Delicious Easter Vegan Hot Cross Buns Recipe (with sourdough)

 

These Delicious Easter Vegan Hot Cross Buns Recipe (with sourdough) are eaten during Good Friday, I made these hot cross buns vegan to cater to everyone who can’t have dairy and don’t eat eggs. 

I tried recipes using instant dry yeast and also sourdough as a natural leaven and to give it extra flavor. For this hot cross buns do check the notes sections and instructions carefully if using yeast or sourdough.

Disclaimer: This post contains links to an affiliate website or links to an Amazon shop. As an affiliate member, I will earn from qualifying purchases made by you at no additional cost ever. I appreciate the purchase you made. Read my disclosure.

A little history, these vegan hot cross buns are topped with a cross sign to commemorate Jesus Christ’s crucifixion in the cross while the spices represent the spices used to embalm His body during His burial.

These hot cross buns can either be topped with a buttercream frosting to make it a little sweet or a  mixture of flour and water. To make it shiny you can brush these buns with maple syrup.

Having these vegan hot cross buns also marks the end of the Lenten season, where traditionally people would usually do fasting or abstinence. In my case, I gave up wine and other alcoholic drinks. 

While traditionally hot cross buns have dried fruits and raisins inside the first time I made it I skip that part. It still came out good because of the spices I added in the mixture of the dough and the lemon zest except that it lacks extra sweetness.

I tried adding whole wheat flour to bread flour to make it extra wholesome, kidding! Just trying it out to make it at least healthier and better because wholemeal or whole wheat flour has higher fiber.

You can also use all-purpose flour, but bread flour is better, I don’t recommend using 3 ½ cups of wholemeal or whole wheat flour alone the texture and taste might be affected.

When adding dried fruits and raisins add them after the first rise then knead again. Making these vegan hot cross buns is super easy as it does not require a lot of time to proof. You can use an electric stand mixer to mix the dough or knead with your hands as I prefer.

I just find kneading bread therapeutic and relaxing at the same time, feeling the bread with your own hands knowing how it changes from being sticky to elastic and shiny makes you feel you know that you can actually make and bake bread.

If you are using active dry yeast know that it has to be proofed first before adding in the flour mixture while instant dry yeast can be added directly to the flour.

But for this recipe I decided to use about  90g of my sourdough discard as natural leaven, I mix it with the liquid mixture before pouring and combining it with the dry mixture. I also kneaded it with my hands, it’s a little tacky at first but eventually will be better after the first rise.

If you don’t plan to bake right away, after kneading put it in an oiled bowl and keep it in the fridge overnight and bake the following day. Just let it rest first for a while about 1-1.5 hours after removing it from the fridge and let it double.

If you are looking for another sourdough discard recipe do check my sourdough  Japanese pancake also known as Okonomiyaki, a flavorful pancake from Japan loaded with vegetables.

Vegan Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients

• 3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• 2 ¼ tsp instant dry yeast or active dry yeast or 90g sourdough discard
• ¼ cup brown sugar (option: white sugar)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp salt
• ? cup oil or melted vegan butter
• ¾ cups unsweetened dairy-free milk
• 1 tbsp lemon zest or orange zest
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
• 1 cup raisins

 Trivia: Did you know that the Philippines will celebrate its 500 years of Christianity on April 14, 2021.

Active Dry Yeast Preparation

• Prepare a ½ cup of lukewarm water and add 1 tsp of sugar mix in a small bowl. Add the active dry yeast and set aside for 10 minutes until it becomes foamy. 
• The water should not be too hot, if it didn’t get foamy, discard it and make another.
• Once it’s foamy add this to the liquid mixture.

Sourdough Preparation

• Use about 90g of discard and added it directly after mixing butter and milk.

Instant Dry Yeast Preparation

If you want to know the difference between active and instant yeast I have written its difference in my vegan challah bread recipe.

• Add the yeast in the dry mixture preferably away from the salt and sugar to avoid reaction because salt decreases the yeast activity, therefore, making the rise slower.

Cross Mixture with flour

• Mix 3 tbsp of bread flour or all-purpose flour and 2 tbsp water.
• Mix together until it becomes thicker, add a little more water to achieve consistency.
• After the second rise place mixture in a piping bag and create a cross in the dough before baking.

Cross mixture with buttercream frosting

• Sift 3 cups of icing sugar in a bowl. Then add ¼ cup of vegan butter, 1-2 tbsp unsweetened dairy-free milk, and ¼ cup vegan shortening (optional).
• Mix all together for about 10 minutes or until desired consistency is achieved.
• Place in a piping bag and put only after baking and the buns have already cooled.

Vegan Eggwash

• Mix 1 tbsp of unsweetened dairy-free milk and 1 tbsp of maple syrup and brush on top of the buns to give a shiny finish.

Instructions

• Mix all dry ingredients. Bread flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
• Mix wet ingredients. First, melt butter in a pot and add milk, then add sourdough, lemon zest, and fresh lemon juice and mix. Make sure butter is not too hot but melted.
• Create a well in the middle of the flour mixture and add wet mixture slowly.
• Incorporate all ingredients using a wooden spatula or mix by hands. If it’s too sticky add a little flour slowly. Alternatively, you can use an electric mixer to mix the dough for about 10 minutes.
• Oil a small bowl and put the dough, covered with a towel or clean wrap, and let it proof for an hour or more until it has doubled. It may be longer depending on the weather.

 

 

 

 

 

• Once it has doubled in size, punch the dough to deflate and knead again for about 5-8 minutes.
•  Create a rectangular shape and add in dried fruits or raisins and roll the dough to enclose the fillings.

 

 

 

 

 

• Divide them into 10-12 equal parts and place them into your prepared baking tray with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
• Let it rest for another 30 minutes and cover with a towel or clean wrap. 
• While waiting for the second rise, preheat the oven to 200°C or 400°F  and create the cross mixture (see above info for mixture). 
• Also, create the buttercream frosting to be added after the baking process.
• Just before baking, if using flour cross mixture using a piping bag slowly pipe the flour mixture on top of the dough creating a cross sign then bake for about 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven after baking and let it cool.
• Brush with a mix of maple syrup and milk to give a shine before adding the buttercream frosting.
• Serve and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

Notes

• For the types of cross mixtures check the details above the instructions.
• You can use white cane sugar instead of brown sugar.
• I have tried using soy milk and almond milk for this recipe.
• When putting the cut doughs in the tray, no need to keep them apart.

Nutrition

This vegan hot cross buns can yield up to 10-12 servings with 232 calories per serving. Total Fat 6.7g | Saturated Fat 2.8g | Cholesterol 8mg | Sodium 132mg | Total Carbohydrate 37.5g | Dietary Fiber 2.2g | Total Sugars 3.8g | Protein 5.1g | Vitamin D 0mcg | Calcium 34mg | Iron 2mg | Potassium 77mg

Other Bread Recipes

• Vegan Challah Bread
• Sweet Quick Bread
• Pandesal Bread Rolls

Sharing is caring!