Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients:
For gluten free hot cross buns:
85 g sultanas or raisins
16 g psyllium husk
260 g warm water
460 g gluten free flour
50 g caster sugar
8 g Xanthan gum
8 g salt
10g active dried yeast
1 tsp ground cinnamon
140 g whole milk, warmed
30 g unsalted butter (or stork), melted
1 medium egg, room temperature
90 g mixed candied lemon and orange peel
For egg wash:
1 medium egg
15 g whole milk
For crosses:
50 g plain gluten free flour
¼ tsp Xanthan gum
10 g sunflower oil
60 g water
To finish:
50 g apricot jam
8 g water
Method:
For gluten free hot cross buns:
Line a large baking sheet with baking/greaseproof paper.
In a small bowl, pour boiling hot water over the sultanas or raisins until completely covered. Set aside for about 10 minutes, until the sultanas/raisins have plumped up and re-hydrated. Drain the water, making sure to squeeze out any excess water from the sultanas/raisins. Set aside until needed.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the psyllium husk and water. After about 15 seconds, a gel will form. Set aside until needed. If using active dried yeast, activate it first by mixing it with the warm milk and a teaspoon of the granulated sugar. Set aside for about 5-10 minutes, until you see bubbles/foam appearing on the surface – this shows that the yeast is alive and active.
In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer, if using), whisk together the tapioca starch, millet flour, sorghum flour, sugar, xanthan gum, salt, yeast and cinnamon. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and add the milk, melted butter, egg and psyllium gel into it.
Using a wooden spoon, mix well until the dough starts coming together. You can also use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, making sure that you scrape down the sides of the bowl to remove any dry, un-mixed patches of flour. Once it starts coming together, knead it by hand until you get a homogeneous dough with no dry patches of un-mixed flour. Just squeeze the dough through your fingers, going around the bowl until you’ve incorporated all the flour. The final dough will be quite soft and sticky, but should come away from the sides of the bowl. (Again, you can also use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook).
Add the re-hydrated sultanas/raisins and the mixed candied peel, and gently knead them into the dough until evenly distributed. Transfer the dough onto a generously floured surface and give it a knead until it comes together in a ball. Be careful not to incorporate too much extra flour into the dough.
Roll out the dough into a long log and divide it into 8 equal pieces – I recommend using a scale to get the pieces of equal weight and therefore approximately equal size. Shape each piece into a ball.
Once shaped into buns, transfer them onto the lined baking sheet, at least 2cm apart from each other. Lightly cover with cling film and proof them in a warm spot until approximately doubled in volume, for about 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes. After proofing, the buns will touch lightly at individual points, but shouldn't be completely fused together.
While the buns are proofing, adjust the oven rack to the middle position, place a baking tray at the bottom of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 220C.
Assembling the gluten free hot cross buns – egg wash and the crosses:
For the egg wash, whisk the egg and milk together until well combined.
For the crosses, whisk together all the cross mix ingredients (gluten free flour blend, xanthan gum, oil and water) until you get a smooth mixture. It should be runny yet viscous. Transfer the cross mixture into a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle.
Once proofed, brush the buns lightly with egg wash all over. Pipe the cross mixture in a line along each row of buns, then pipe in the other, perpendicular direction to create crosses.
Baking the gluten free hot cross buns:
Place the buns into the oven, pre-heated to 220C and pour boiling hot water into the baking tray at the bottom. Close the oven door and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 200C.
After 10 minutes, remove the baking tray with the hot water from the oven and continue baking in a steam-free environment for a further 20-25 minutes until the buns are deep golden brown. If the buns start browning too quickly, you can cover them with aluminium foil (shiny side up) and continue baking until done.
Once baked, slide the hot cross buns off the baking sheet and off the baking paper onto a wire cooling rack – this helps to maximise steam evaporation, to get a soft crumb that isn’t too wet, sticky or heavy.
In a saucepan on the stove or in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, heat the apricot jam with water, with occasional stirring, until runny. While the buns are still hot, brush them with the runny apricot jam – this softens the crust further, as well as gives them a lovely shine and extra flavour.
Allow to cool until warm or room temperature, and serve.
Great toasted with butter.