Gluten Free Salted Caramel Hot Cross Buns (Vegan Option)
A soft salted caramel gluten free Hot Cross Bun recipe using the Free From Fairy's wholegrain gluten free bread mix. Suitable for people with coeliac disease or following a vegan diet.
Ingredients
For the buns
- 1 packet Free From Fairy gluten free bread mix
- 40 - 50 g Light brown sugar - or granulated white sugar or coconut sugar
- 7 g Dried yeast - I recommend the Easy Bake Allinson's brand
- 340 ml Dairy free milk - or cows milk if not dairy free/vegan
- 130 ml Boiling water
- 30 ml Olive oil - or melted butter if not dairy free/vegan
- 2 tsp Caramel flavouring - I used Dr Oetker's
- 1 tsp Balsamic vinegar - or cider vinegar
- 75 g Fudge chunks (little pieces of fudge) - check dairy free if required (I used Tesco own 'fudge chunks'
- 40 g Dark chocolate chips - check vegan if required
For the crosses and glaze
- 2 tbsp Free From Fairy plain flour blend
- 1.5 tbsp Water - (or enough to make a thick but runny paste)
- 2 tsp Runny honey - (warmed) - rice syrup if vegan
Instructions
To make the buns:
- If you want buns without whole flax seeds the first step is to empty the bread mix into a blender and blend until the flax seeds are no longer whole. Then follow the next step...
- If you don't mind whole flax seeds place the bread mix in a large mixing bowl and add the sugar and yeast and stir well to combine.
- Using digital weighing scales weigh out your boiling water and milk into a jug and stir to combine
- Add the milk/water mixture along with the oil (or melted butter, vinegar and caramel flavouring to the dry ingredients and stir well to make a smooth dough. Add the fudge pieces and chocolate chips. Leave to stand for 5 minutes.
- Stir the mix again. With oiled hands divide the mixture into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place it into your 23cm square tin. Repeat until the tin is full. Make sure to re-oil your hands if the mixture gets sticky!
- Place the buns into an oven set to its lowest temperature (or just on with the light). It should be around 50 degrees C
- Leave the buns to rise for 20 minutes before removing them from the oven and turning it up to 230 degrees C/ 210 degrees Fan/ Gas 8/446 F
- While the buns rise, mix the cross ingredients together - the flour and water - to make a smooth paste
- Drizzle the cross paste across each bun and place back in the oven. There is no need to wait for it to get up to full temperature
- Bake the buns for 20 - 25 minutes until golden
- While the buns are still warm, heat the honey or rice syrup
- Using a pastry brush spread the warm honey over the warm buns
- Cool the buns on a wire rack before storing, or eat them while warm
Notes
Nutrition data for information only and may not be completely accurate
Nutrition (Approx)
Calories: 244kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 214mg | Potassium: 89mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 122IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 1mg