These Dairy Free Hot Cross Buns are traditional in every way, except they won’t make you poorly if you’re lactose intolerant too.
This Easter I decided to pimp the original hot cross bun and create a truly traditional flavoured version.
But make it dairy free.
Hot cross buns are generally something I have to avoid buying when out and about as finding dairy free ones can be tricky.
However I got to wondering how hard it could be to create my own that are cow free.
Turns out it’s really not all that tricky after all :)
The two ingredients we need to replace are milk and butter.
I opted for water instead of milk, and I promise you wouldn’t have known the difference.
However you could totally use a dairy free milk such as almond or soya instead.
And to replace the butter I would normally have melted some coconut oil down but I didn’t have enough so instead used sunflower oil.
Again, you really wouldn’t have been able to taste the difference.
And all the lactose happy folk that I shared them with were seriously impressed!
- 200 ml water or dairy free milk
- 15 g instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 450 g strong flour bread
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg a good scraping
- 50 g sugar
- 50 g vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
- 1 egg beaten
- 150 g sultanas raisins or currants, or a mixture
- 50 g shortcrust pastry
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 4 tablespoons hot water
- Mix the warm water/milk with the yeast and the teaspoon of sugar. Add in 100g of the flour, stir well and leave in a warm place for 20 minutes to become frothy.
- Sift the remaining flour, salt, spices and sugar into a large bowl.
- When the yeasty mix is frothy, mix in the oil and beaten egg until well combined.
- Pour this onto the flour mix, add in the dried fruit, and stir well. You want the batter to be relatively soft, add in another tablespoon of water if it is looking to dry and hard to work with (but don;t let it get too wet either!)
- Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it as if you were making bread. Wipe the doughy bowl round with a little more oil, then pop the dough back into the bowl and cover with a lightly oiled piece of cling film. Store in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size which may take up to 90 minutes.
- Tip out again onto the work surface and knock back by punching the air out of it. Divide into 12 even pieces and roll each one into a ball.
- Flour a baking sheet or two, and put each bun on the sheets with plenty of room around them. Press down in each one gently with your palm to flatten them slightly.
- Cover with more oiled clingfilm, and let rise until doubled in size which should only take about 30 minutes this time.
- Meanwhile, roll out the small piece of pastry until really think & slice into thin strips.
- When the buns are ready, brush the tops of the pastry strips with water and lay out on top of each buns to form a cross, damp side down.
- Trim the pastry ends and tuck them underneath then bake in an oven preheated to 90/375/gas 5 for 20 minutes or until golden brown and firm.
- Whilst they are baking make the glaze by boiling the kettle and measuring out 4 tablespoons of water to dissolve the sugar with.
- As soon as the buns are out of the oven, brush each one with the glaze, then go back and do it a second time to that they glisten and shine.
recipesfromapantry says
Oh my – I would love to dig in to 3 or 4 of these. Would that be too greedy?
Jane Sarchet says
Errr, not according to my history with them Bintu :D
Janie x
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
I love how you have managed to make these dairy free. I am so excited to make hot cross buns this weekend :)
Jane Sarchet says
Ahh, thanks Dannii :)
Janie x
Katie Bryson (@cookingkt) says
What a fab recipe… they look really delicious too! Thanks for linking to my recipe – I had lots of fun making them – so worth the effort isn’t it!
Jane Sarchet says
My pleasure Katie! They’re great fun to make, really happy with how tasty they were too :)
Janie x
Mariana says
Very interesting recipe!
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Mariana :)
Janie x
choclette says
Oh I do love a home made hot cross bun. So much nicer than anything you can buy – even if there isn’t any butter!!! Yours look lovely and the pastry cross makes them look quite elegant.
Jane Sarchet says
Thank you darlin’ :)
Janie x
glamorous glutton says
Great idea and so clever. They look wonderful, so professional. If I was choosing a flavour, I’d go for Bintu’s Coconut and Mango. GG
Jane Sarchet says
Oh GG you are a sweetheart :) Bintu’s do sound utterly deelish don’t they, might have to give them a go next!
Janie x
Nayna Kanabar (@SIMPLYF00D) says
These look so delicious I love hot cross buns. Its good to know that they are dairy free too.
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Nayna :)
Janie x
Heidi Roberts says
They look beautiful and I bet taste great too and to think they are healthy – you can eat more that way!!
Jane Sarchet says
Haha, too true Heidi! Thanks for stopping by ;)
Janie x