Easter Hot Cross Buns Dairy & Egg Free

Hot cross buns are a beautiful tradition for Easter.

Cinnamon rolls for Christmas, hot cross buns for Good Friday.

Our family loves both.

Even with milk allergy and our former egg allergy, we found a way to make these a tradition for our family.

And we pray this recipe blesses your family, as well.

You can make these with both milk and egg or follow our instructions for dairy-free, egg-free or both.

Let's get started.

HOW TO MAKE HOT CROSS BUNS THE NIGHT BEFORE

Since tradition is to eat these on Good Friday morning...

and I'm not much of a morning person...

I prefer to make up the dough for hot cross buns on Thursday night.

After the first raise of the dough, I then form the dough into two dozen buns as directed below.

But instead of baking them Thursday night, I cover them in the baking dishes with plastic wrap.

Then I place them in the refrigerator overnight.

When I wake in the morning, I pull the buns out of the refrigerator and let them come completely to room temperature.

They will have raised overnight or while coming to room temp on your counter.

I give them about 2 hours to sit out the next morning before baking.

Then I proceed with baking at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes and then add the icing.

More directions below.

Or if you're home to make these on Good Friday, these make a good afternoon treat with tea, too.

HOW TO PROOF YEAST

When I make yeast breads, my trick is to heat the milk or water in the microwave to luke warm bath water temperature.

You know, the temperature of bath you'd put your toddler in.

This trick has never failed me, and it's a great way to determine the best temperature for proofing yeast if you don't have a thermometer.

If you do have a thermometer, you can make it easy on yourself. Shoot for 110 degrees for proofing yeast.

HOW TO PLUMP RAISINS

Place 1 cup raisins in a bowl.

Boil one cup of water.

Pour boiling water over the raisins and let sit 10-15 minutes.

Longer is not better as the raisins can only expand so far.

See the hot cross bun recipe below.

HOT CROSS BUNS DAIRY-FREE

Makes about 2 dozen.

HOT CROSS BUN INGREDIENTS

¾ cup dairy-free milk (warm)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 and ¼ teaspoon yeast (or one envelope)
2 eggs or flax eggs
5 tablespoons unsalted dairy-free butter
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and ½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon clove
1 cup raisins (plumped)
3 and ½ cups flour

HOT CROSS BUNS ICING

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon dairy-free milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

HOW TO MAKE HOT CROSS BUNS

Prep Work

BUTTER: Get butter to room temp by setting out 5 tbs. unsalted butter on the counter.

RAISINS: Plump raisins ahead of time in a bowl by soaking 1 c. raisins in 1 c. hot boiled water for 10 minutes.

EGGS: Make 2 flax eggs (2 tbs. ground flax + 6 tbs. warm water) and let sit 5 minutes. Or set out 2 eggs to room temp.

YEAST: Stir ¾ c. milk and 1 tsp. sugar together in a measuring cup. Heat the milk and sugar mixture to 110 degrees, luke warm to the touch. Stir 2 and ¼ tsp. yeast into the milk and let sit 10 minutes.

Making The Dough

Cream together 5 tbs. dairy-free room temp butter and ½ cup brown sugar in an electric mixer.

Mix in the milk mixture.

Mix in the spices: 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. vanilla, 1 & ½ tsp. cinnamon, ¼ tsp. nutmeg, ¼ tsp. cloves

Mix in 2 flax egg or actual eggs.

Slowly mix in 1 c. of the flour and 1 c. plump raisins, drained.

If using mixer, use dough hook attachment to add 2 and ¼ cups more flour until dough clings to the hook. Otherwise, add in this flour by hand.

Next, hand knead dough on a clean surface covered in remaining ¼ cup flour. Work in the flour until the dough is elastic, smooth, and tacky (STICKY to the finger, but not STICKING to the finger).

Move the kneaded dough to a small clean bowl, greased with dairy-free butter.

Turn the dough over so all sides are covered in butter.

Let kneaded dough rest in the bowl in a warm place, covered with a clean towel, for 1-2 hours, until double in size.

Making The Buns

Once the dough is doubled in size, punch it down to let the air out.

Then cut the dough into 24 even pieces.

Form each piece into a round ball, pinching the seams together at the bottom, keeping the tops smooth for cutting your crosses.

Place each piece into a 9x13" greased baking pan.

If you don't want to eat the buns until the next morning, cover the pans with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Next morning, pull them out and bring to complete room temperature before going to the next step.

Cover with a clean towel and let rise a second time for an hour or until puffy.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut a cross in the top of each bun using a very sharp knife. No need to cut deeply, just about ⅛ - ¼ inch.

Place buns in the hot oven for 20-25 minutes, turning the pan around halfway through baking.

Remove from oven when golden brown on top.

Let the buns sit a few minutes while you prepare the icing.

Icing the Hot Cross Buns

In a small bowl, whisk 1 cup powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon dairy-free milk.

Whisk in ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract.

If the icing is too thick, add ¼ tsp. of dairy-free milk at a time until you reach desired thickness.

Once the buns have cooled enough not to melt the icing, use a small spoon to place a cross using the icing on each bun...over the crosses you cut in with a knife.

Enjoying Your Hot Cross Buns

Once the buns have icing, enjoy them warm.

Save any extras by placing in an airtight baggy.

Store at room temperature for a couple days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.

You can enjoy them later cold or reheat for 10 seconds in the microwave.

Hope you enjoy these dairy-free Easter hot cross buns as much as we do. Let us know if you make them!