Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns

I LOVE Hot Cross Buns and I didn't want to be deprived of that tasty Easter Treat. So I set off on a mission to make some GF ones. There are numerous recipes on the Internet BUT nearly all the ones I have found were with store bought flour mixes and I didn't want to buy some since I have industrial quantities of GF flours in my own cupboard.
So I selected the recipe that I thought would be best from the Healtheries website: http://www.healtheries.co.nz/healthy-and-gluten-free-recipes/gluten-and-wheat-free-recipes/breads/gluten-free-hot-cross-buns and tried it out with my own bread flour mix. I actually had a first try on Sunday last week with the bread flour mix I used to make the bread recipe I sent a week ago (http://thebakingfrog.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/best-gluten-free-bread-i-have-tasted-so.html). This didn't quite work as planned. The buns were very dry despite not overcooking them and they got stuck to the pan (could have been my fault I didn't oil them).
So this week, I racked my brains (and that asks for a lot of effort) and thought that a very similar treat to the Hot Cross Buns are Cinnamon Buns. I looked up some recipes and chose a bread flour mix that I thought would be tasty and easy to mix at a later time of the day when things are a bit more hectic with Monkey's dinner, bath and bed routine.

So here is the whole recipe:
For the buns
Dried ingredients:
3 tsp of yeast
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup of toasted red rice flour
1 1/2 cup of tapioca starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 tsp of baking powder
4 tsp of xanthan gun
1 tsp of salt
2 tsp of ground cinnamon
2 tsp of mixed spices (or 1 tsp of all spices and 1/2 cinnamon plus 1/2 nutmeg, I actually didn't have any mixed spices so I made up that mix)


Wet ingredients:
1 3/4 cup of warm milk
4 Tbsp of coconut oil
2 cups of sultanas ( I swapped for dried apricots and dried cranberries)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of sugar

For the crosses:
2 tbsp of rice flour
Enough water to make a paste. I used 8 Tbspns.

For the glaze: ( I used the one from the Edmond's cookbook)
1 Tbsp of sugar
1 tsp of gelatine
1 tbsp of boiling water

To make the buns
Place the yeast, milk and sugar in a mixing bowl. Mix to dissolved the sugar. Set aside for about 10 minutes.

Mix the flours, spices and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer with the dough hook. Use your finger tips to mix rub the butter or coconut oil.

Add the dried fruit, eggs and the yeast mixture. Beat for 7 minutes.

Using a 1/3 measuring cup, scoop the mixture into generous mounds on a greased 30x20cm lamington pan, making 3 rows of 4 mounds each. Allow space for the dough to rise.
Note: I used a small ice cream spoon because I wanted mini hot Cross Buns (I feel less guilty after I ate half the pan... ).
Leave in a warm place to rise for about 45 minutes.

Make the crosses:
Mix the flour and water into a paste. Place the paste into a ziplock bag and cut the corner. Before baking the buns in the oven, pipe the crosses.

Preheat the oven to 200 Degree C fan forced.

Once the dough has doubled in size, bake in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Make the glaze towards the end of the baking time by mixing all the ingredients and stirring until both the gelatine and sugar have completely disappeared.

As soon as you take the buns out of the oven, brush them with the glaze. Leave them to cool enough to handle and place them on a wire rack to fully cool.

Happy baking everyone :)... and Happy Easter :)