Healthy Hot Cross Bun Recipe
If you love Hot Cross Buns (and I certainly do) but are trying to eat healthier right now then this Healthy Hot Cross Bun Recipe is for you!
There’s nothing more comforting on Easter morning than warm Hot Cross Buns drenched in butter,
But if you’re trying to lose weight then the combination of refined carbs (white flour) and fat (nothing wrong with fat but it is high calorie) make these only marginally better than all the chocolate you’re surrounded by.
If you wanted a bash at making your own Easter eggs, homemade (healthier, if still high calorie) chocolate is basically Coconut Oil or Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Powder, and Stevia (or maple syrup), all melted together.
Most people will be having a roast on Sunday, and since that’s a very easy meal to adapt (one roast potato, a good portion of lean meat, tonnes of veggies) I thought this would be more useful.
Like bread, hot cross buns are difficult to get right without using wheat flour, but the combination here really works, and we’ll definitely be having these on Sunday morning!
I have a free healthy baking cheat sheet that helps you recreate your own favourite baked treats using nutritious ingredients, you can grab it here!
Many of the ingredients can be found on buywholefoodsonline here, use code POLLY-IMZB to get 5% off all orders!
Hot Cross Buns
Makes 12
(click the lnks to find the product in the store)
INGREDIENTS
- 200g of oat bran flour (ground it in a food processor)
- 200g of coconut flour
- 150g of almond flour (or ground almonds)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. ground mixed spice
- 45g coconut oil
- 25g granulated or liquid stevia
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1½ tsp. fast-action yeast
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 275ml milk
- 125g currants
TOPPING ‘CROSS’ INGREDIENTS
- 4 tbsp. oat flour (ground in a food processor)
- 2 tbsp. warm milk mixed with 1 tbsp. honey, for glazing
METHOD
- Sieve the flours with the salt and mixed spice into a large bowl.
- Rub the coconut oil into the mix with your fingers, so that it becomes crumbly.
- Add the stevia, lemon zest, yeast and baking powder.
- Warm the milk slightly to around body temperature.
- Beat the eggs with the vanilla and add this to the flour mix along with the milk.
- Knead the mix to form a dough, then turn out onto a floured work surface and knead the currants into it, kneading continuously for at least 5 minutes.
- Shape the dough into a large ball, and place in a large, greased bowl, cover with a clean tea towel, and set aside for an hour to prove.
- After an hour or when the dough has risen, knead for another 5 minutes, knocking it back to its original size, then return to the greased bowl to prove, covered, for another hour, until risen again.
- Divide the dough into 12 pieces, roll each into a ball and flatten slightly to resemble a bun shape, and place on a baking tray, leaving at least 2 inches between each bun.
- Cover loosely with a second sheet of baking paper, and allow to rest for a final hour.
- Heat the oven to 200°c.
- Meanwhile mix the oatflour with 5 tbsp. water for form a paste.
- Warm the milk and honey in a small bowl, ready for glazing.
- When the buns have had their final prove, pipe the topping paste using an icing bag, to form a cross on top of each bun, then brush each bun with the glaze.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
- Eat warm or transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Let me know if you make these and what you think in the comments below.
Enjoy!