to be similar to hot cross buns. http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/delightful-drop-biscuits/
Your Hot Cross Buns look amazing! I used to always make Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday but haven’t done so since going gluten free several years ago. I never did a yeast dough like your recipe- I always cheated with Bisquick – but still it was a fun tradition. Heading to the store tomorrow so I can bake a batch on Friday. I’ll be sure to report back 🙂
Made this today at it was delicious! I added zest from an orange and lemon and glazed it with an orange juice/powdered sugar mixture before adding the final icing cross. Thank so much!
Vegan means no eggs, my son is allergic to eggs and my daughter is gluten free. Was excited for your recipe until it said 2 eggs. Not vegan.
Nancy, I’m sorry you were confused. I was not saying that my recipe is vegan, but the one I was linking to here: https://withoutadornment.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/vegan-refined-sugar-and-gluten-free-hot-cross-buns/
Hi there,
Thanks for this recipe! I’m a New Zealander and I made them in Fiji. I made these with a couple of substitutions- I used olive oil instead of the butter and I used cornflour (I think you might call it cornstarch) instead of tapioca starch. Instead of glaze I mixed a little gluten free flour with water before baking to make the crosses as that is what I am used to from when I could eat gluten. They turned out deliciously. My boyfriend, who can eat gluten also thought they were yummy. They came out with more if a scone texture than a bread texture but that was fine. Easter just wouldn’t be the same without hot cross buns!
These are perfect for Easter time! Thanks, Linda.
I am uncertain what you mean by “glaze”. The hot cross buns we get here in the UK have a shiny top (what I would call glaze) plus the white crosses. Yours don’t have any shininess whatsoever. Take the cross away and they look like “teacakes”.
(I would still eat yours though!!! Whatever they are)
By glaze I mean the white icing used to make the cross. Brushing egg white on top of the buns before cooking will give it that shiny top.
Hello! Thx for the terrific recipe! Just a quick FYI for others who find themselves short a few of the ingredients needed for this recipe: I substituted 3 cups of pre-made gluten free flour mix (making sure it included a starch and xanthan gum), coconut oil for the butter, stevia powder for the sugar, added a 1/2 teaspoon of honey to the wet ingredients (just in case the yeast needs some food!), used 1/2 of sultanas (golden raisins) + 1/4 cup of candied peel, and used All Spice instead of Cinnamon, and I also used the flour/water paste option for the crosses (added pre-bake), and….they worked out great! Happy Easter and happy baking!