Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns (2024)

Published: Mar 25, 2021 · Modified: Apr 15, 2022 by Kim · This post may contain affiliate links · 40 Comments

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Who says we can't have hot cross buns for Easter? These gluten free hot cross buns are everything you miss--soft tender bread studded with currants and a hint of cardamom with that classic cross on top. Serve warm with the perfect Easter brunch!

We never really had hot cross buns growing up around Easter. I think the first time I tried one was in my mid 30's. It instantly became one of my favorite holiday breads, so I knew I was going to include it on the blog. I like to eat them warm, split open with butter in between.

What Exactly are Hot Cross Buns?

A hot cross bun is a slightly sweet, slightly spicy, fruity roll that has a cross piped on top. It kinda reminds me of a cinnamon roll, but has a chai-like taste because of the cardamom. Either thinned out dough or a thick powdered sugar glaze make the cross. Hot cross buns symbolize and remind Christians of the cross Jesus died on. They also mark the end of Lent.

Making the Dough for Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns

Making gluten free hot cross buns has never been easier. It all starts with my famous gluten free sweet dough, which includes:

Kim's gluten free bread flour blend--there really is no substitute for my bread flour blend. That's why I worked so hard on creating it (I was fed up trying to make gf breads using store bought blends and other bloggers' blends).
Sugar--this time around I made my rolls with brown sugar for a little deeper flavor, but feel free to use granulated sugar. There is a lot of sugar in this recipe, which is required with the amount of yeast in the rolls. Much of the sugar is food for the yeast.
Instant yeast
Baking powder
Salt
Whole milk--use a milk alternative for dairy free.
Butter--vegan butter, shortening, or coconut oil may be used for dairy free, but I would not use any other oil that is not solid at room temperature as it will change the consistency of this dough. For a dough without any dairy/butter, try my gf challah dough.
Eggs
Raisins or currants--I've used both raisins and currants and it didn't really make a difference. Use what you have.
Spices--the most important spice in hot cross buns, in my opinion, is cardamom. But I also add cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little bit of allspice. Feel free to make it your own and use what spices you love.

Adding an Apricot Glaze

I saw Mary Berry (from the Great British Bakeoff fame) make her traditional hot cross buns a while ago and she brushed a warm syrup glaze over the top. When I first made these rolls a few years ago I didn't bother with a glaze, but after seeing Mary Berry make them this way, I decided to give it a try and I've never looked back. It actually helps keep the rolls soft underneath and creates a barrier from them drying out after a few days.

I can't remember what Mary Berry's glaze was, but I chose to use a thinned down apricot glaze because I love anything apricot and it adds the shininess without the color. Plus, it takes seconds to prepare (in the microwave) so it was a no brainer. Simply melt a small amount of apricot jam with some water (to thin it out) in the microwave until it's the perfect consistency for brushing onto the rolls.

Piping the Cross

There are a few ways to pipe the cross onto these rolls. You can make a paste of flour and water and pipe it on before the rolls are baked. But this doesn't add any flavor and since these are gluten free hot cross buns, the flour to water ratio needs to be modified. Not to mention I love a great powdered sugar icing. So that's the method I use for my hot cross buns.

Add a little bit of warm milk and some vanilla to some powdered sugar and stir to combine. If you use a whisk, it'll likely get stuck because the icing needs to be thick. It should be pourable, but thick enough to hold up on the warm rolls without melting completely into them. We still want to see that cross when we bite into these babies!

If you think you'll be missing out on hot cross buns for Easter this year, think again! This gluten free version will let you experience the same tastes and textures of the real thing.

Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns

Kim

4.63 from 24 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Proof Time and Chill Time 7 hours hrs

Ingredients

1 recipe Gluten Free Sweet Roll Dough, recipe follows
1 cup raisins or currants
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamom
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 large egg, at room temperature (mixed with 1 tablespoon water and a pinch of salt for brushing on rolls prior to baking)

Apricot Glaze

¼ cup (80 g) apricot preserves or jam
1-2 teaspoon water

Powdered Sugar Icing

1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar
1-2 tsp, or more hot milk (warmed in the microwave)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Gluten Free Sweet Roll Dough

3½ cups (495 g) Kim's gluten free bread flour blend
1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar or granulated sugar
1¾ teaspoon baking powder
2 tbsp plus 1½ teaspoon (24 g) instant yeast
2 tablespoon whole psyllium husks
1 teaspoon salt
1½ cups (360 ml) whole milk
¾ cups (1½ sticks or 169 g) butter, soft
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Instructions

