Easter At Home: HOT CROSS BUNS

My second offering for the Easter at home series is to try making these traditional sweet Easter buns – my version is not as sweet as the store-bought ones - I love to add extra peel and citrus zest but you can omit these if you wish. Gluten free of course!
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You will need:
1 cup warm milk (any kind will do)
1/2 cup rice sourdough starter OR extra 1/4 cup milk 
1 1/2 tsp natural dried yeast 
2 tablespoons sugar/ honey
2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter 
2 whole eggs
1/3 cup psyllium husks 
1/2 rice flour 
1/2 cup buckwheat flour 
1/2 cup arrowroot/tapioca starch 
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 
1/2 tsp ground ginger 
3/4 cups soaked dried fruit of your choosing.
zest and juice of 1 orange + 1 lemon

Method:
Whisk all of the above in a large bowl. Next add your flours, spices and fruit: 
Stir to combine - don’t over mix as this will compact the flours: it should look like a wet dough - the consistency of thick, lumpy soup. Cover bowl with a clean tea towel and let it rest for 30 minutes. When you come back to it the mixture should see former and more dough like. The psyllium husks help absorb the moisture without making it too dry. If it’s still “sloppy” add an extra 1/4 cup each of the flours mentioned above. 

Now, grease your hands with olive oil and scoop out a big heaped tablespoon of dough at a time - the oil on your hands will stop the dough sticking. Place balls close to each over on a baking tray lined with paper or dusted with GF flour. Once all the dough has been shaped into buns - cover them with a tea towel and let them sit to rise in a warm place.

Next make your crosses by mixing together:
4 tablespoons plain GF flour (or 2 tablespoons each of rice flour and tapioca starch)
2 teaspoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons water

Whisk together in a small bowl or jug. It should be a thin paste consistency. Add more flour or water as needed to achieve this. Scoop paste into a piping bag or a plastic zip lock bag (which you can easily snip the corner off). Pipe crosses onto each bun. 

Bake buns in a hot oven at 190-200’c for 15-25 minutes depending on the size of your buns. They should look golden in colour when baked. While the buns are hot - brush them with warmed marmalade/apricot jam or honey over the buns. You need about 3 tablespoons of jam for the lot - I find this is a wonderful way to use up the jam or marmalade nobody seems to be eating. These buns are best enjoyed warm! Eat then within 3 days or slice up and freeze for another time.

​Hot cross buns.
Hot cross buns.
One a penny, two a penny.
Hot cross buns.
Give them to your daughters.
Give them to your sons.
One a penny, two a penny.
Hot cross buns.