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Vegan Hot Cross Buns

Published: Updated:
Our favourite

3 Reviews

Total Time
50m
Prep Time
30m
Bake Time
20m
Serves 12
Serves 12
intermediate
A little effort

About our vegan hot cross buns recipe

We say have your bread, and eat it - our vegan hot cross buns have all the flavour of traditional hot cross buns and they're and completely vegan. Whilst hot cross buns are traditionally made around Easter time, these delicious vegan hot cross buns are so simple to make, they'll soon be a staple in your recipe book.

Fluffy in texture and gloriously glossy thanks to their sticky orange juice sugar glaze, these hot cross buns are perfectly balanced with flavour and pack a punch of zesty mixed peel - the ultimate cosy evening supper, or a cuppa companion.

We've added a handful of Vegan Dark Chocolate to this recipe, so simply swap out the sultanas for your left over Easter eggs, or some juicy raisins.

Why aren't traditional hot cross buns vegan?

Traditional hot cross bun recipes often contain milk, butter and egg, so they're not suitable for vegans or people who have a dairy intolerance.

Vegan and looking for bake-spiration? Look no further. Our Vegan Gingerbread dough is a perfect base to create a plant-based gingerbread house, or try our Sticky Apple buns using Coconut milk powder.

14 ingredients8 steps
  • Egg-Free Recipes
  • Dairy Free Recipes
  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan Recipes

Method

  1. Step 1

    Gently heat the soya milk until it is tepid.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the yeast and sugar. The yeast will start to bubble after a couple of minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Using a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, spices.  Stir in the sultanas or rasins and mixed peel.  Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and stir in the oil, yeast milk mixture and orange juice. 

  3. Step 3

    Bring together the ingredients using your hands.  The dough will be soft and sticky. Add a little more water if you haven't yet reached this, or a little more flour until you feel the consistency is right.

  4. Step 4

    Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-8 minutes until the dough is smooth and stretchy. 

    Lightly oil a bowl and place your dough in it. The oil will stop the dough from sticking to the sides as it proves. Cover with a damp teatowel and leave in the warmest room you have until it has doubled in size. 

     

  5. Step 5

    When the dough has risen, knead for a further 10 minutes then divide into 12 or 15 equal size balls. Roll the dough into smooth balls and evenly space out on a large baking tray (30 x 40cm) lined with baking paper.  Cover with the damp tea towel and leave in a warm place until they have risen into roll sized buns.

  6. Step 6

    Heat your oven to 200ºC/ 190ºc fan. While the oven is heating, it's time to make your crosses. Mix your flour with 2 tbsp water to form a thick paste.  Spoon into an icing bag and snip the corner. Slowly pipe along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction.  Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes on the middle shelf, until golden brown. 

  7. Step 7

    To make the glaze, gently boil the sugar and fruit juice in a small pan for about 5 minutes until it starts to thicken into a syrup.  Brush over the buns while they’re still hot.  Allow to set before serving.

  8. Step 8

    Top tip: Try replace the sultanas or raisins for the same quantity of vegan dark chocolate chips for a twist.

Ingredients

  • For the Dough

    • 500gAllinson's Strong White Bread Flour 
    • 250mlSoya milk 
    • SachetAllinson's easy bake yeast or time saver yeast 
    • 2 tbspSilver Spoon Caster Sugar 
    • 2 tbspVegetable oil 
    • 1 tspSalt 
    • 4 tspMixed spice 
    • 100gSultanas or rasins 
    • 100gMixed peel 
    • 85mlOrange juice 
  • For the Crosses

    • 3 tbspAllinson's plain white flour 
    • 2 tbspWater 
  • For the Glaze

    • 2 tbspSugar 
    • 2 tbspOrange juice 

Utensils

  • Piping bag

Nutritional information per 100g serving

  • Energy 285cal
  • Fat 3.1g
  • of which Saturates 0.4g
  • Carbohydrates 55g
  • of which Sugars 19g
  • Protein 7.2g
  • Salt 0.52g

3 Baker Ratings

I made these yesterday. I doubled up the spices because I love the festive flavours. Yum! It’s a brilliant recipe!!

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I've made these twice now. So easy to make! I added extra peel the second time because I love it. Next time, I'll add some dark choc chunks and see what happens-lol

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