Keto Hot Cross Buns

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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.

Picking up a hot cross bun from a baking pan.

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
Ingredients
Instructions
Recipe FAQs
Variations
Serving Suggestion
Storage
Related Recipes
Recipe

🌟 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

Yeast mixture bubbling and frothing in a bowl.

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.

Blending eggs and other wet ingredients in a food processor bowl.

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.

Adding almond flour to the egg mixture in a food processor bowl.

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 ⅓ more.

Recipe FAQs

What does the inulin do?

Inulin activates the yeast. Yeast needs to feed on sugar (carbs) to help the dough rise.

Can I use sweetener instead of inulin?

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.

How can I make this recipe nut free?

I normally recommend to use ⅓ 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.