These Keto hot cross buns are pillowy, soft and fluffy. Made with almond flour, these yeast rolls are grain free and gluten-free. Perfect for Easter breakfast.
I have been dreaming of sweet yeast rolls recently. I used to devour the "milk buns" we had at home when I was little. Later, I developed an intense love for brioche or challah.
Over the years, I've posted a range of low carb and keto bread recipes, rolls and buns. But so far, I've never tried baking with yeast.
With Easter just around the corner, I decided to test my baking skills by creating a healthy version of hot cross buns.
And I've gotta say, these handsome guys don't just look good. They taste great, too!
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🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Authentic flavor
- Soft, pillowy texture
- Naturally gluten-free and grain free
- Low carb and keto friendly - 3.9g net carbs per bun
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
Dry ingredients
- Almond flour - Use regular almond flour or ground almonds. Reduce by 2 tablespoons if using extra fine almond flour
- Whey protein powder - Unflavored. Egg white protein also works.
- Psyllium husk powder - for a fluffy texture
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Active dry yeast - check that it is fresh.
- Inulin - this is a prebiotic fiber made from chicory root. It is gently sweet. We are using it to activate the yeast.
- Powdered sweetener - Use your sweetener of choice. This could be erythritol monk fruit sweetener, xylitol or allulose.
Wet Ingredients
- Eggs - must be room temperature
- Butter - melted, then cooled
- Yogurt - I used Greek yogurt. Helps with a better rise.
- Water - lukewarm
- Prunes - diced
For the Crosses
- Coconut flour
- Water
- Xanthan gum - You need it to bind the water. I tried using only coconut flour and water first, but the mix separated when I tried piping it. Guar gum could be an alternative.
Instructions
This section contains step-by-step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
1.) Proof the yeast by mixing it with warm water and inulin. Cover your bowl with a dish cloth and place it somewhere warm and not draughty. It should froth up and thicken. If it doesn't, start again with a new batch.
2.) Crack 2 large eggs and 2 egg whites into a food processor or large mixing bowl. Add melted, warm butter and your water/yeast mixture. Blend until fluffy and frothy.
3.) Mix all your dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Option to also add a pinch of salt. Blend with the egg mixture, together with the yoghurt.
4.) Now, fold in the diced prunes.
5.) Lightly wet your hands (the dough is VERY sticky) and form 10 buns. Place them in a baking tray lined with parchment paper. I used a pie/tart dish. Leave a little space around each roll as they will expand in size.
Cover again with a kitchen towel and put back in your warm place for 50-60 minutes.
6.) Now let's get onto those all-important crosses! I decided to use coconut flour as it's so nice and white and mixed it with water and xanthan gum to form a paste. Fill into a small ziplock bag and snip off one corner. Pipe the mix over the buns.
7.) Bake in the oven until golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
After you remove the hot cross buns from the oven, let them cool down a little to allow the texture to strengthen and improve.
Top Tip
The correct temperature for the ingredients is key. Yeast likes it warm. If it is exposed to cold or hot temperatures it simply dies and the buns won't rise.
The buns you see in the images are still slightly smaller than they should be because I was impatient and did not wait until my eggs were completely room temperature.
I have since made Keto bread rolls using the same basic recipe and they rose about โ more.
Recipe FAQs
Inulin activates the yeast. Yeast needs to feed on sugar (carbs) to help the dough rise.
No you can't, because low carb sweetener is zero carb. But you could use honey, maple syrup or even sugar. Since the yeast feeds on it, in theory there won't be any sugar left once you put your buns in the oven.
I normally recommend to use โ the amount of coconut flour in place of the almond flour. Coconut flour absorbs more liquid, that's why you need less of it. I'll be honest with you though. I haven't tried this myself and as this recipe is a bit lengthy I don't want anyone being disappointed. Please try at your own risk and let us know if it was a success.
Variations
Change the spices: Crushed cardamom seeds, ginger, nutmeg or allspice would all be delicious here.
Add-ins: Feel free to use raisins or currants instead of prunes. Of course, this would increase the carb count a little. Or add sugar-free chocolate chips or sugar free dried cranberries.
Dairy-free: Use egg white protein powder, coconut oil instead of butter and coconut yogurt instead of dairy yogurt.
Serving Suggestion
Keto hot cross buns taste great on their own or with lashings of butter. You could also top them with sugar free strawberry jam.
Option to toast them lightly or warm in the microwave for 10 seconds.
Storage
Store in an airtight container on the kitchen counter for up to 2 days or in the fridge for around 5 days.
Freeze for up to 3 months.
Related Recipes
Here are more keto buns and rolls to try:
- Keto Buns Recipe30 Minutes
- Black Burger Buns40 Minutes
- Pull-Apart Keto Bread Rolls35 Minutes
- Keto Cinnamon Rolls (Sugar Free, Low carb)30 Minutes
More Easter Recipes
Take a look at more ideas for a sugar free Easter.
- Sugar Free Easter Eggs (Creme Eggs)35 Minutes
- Deviled Egg Chicks35 Minutes
- Keto Marzipan (Sugar Free)5 Minutes
- Keto Egg Salad15 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Keto Hot Cross Buns
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour or ground almonds, 200g. Reduce by 2 tablespoons if using extra fine almond flour
- 3 tablespoon whey protein powder or egg white protein
- 3 tbsp psyllium husk powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- optional: zest of 1 orange or ยฝ teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 tsp inulin
- 2 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1-3 tablespoon powdered sweetener to taste, optional
Wet Ingredients
- 2 eggs, large room temperature
- 2 egg whites room temperature
- ยผ cup melted butter 50g
- scant ยผ cup greek yoghurt 50g, room temperature
- โ cup lukewarm water 80ml
- ยผ cup diced prunes 40g
For the Crosses
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 6-7 tablespoon water
- ยฝ tsp xanthan gum
Instructions
- Stir the yeast and inulin into warm water (40 Celsius / 105 Fahrenheit). Cover with a kitchen towel and leave to proof in a warm place for 5-10 minutes. It should start to bubble and thicken.
- Combine the dry ingredients (almond flour, whey protein powder, psyllium husk, baking powder, cinnamon and orange zest/powdered sweetener, if using) in a bowl and set aside.ย
- In a food processor or in a bowl using an electric mixer, whisk the ROOM TEMPERATURE eggs and egg whites, melted butter (make sure it's WARM and not HOT) and the proofed yeast mixture.
- Now add the yoghurt and the first half of the flour mix. Blend until combined. Then add the second half of the flour mix. The dough will thicken quickly.ย
- Now stir in the diced prunes.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper (I used a round pie dish). Wet your hands and form 10 dough balls. Place them in your dish, leaving space around each as the buns will rise.
- Cover again with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm space for 50-60 minutes until the buns have significantly increased in size.
- Towards the end of the 50-60 minutes, preheat the oven to 175 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit.
- Now it's time to make the mixture for the crosses. Mix the coconut flour, water and xanthan gum so you have a soft paste. Fill into a small ziplock bag, snip off one corner and pipe crosses over the buns.
- Bake 15 minutes or until the buns start to brown. Then cover loosely with aluminium foil and bake for another 7-10 minutes. Total baking time should be around 22-25 minutes.
Pauline
These hot cross buns are fabulous. I recommend including the optional orange peel and I added a teaspoon of hot cross bun spice in addition to the cinnamon. I made two batches of these for family to enjoy this past Easter and everyone loved them and I had to promise to bake them again (during non Easter). 10/10