Description
Perfectly soft and fluffy vegan hot cross buns that everyone will love, vegan or not! Sweet, full of warming spices and sultanas, and piped with the classic cross, these hot cross buns are perfect for any Easter brunch or dinner!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 1/2 cups (330 mL) unsweetened dairy free milk
- 2 1/4 tsp (7 g) active dry yeast
- 4 1/2 cups flour (560 g) + 1 tsp bread flour or all-purpose flour*
- 1/2 cup (100 g) organic brown sugar, divided
- 1 cup (160 g) raisins or sultanas
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 1/2 cup (113 g) salted vegan butter, room temperature
Flour piped cross:
- 1/2 cup (65 g) all purpose or bread flour
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) water
Hot cross bun bread wash:
- 1 tbsp melted vegan butter
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp apricot jam
Instructions
- Prep: Measure and weigh out all ingredients before beginning. Grease a large bowl with cooking or coconut oil and set aside (this bowl is for the rising and is different than the bowl you’ll use to mix the dough).
- Bloom the yeast: Heat the dairy-free milk to 110F. Use a food thermometer to ensure that it’s exactly 110F. Once heated, stir in the 2 tbsp of the brown sugar with 1 tsp of flour. Add the yeast and stir with a wooden spoon and cover. Place the bowl in a warm area (75-80F) to activate for 10-12 minutes. Your yeast may bloom faster or slower depending on the warmth of the area. You’ll know it’s ready when it smells yeast-like and there is foam on the top of the dairy-free milk. If this hasn’t happened, you’ll need to start over.
- Make the dough: Add the remaining flour, plus the remaining brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon, allspice, and orange zest to the bowl of a stand mixer. Use the dough hook and gently mix the ingredients together for a minute on medium speed. Turn the stand mixer on to medium-low speed and mix (or use a large spoon to mix if doing by hand). Mix until just combined. The dough will look shaggy. Next, add in the room temperature vegan butter, and mix on medium at first until the butter is incorporated into the dough. Then turn the speed up to medium-high, and allow the dough to be kneaded for 10-15 minutes, or until you’re able to do the window pane test without breaking the dough.
- First proof: Place the dough ball into the greased bowl, and cover with a thin clean dish towel. Place the bowl in a warm area that’s at least 85F. If your oven has a proof setting, you can use that. You can also heat the oven to 100F, then turn it off and keep the oven light on. Proof the bread until it’s doubled in size, about an hour. If your area is cooler, it will take longer, if it’s warmer, it will be quicker.
- Make the hot cross buns: while the dough is rising, you can grease a medium casserole dish with cooking oil. Set aside. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down lightly and gently pull the dough from the bowl onto a clean surface. Use a pizza cutter or large kitchen knife to divide the dough into 12-16 even pieces. You can weigh them out for a more accurate dough. First, weigh the full dough, then divide by how many rolls you would like to make. To form round rolls, gently roll a dough ball in between your palms. Then pinch the bottom of the dinner roll together to create a more round top. See this video for a visual demonstration. Repeat for the remaining hot cross buns, placing them in the casserole dish when done.
- Second rise: cover the dinner rolls with a thin clean dish towel again and place in a warm area (by the oven is fine) to nearly double in size again. Preheat the oven to 375F.
- When the hot cross buns have doubled again: mix together the flour and water in a small bowl. If you find the mixture is too runny to be piped, stir in another tablespoon or two of flour. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag, and snip the end of the piping bag. Pipe one long line over a row of rolls. Repeat for each row. Then pipe one long line across the columns of hot cross buns (i.e. in the perpendicular direction to create the cross). Repeat for each column.
- Bake the hot cross buns: once the oven is preheated, place the vegan hot cross buns into the oven to bake for 23-28 minutes. You might need longer for 12 rolls. The tops should be lightly golden, but not over baked. Remove from the oven.
- Brush with the orange glaze: Mix together the tablespoon of melted vegan butter, orange juice, and maple syrup for the bread wash. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the mixture over the tops of the rolls. Allow them to cool slightly, but serve warm with vegan butter.
- Storage: store any leftover rolls in an airtight container or baggy. They will last at room temperature for 1-2 days, in the fridge for 4-5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Keywords: vegan hot cross buns, dairy free hot cross buns, eggless hot cross buns, hot cross buns