Vegan hot cross buns – these eggless and dairy-free vesions of the classic British Easter treat are perfectly soft, fluffy and full of flavour. Served split, toasted and buttered they make a wonderful breakfast or snack.
It just wouldn’t be Easter without hot cross buns. The soft, lightly spiced fruity buns are the ultimate Easter food here in the UK but traditionally they aren’t vegan friendly as they contain milk, butter and egg.
More and more supermarkets are creating vegan varieties now, but a shop bought one is never going to beat a freshly baked home-made hot cross bun and fortunately they are really easy to veganize.
These vegan hot cross buns are easier to make than you might think and are beautifully soft, fluffy and full of flavour. You would never be able to tell the difference between these and a traditional egg and dairy laden one.
How To Make Vegan Hot Cross Buns:
(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)
Making your own vegan hot cross buns isn’t difficult, but it does take a few hours. Most of that is hands off time however so you can do other things at the same time.
If you want, you can also split the work over two days – make the dough in the evening and let it rise the the fridge overnight then continue with the rest of the recipe in the morning.
If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook I would really recommend using it for this recipe. The dough is quite sticky and it’s much easier to work with in a mixer.
Start by mixing white bread flour, caster sugar, cinnamon, mixed spice, salt, instant yeast and orange or lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
Add the yeast to one side of the bowl and the rest of the ingredients to the other. Yeast doesn’t like to come into direct contact with salt and sugar.
Heat vegan block butter in a pan until it is melted. (I use Naturli Vegan Block, it is the absolute best vegan butter for baking). Remove the pan from the heat and add unsweetened non-dairy milk. (Soy is best but any will work (except tinned coconut milk)).
The mixture should be lukewarm. If the butter resolidifys then you can heat it up gently until it is melted again but make sure that is doesn’t get hot. If it does then set it aside until it has cooled until it is just warm.
Pour the butter mixture into the bowl of flour and mix with a wooden spoon until no dry spots remain. The dough should be quite sticky.
Turn the stand mixer onto a medium-high speed and let it knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl cleanly.
You can knead the dough by hand on an un-floured surface if you dont have a stand mixer but be prepared to get sticky!
Place the kneaded dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover (I use a shower cap) and set aside to rise until it has at least doubled in size, about 1 1/2-2 hours in a warm place.
Alternatively, you can place the dough in the fridge and let it rise overnight instead. The following morning, let it come up to room temperature for half an hour or so before continuing with the recipe.
Once the dough has risen, give it a brief knead to knock it back then flatten it out into a rough rectangle, scatter over the sultanas and mixed peel, roll it up and give it a good knead to evenly distribute the fruit.
Divide the dough into twelve even portions and roll them into balls. I use a digital scale to portion mine out evenly – weigh the ball of dough and divide that number by twelve, that gives you the weight each individual bun should be. Mine worked out to be 100g each.
Try to make sure that there isn’t much fruit on the outside of the bun as it can catch and burn in the oven.
Place them on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment, leaving a gap of about 1-1.5cm (1/2 inch) between each one and flattening them very slightly with your hand.
Loosely cover the tray and set aside to rise until about doubled in size, around 45-60 minutes. The buns should now be touching each other and spring back slowly if you gently poke one with a finger. If it springs back quickly they need a little longer.
The Crosses:
Hot cross buns are traditionally topped with a flour paste cross. This is totally optional however, it doesn’t add to the flavour at all so you can leave them off if you prefer.
To make the paste for the crosses, mix plain flour with enough water to make a thick but pipeable paste. Place it in a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle (about 3mm).
When the buns have risen pipe a cross on top of each one. If you’ve got them well lined up on the tray you can just pipe in one long line across the row.
Bake the buns for about 25 minutes until deep golden. I use a probe thermometer to check they are cooked all the way through, the internal temperature should reach 94C/201F.
Once the buns are baked, brush them all over with maple syrup to give them a good shine. You can also use golden syrup or smooth apricot jam but you will need to heat them up until they are melty first.
Top Tips For The Best Vegan Hot Cross Buns:
For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
If you want, you can split the work over two days – make the dough in the evening and let it rise the the fridge overnight then continue with the rest of the recipe in the morning.
If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook I would really recommend using it for this recipe. The dough is quite sticky and it’s much easier to work with in a mixer.
The recipe will work using plain (all-purpose) flour, but bread flour gives the best texture.
Make sure that your yeast hasn’t expired! Out of date yeast can lead to bread that doesn’t rise.
