Sourdough Hot Cross Bun Recipe For A Healthy Gut

Hot cross buns are a staple for Easter celebrations on good Friday! Slightly toasted with a little butter and you're good to go. The question is, do you want a healthier alternative that's both tasty and good for your gut?

Let us introduce you to our Sourdough hot cross bun recipe! It's really not a difficult recipe, and whilst it may take a little bit of time, we guarantee it'll be worth it in the end.

These spicy, tangy, and tasty buns are a treat for both your tongue and gut. With the fermentation process of the sourdough, you'll get a number of probiotic benefits to your digestive system that will keep your tummy feeling great throughout Easter.

Before we begin: A note on time

Before you begin baking it's important to note this recipe will take about 2 days before it's ready to eat. The process of preparing and baking isn't too difficult, it just takes some time for the levain culture to activate and the bread to rise.

To begin with, you're going to need some activated levain or sourdough starter at hand. Levain takes about 24 hours before it's ready to use.

Onto the mixing, once you've kneaded your dough you will need to wait around 24 hours or so before it's risen enough to begin baking. Again, it isn't very difficult, it will just take some time to ensure you're getting all the good flavours and benefits into the sourdough hot cross buns.

Activating your sourdough levain

As we said, begin by activating your sourdough levain 2 days in advance before being ready to bake. Don't worry, this is fairly simple and quick. Plus, once you start a levain culture, you can keep it going and get a lot more use out of it, and not need to wait for it to be ready.

What you need

500ml mason jar
Cotton fermenting jar cover
Measuring jug
String

OR a complete sourdough making kit

Ingredients

5g Pure Parisian Sourdough Levain
200ml lukewarm filtered water
200g Kialla ACO Unbleached Organic Plain Flour
3g Himalayan salt

Instructions

Add 200ml of the filtered water to mason jar
Pour in levain powder and mix well until it dissolves
Add salt and flour, mixing until it holds a consistent texture
Cover jar with cloth, and use a short piece of string to tie it on loosely
Place in a dry location out of direct sunlight for 16-24 hour
Now you have an active sourdough starter ready for baking!

The sourdough hot cross bun recipe

Now onto the mixing and baking. This will take around 12 hours before you can begin baking, so plan accordingly! Trust us, it'll be worth it and your Good Friday will be all the better for it.

What you need

Mixing bowls
Measuring jug
Wooden spoon
Baking tray
Piping bag
Parchment paper
Clean cotton cloth or tea towel
Baking brush

Ingredients

Bun mixture

500g Kialla ACO Unbleached Organic Plain Flour
100ml activated sourdough levain
1 tsp orange zest
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground clove
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground coriander seed
60g caster sugar
1 tsp Himalayan salt
1 egg
50g butter, slightly melted
125g sultanas or dried fruit of choice
200ml lukewarm filtered water
Vegetable oil

Cross mixture

50g plain flour
Filtered room temperature water

Glaze mixture

2 tbsp natural apricot jam
Filtered warm water

Instructions

Let's begin by making the dough. In a large mixing bowl pour flour, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground clove, ground ginger, orange zest, ground coriander seed, caster sugar, Himalayan salt, softened butter and sultanas (or dried fruit). You can use your fingers to mix it all together until consistent.
Shape to make a well in the centre
Lightly beat the egg in a bowl and pour it into the well
Pour in activated levain, and a majority of the water. Mix with a wooden spoon until it becomes sticky, slowly pouring in the remaining water if needed. As an indicator, it should lump together, and leave a sticky mess on the spoon.
Pour mixture onto a large flat surface, preferably a large wooden cutting board and knead gently until smooth and elastic. You can line the countertop with parchment paper if you need to (pop it in the fridge for about 5 mins if it's sticking to the paper too much).
Once kneaded, place in a large bowl lined with vegetable oil, cover with a cloth and leave in a room-temperate place out of direct sunlight for 12 hours.
The dough should have risen, looking swollen and smooth in the bowl. Pour it out again and lightly knead once again.
Divide dough into 8-10 equally sized balls and place them on a tray lined with parchment paper. Give each ball about 2-3 cm of room to expand. Cover with a tea towel. Use something to prop the cloth up so it doesn't go in the dough if needed.
Time to wait again, give it 12 hours to rise even more. The bun dough balls should have risen to double their size.
Preheat oven to 190℃
Now let's make the mixture for the crosses. Pour flour into a bowl and sit in water until it becomes a paste. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag.
Pipe crosses onto the buns.
Baking time! Pop the tray with the buns into the oven for 20-25 mins.
Whilst they're baking it's time to prepare the glaze. Combine water and apricot jam in a small bowl.
Once baked, the buns should look a little more risen and golden.
Transfer the buns to a rack and let them cool.
While they're still hot, brush the glaze over the buns.
After 20 minutes they're ready to eat warm!