I rarely cook with yeast and lots of different flours at once; I’m much more a quick healthy bakes kinda girl…or you might just call me lazy! ha. But, I’ve always wanted to make a bit more of a typical hot cross bun for Easter. The smell of bakeries in general drives me a bit crazy most days, but when you combine that whole warming bakery vibe with the perfectly spiced fragrance of a hot cross bun – heavenly. Gluten free buckwheat hot cross buns had to be added to my must-make agenda.
So, here is my natural, real food version of a hot cross bun. It’s gluten-free and I’ve also kept the recipe free from any refined sugar (I used Natvia stevia instead), dairy and also free from gums, which I found in most gluten-free bun recipes that I encountered (they can cause digestive upset, and I’d rather not use them if I don’t have to). I’ve used natural psyllium husk instead, which helps gives a bit of “stretch” to this dough (difficult to do without gluten!).
Gluten-free Buckwheat Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup buckwheat flour (115 grams)
- 3/4 cup sorghum flour (100 grams)
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour (60 grams)
- 3 tbsp granulated stevia (I used Nativa)
- 2 1/2 tbsp psyllium husk
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp bicarb soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp instant yeast
- 1/2 cup sultanas or other fillings
- Zest of one orange
- 3/4 cup non-dairy milk (188 mL)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, solid
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (20 mL)
- 1/4 cup buckwheat flour (40 grams)
Instructions
- Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Place milk in a saucepan and warm up slightly over the stove so it is just warm to touch. Take off the heat, add in the coconut oil, honey and vanilla and stir around until the oil is completely melted in.
- In another small bowl, whisk together the eggs and apple cider vinegar.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Pour the warm milk mixture, followed by the egg mixture, and stir together until there are no lumps and you have a thick, sticky “dough”. It will be wetter than a typical bread dough – you won’t be able to pick it up and knead it. It should look like a very thick, glistening cake batter.
- Place a tea towel over the bowl and set aside somewhere warm for 30 minutes for the dough to expand and the psyllium husk to swell up.
- Take a baking tray with high edges, and line with baking paper. I would recommend using a square tray with dimensions no larger than 25 x 25 cm (or an equivalent rectangular one).**
- When the dough is ready, using a dessertspoon or tablespoon, scoop out chunks of your dough and drop in a mound gently on to the baking paper, aiming to drop each mound about 1cm apart. You’ll need about 3 tbsp per mound to make 12 buns.
- If the mounds are a bit messy, wet the tips of your fingers and gently smooth over the tops of the buns.
- Set the tray aside again for another 30 minutes in a warm spot to allow the buns to expand.
- While you are waiting, preheat your oven to 190C, and then make the mixture for piping your crosses. For the crosses mixture, combine the buckwheat flour with just enough water to form a thick paste. Place in a piping bag (I just use a zip lock bag and snip the corner off).
- When the buns are ready, pipe crosses over the top, then bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until a deep golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little, then serve.
- p.s. If you’d like to glaze the buns, melt 2 tbsp rice malt syrup (or sugar-free jam) and then use a pastry brush to glaze the top of the buns.
Notes
and as mentioned above, Natvia Sweetener
in this recipe. If you don’t want to use stevia you could use coconut sugar.
**The size of the tray you pick will affect the shape of the buns – if you pick a smaller tray they will rise upwards more (as the buns lean against each other as they rise)
Has anyone tried using avocado oil? Instead of coconut oil?
Hi, can I use another pil instead of coconut oil?
Sorry I meant oil..
Hi Tracy, if you didn’t want to use coconut oil, I would recommend using butter. I haven’t tried it using olive oil before so I’m not sure this would yield the same results – you could try 1.5 tbsp of olive oil though, if you wanted to try.
I’d love to make these this Easter! I’m wondering if there is an alternative to the sorghum flour as my youngest is allergic to that…
Hi Linda! Ha, I’ve actually been wondering the same thing as I can’t find sorghum flour near me. I think brown rice flour will work fine in these as a substitute – that’s what I am going to do 🙂 If you try them let me know!
Thanks Monique, great idea! I will need to keep them grain free….so I’m wondering if quinoa flour would work? There are enough strong spice flavours to hopefully hide the weird quinoa taste lol I’m not a fan of it…my family love it though, so they potentially won’t mind it in baked goods. I will let you know how it goes!
Hi again Linda 🙂 Yep I think you could give quinoa flour a go too. Probably that’s actually more similar in texture to sorghum. Or ivory teff flour might be nice too!
I tried the quinoa flour and the recipe worked really well! Kids like the buns and they are lovely toasted and spread the next day too. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Linda, thank you so much for the update, I really appreciate it! I will get some quinoa flour then too 🙂
I love anything buckwheat! Once I’m eating grains again I will definitely be trying these. 🙂 Thank you for sharing them at Savoring Saturdays. I’m going to feature them at this weekend’s party – hope to see you there! 🙂
Buckwheat is one of my favourite “grains” – I love it more than quinoa, hands down! Thank you for your lovely comment Raia, and for featuring me, I’m so flattered. See you over at Savoring Saturdays! 🙂
These buns look incredible! Perfect for breakfast!
Thanks so much Bethany! They do make a delicious seasonal brekky 🙂
I really miss being able to have hot cross buns over Easter. I’ll definitely try these once I figure out if I can tolerate buckwheat
I know that feeling of not being able to have things… it’s so hard sometimes! I really hope you are able to tolerate buckwheat – not just for this recipe but so you get to experiment more generally 🙂
I love buckwheat and always love to try new recipes using it. When I was a kid, a friend’s mom would make buckwheat pancakes and they were so good. She was German, loved her cooking!
Buckwheat is one of my absolute favourite “pseudo-cereals” to cook with 🙂 It’s so versatile and I love the flour and the whole buckwheat groats! Thank you for stopping by Dawn, I hope you try some buckwheat recipes out soon…including this one of course!
I am a fan of buckwheat flour, but I never thought it could be part of such authentic looking hot cross buns. Very impressive!
Thank you so much Julia 🙂 It took me quite a few “experiments” to get the ratios right, but I am happy with these buns now! 🙂
These look delicious!
Thank you so much Bethany 🙂