The best way to tell if bread is baked properly is to check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer. It should reach at least 94°C/201°F.
The hot cross buns are best eaten on the day they are baked but they will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days in which case they are best served toasted.
Can I Freeze Them?:
Yes, these vegan hot cross buns freeze well. Freeze them in an airtight container on the day they are baked (make sure they have cooled completely first).
Allow to defrost at room temperature then refresh in a low oven before serving.
More Vegan Easter Recipes:
Chocolate orange hot cross buns
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Vegan Hot Cross Buns
Vegan hot cross buns – these eggless and dairy-free vesions of the classic British Easter treat are perfectly soft, fluffy and full of flavour. Served split, toasted and buttered they make a wonderful breakfast or snack.
Ingredients
Vegan Hot Cross Buns:
- 500 g (4 cups + 2 Tbsp) white bread flour
- 75 g (1/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp mixed spice (pumpkin spice)
- 1 tsp salt
- finely grated zest of 1 orange or lemon
- 10 g (3 tsp) instant/fast action yeast
- 80 g (1/3 cup) vegan block butter (I use Naturli Vegan Block)
- 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) unsweetened non-dairy milk (soy is best)
- 200 g (7 oz) sultanas
- 50 g (1 ¾ oz) candied mixed peel
Crosses:
- 50 g (scant 1/2 cup) plain flour
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) water
- maple syrup/golden syrup/apricot jam to glaze
Instructions
-
Tip the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the sugar, cinnamon, mixed spice, salt and orange or lemon zest to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other. Mix well to combine.
-
Heat the butter in a pan over a low heat until it is melted. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the milk. The mixture should be lukewarm. If the butter resolidifys then you can heat it up gently until it is melted again but make sure that is doesn’t get hot. If it does then set it aside until it has cooled until it is just warm.
-
Pour the butter mixture into the bowl of flour and mix with a wooden spoon until no dry spots remain. The dough should be quite sticky.
-
Turn the stand mixer onto a medium-high speed and let it knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl cleanly.
-
Alternatively you can knead the dough by hand on an unfloured surface but it is quite sticky.
-
Place the kneaded dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover (I use a shower cap) and set aside to rise until it has at least doubled in size, about 1 1/2-2 hours in a warm place.
-
Alternatively, you can place the dough in the fridge and let it rise overnight instead. The following morning, let it come up to room temperature for half an hour or so before continuing with the recipe.
-
Once the dough has risen, give it a brief knead to knock it back then flatten it out into a rough rectangle, scatter over the sultanas and mixed peel, roll it up and give it a good knead to evenly distribute the fruit.
-
Divide the dough into twelve even portions and roll them into balls. Try to make sure that there isn’t much fruit on the outside of the bun as it can catch and burn in the oven.
-
Place them on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment, leaving a gap of about 1-1.5cm (1/2 inch) between each one and flattening them very slightly with your hand.
-
Loosely cover the tray and set aside to rise until about doubled in size, around 45-60 minutes. The buns should now be touching each other and spring back slowly if you gently poke one with a finger. If it springs back quickly they need a little longer.
-
While the buns are rising preheat the oven to 200°C/180°fan/400°F/gas mark 6 and prepare the paste for the crosses.
-
Place the plain flour in a bowl and gradually stir in enough water to form a thick but pipeable paste. You may not need all of the water. Place the paste in a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle (about 3mm).
-
When the buns have risen pipe a cross on top of each one. If you’ve got them well lined up on the tray you can just pipe in one long line across the row.
-
Bake the buns for about 25 minutes until deep golden. I use a probe thermometer to check they are cooked all the way through, the internal temperature should reach 94C/201F.
-
Remove the buns from the oven and brush them all over with maple syrup to give them a good shine. If you are using golden syrup or apricot jam instead you will need to gently warm them up until they are runny first. Allow the buns to cool before serving.
Recipe Notes
- For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
- If you want, you can split the work over two days – make the dough in the evening and let it rise the the fridge overnight then continue with the rest of the recipe in the morning.
- If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook I would really recommend using it for this recipe. The dough is quite sticky and it’s much easier to work with in a mixer.
- The recipe will work using plain (all-purpose) flour, but bread flour gives the best texture.
- Make sure that your yeast hasn’t expired! Out of date yeast can lead to bread that doesn’t rise.
- The best way to tell if bread is baked properly is to check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer. It should reach at least 94°C/201°F.
- The hot cross buns are best eaten on the day they are baked but they will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days in which case they are best served toasted.
