Soft, delicious, and perfectly spiced vegan gluten-free hot cross buns to complete your Easter table! This recipe is easy to make and contains step-by-step instructions and images so you get the best results, every single time you make them. This recipe is egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, and gf so no one has to miss out, ever.
Grease or line a 9-inch x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, set aside.
Prepare your flax egg by whisking together ground flax seeds and water. Set aside to thicken.
Proof the Yeast
In a medium bowl, add the yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and the warm milk. Stir and set aside for 10 minutes.
Prepare Dry Ingredients
In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the gluten free flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and sugar. Whisk until everything has combined, set aside.
Prepare Dough
Once your yeast has proofed, add the flax egg, oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon zest, and orange zest to the yeast mixture and stir.
Pour yeast mixture into the flour mixture and using the paddle attachment, set your stand mixer to low, and mix for 2-3 minutes, stopping to scrape the dough off of the paddle, when needed.
Add raisins and currants at the end of the mixing time and mix until they have been evenly distributed into the dough.
Prepare Buns
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and using a large scoop or a ⅓ measuring cup, scoop out the dough balls, one-by-one (9 in total) and using your well-oiled hands, shape each one until they're smooth and round. Carefully place them into the prepared baking dish. If using a large scoop, overfill each scoop slightly. (Be sure that your hands are well-oiled when shaping the buns, the dough is sticky!)
Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and place it in a warm, draft-free area to rest for 1 hour. If your oven has the proof setting, it can be used here.
Just before the one hour has passed, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). (if you have placed your buns in the oven to rise, remove before preheating)
Prepare Flour Crosses (skip if using icing crosses)
Add the flour and water to a small bowl and mix well until a thick paste has formed.
Place mixture into a piping bag fitted with a small, round tip. A small ziplock bag can also be used, if using a ziplock bag, snip off one of the bottom corners.
Gently pipe the flour mixture onto the buns to form the crosses (3 horizontal lines and 3 vertical lines).
Bake
Bake for 24 minutes. Remove from oven, place the pan on a cooling rack, and allow to sit for 10-minutes before brushing on glaze.
Prepare Apricot Glaze
Add apricot jam and water to a small bowl and warm for 15-seconds in the microwave.
Optional: If your jam has pieces of apricot in it, you can run the warmed mixture through a sieve to filter the pieces out.
After the buns have been out of the oven for 10-minutes, brush each one with the apricot glaze.
Allow buns to fully cool before serving or adding icing crosses.
Prepare Icing Crosses (skip if using flour crosses)
Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and unsweetened non-dairy milk to a small bowl. Mix well until it has all combined to form a thick icing.
Place icing into a piping bag fitted with a small, round tip. A small ziplock bag can also be used, if using a ziplock bag, snip off one of the bottom corners.
Once the buns have fully cooled, pipe the icing onto the buns to form the crosses (3 horizontal lines and 3 vertical lines).
Notes
Please read all of the information, tips and FAQ info above and the info below before making this recipe.
It’s important to know that different gluten-free flour blends use different ingredients and ratios, so results will vary if you substitute. I have never used any other brand of gf flour to make this recipe (other than Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour (Amazon link) in the blue package, NOT the red package), so please know that your results may not be the same as mine if you substitute with another gluten-free flour blend. The weight listed above is for this specific brand of flour.
This recipe will NOT work with coconut flour or any other single gluten-free flour, it must be made with a blend, the one listed above.
Make sure your yeast and baking powder are fresh before using; these are very important ingredients that contribute to the buns rising properly.
If you don't have dried currants, use ¾ cup raisins.
When shaping the dough balls, be sure that your hands are oiled well (coconut oil, avocado oil, etc), the dough is very sticky.
Allow the buns to fully cool before serving. Gluten-free vegan yeast rolls and buns are gummy when they’re still hot from the oven. The solution to this is to allow them to rest before eating them, that texture will go away as the buns cool. Re-heated buns will not have this issue.
Store leftover rolls in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. If they're not done after 2 days, move the container to the refrigerator for up to 3 more days. When you're ready to serve them, reheat them in the oven at 300° F (150° C) for 10 minutes or in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Nutrition info is based on 1 of 9 hot cross buns with flour crosses, raisins + currants, apricot glaze, and the recipe made as written. Nutrition info is only to be used as a rough guide. Click here to learn how nutrition info is calculated on this website.