Place the raisins or currants in a small bowl. Add boiling water over raisins to cover. Let sit for one hour; drain.
Measure out flour blend, sugar, baking powder, yeast, psyllium husks, salt, and spices in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk to combine. Add softened butter and, using the dough hook, begin blending on low speed. Add milk and eggs and continue mixing while adding the soaked and drained raisins or currants. Turn speed up to medium high and knead for 5 minutes.
Remove from the mixer, scrape the sides, and cover the bowl. Place in a warm, draft-free area (an oven turned on to the lowest setting and allowed to warm up before turning off is what I use) and let rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours. Refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
On a well-floured surface, knead dough until smooth, sprinkling more flour as necessary on your counter and the dough to prevent it from sticking. Divide the dough into portions about the size of a small orange or tangerine (about 3-4 ounces each) and roll each into a smooth ball. Place in a greased 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof in a warm, draft-free area for about an hour, or until rolls have doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 350° F. Brush with egg wash and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until buns spring back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and immediately brush with apricot glaze. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.
Stir together the icing ingredients until thick and smooth. Fill a pastry bag or plastic baggie with the icing and cut the tip off. Pipe a cross onto the rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature, with butter if desired.
Buns will keep, well covered, at room temperature for a few days. They can be easily reheated in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. If keeping longer, allow to cool completely before wrapping well and freezing for up to 3 months.

Notes

*Feel free to halve recipe and make an 8 by 8-inch square pan of rolls, which would make about 7-8 rolls, depending on the size you roll them.

***DISCLAIMER: The reason I created my own flour blends is because I could not obtain the results I wanted with flour blends that were available in stores, online, or from other gluten free bloggers. My recipes have been developed to be used with my own bread flour blend that I created after painstakingly testing for, in some cases, YEARS to develop what I believe to be a superior gluten free bread like no other. If you do not use my gluten free bread flour blend for this recipe, I cannot speak for the results you will obtain. While store bought blends may give you a satisfactory result, they may NOT give you the results intended in my recipe.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

dianne
April 06, 2024 at 7:18 pm
Hi Kim
I've found is too much yeast in the buns.. taste too yeasty and horrible. I ended up with hives as it's too much yeast. I put only 2 teaspoons not tablespoons and now I can eat the buns and taste beautiful.
Reply
Jennifer
March 31, 2024 at 12:54 pm
This is my first try at these— AMAZING. I never thought I’d have another proper hot cross bun for Easter again, but these are easily as good as (possibly better than)(but I made really good hot cross buns!) the ones I made in the Times Before, when I could eat wheat bread.
I was a little puzzled by the first round of “dough,” which was more like a batter? I added a little more flour till it was slightly less liquid, and the result was good…I’d be grateful for guidance on the consistency before the first prove?
In any case—I’m in awe of your flour blends and recipes and YOU, and look forward to making much more amazing stuff!
Reply
Shari Monfred
March 30, 2024 at 5:25 pm
Hi Kim 🌻
Happy Easter. This is the fourth year that I am making your hot cross buns at Easter and I only had your multigrain bread flour blended, so I decided to use it and both my husband, who isn’t Celiac, and I said these are the best hot cross buns we have eaten. Don’t know what it is, but there’s something special about them. So thank you once again for these wonderful four blends and recipes. I use them for all our special and regular occasions and everyone that eats them can’t believe they’re gluten free and love them. You’re the best!!! Thanks again, can’t wait for new and amazing recipes!! Stay safe 🦋😊
Reply
- Kim
  March 31, 2024 at 6:17 am
  Happy Easter, Shari!!!!
  Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm thrilled to hear that the multigrain flour works so well with these rolls (I will have to try them myself). I appreciate the support you've given me and my little blog all these years and I hope I can continue to create recipes we all enjoy 🥰🥰🥰
  Reply
Saga
December 13, 2023 at 6:38 pm
I'm so happy I found your recipes! In 15 years I have never found a good gluten free recipe for St. Lucia buns and have really missed the wonderful tradition of enjoying them in December so when I saw your hot cross bun recipe I decided to try making it into the traditional Lucia bun shapes. It worked beautifully! I mean absolutely perfect, in shaping, texture, and in flavor! I increased the cardamom amount to about 1 1/4 tsp. and nixed the allspice. I can't eat dairy so I substituted almond milk with some vegan cream for the whole milk, rice protein powder instead of whey protein isolate in the flour mixture and EarthBalance margarine instead of butter. I decided on marmalade for the glaze (the orange flavor with the cardamom is lovely) and sprinkled pearl sugar lightly on top. Such tender, delicious buns and so easy to make. Thank you very, very much, now I can rejoin this precious family tradition!
Reply
Cyd
April 10, 2023 at 2:26 pm
This is my first go at using yeast (other than packaged mixes). I bought all the ingredients for your bread dough, weighed everything, the dough rose beautifully both times and I left it in fridge overnight after first rise. They looked just like your picture! But! I’m not sure went I went wrong, but I found them a bit heavy. I ended up with 14 buns instead of 15 so they were just slightly larger. I baked for 25 minutes and they were done, but more like a heavy bread texture. Maybe this is how they should be? Next time, I will add a bit more sugar and more raisins. I love that you provide videos with your recipes!! Lifesaver!
Reply
Rhianna Waterhouse
April 08, 2023 at 10:42 pm
Best GF hot cross bun recipe EVER!!
So excited to try your other recipes based off this experience, so impressed and so glad I found your website and YouTube channel. Next up - GF sourdough starter
Reply

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