Whether you’re celebrating Easter with family and friends or simply reveling in the warmer temps of spring, Hot Cross Buns are a longstanding tradition that symbolize a rebirth, or a reemerging, of the world after a long hard winter.  Our recipe serves 12, so feel free to double the recipe if you’re feeding the extended family. The more the merrier.

Ingredients

Vegan Hot Cross Buns

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1 pack of instant dried yeast (7g)
• 3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• ½ cup raisins
• ¼ chopped walnuts
• 3 tablespoons 1 teaspoon of banana puree (about ½ banana)
• Zest of one lemon
• Zest of one orange
• ½ cup and 1 tsp of unsweetened almond milk
• ½ cup and 1 tsp of warm water
• 2 tbsp of olive oil, with extra for coating the buns

Hot Cross Bun Paste

• 5 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup water

Apricot Glaze

• 2 tbsp of apricot jam (or your favorite flavor of jam)
• 1 tbsp of water

Directions:

Make the Dough

1. In a small bowl, mash half a small banana with a fork until the mixture resembles applesauce.
   
2. Mix the flour, salt, yeast, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins, walnuts, banana puree, and orange and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl.
   
3. Gently warm the almond milk in the microwave or on the stove top until lukewarm. Add the warm water and almond milk to the flour mixture and stir everything together with a rubber spatula. Then add the olive oil and combine with hands.
   
4. When the mixture has mostly come together, turn the dough onto a clean surface. Knead the dough by pressing the heel of your hand into the center and stretching the dough. Turn the dough 90 degrees each time. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until dough becomes smooth.
   

   

5. Once the dough has formed a small ball, place in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with Saran wrap or a clean towel. Place in a warm area of your kitchen to rise for about 1- 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
   
6. Empty the dough onto a clean surface and push out any air bubbles with your hands.
   
7. Divide the dough into 12 equal parts, using a scale if possible. Form each section into a ball using a circular motion with your hands.
   

   

8. Arrange the dough balls in a 3×4 grid on a lightly greased baking sheet, with a small amount of space in between each. Cover in Saran wrap once more and let rise for another 30-60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
   
9. Preheat the oven to 390ºF.

Hot Cross Bun Paste

1. In a small bowl, mix together the flour and water to create the hot cross bun paste. Add the mixture to a Ziploc bag and cut a small tip off the end (or use a pastry bag).
   
2. Once the dough has doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap. Pipe small crosses onto each bun using your pastry bag of flour paste.
   

   

3. Let the rolls bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating once halfway through.

Glaze Away

1. In a small bowl, mix together two tablespoons of apricot jam and 1 tablespoon of water. Warm in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir with a fork.
   
2. As soon as the buns are out of the oven, brush each bun with the apricot glaze and let cool on a wire rack.
   

   

Serve your vegan hot cross buns with your favorite vegan butter, and enjoy!