Spelt, orange and date hot cross buns

I am still undecided if I really have a thing for spelt or whether I just use it because we have it…. Either way, I figure it has less gluten making it a little easier on the digestion, so it’s a win!

As baked goods go, these buns are really not too bad for you. With only a little added sugar via the maple syrup, and the spelt flour, well they’re positively healthy! (Ssshhhhh I won’t tell if you won’t)

See that butter in the pic above? Well it’s an amazing homemade vanilla cultured butter popped in one of our cute mason jars. You can get the butter recipe here. One tip I will give you is to chill the cultured milk before whipping.

Spelt, orange and date hot cross buns

1 cup milk, warmed

1 tablespoon active dried yeast

1 teaspoon maple syrup

4 cups white spelt flour + extra for dusting

1 1/2 cups chopped pitted dates (fresh or dried is fine)

1/2 cup currants

2 teaspoons mixed spice

2 tablespoons finely grated orange rind

100g butter or coconut oil, melted

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons maple syrup, extra

for brushing and topping

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon water

1/4 cup white spelt flour

1/4 cup cold water

Combine the warm milk, yeast and maple syrup in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes or until foamy.

Place the flour, dates, currants, mixed spice and orange rind in the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a dough hook. Mix until well combined.

Add the yeast mixture, butter (or coconut oil), eggs and extra maple syrup. Beat with the dough hook for 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. It will be a sticky dough. If you don’t have a mixer, you can knead the dough for 10 minutes on a floured surface.

Scrape the dough into a large, lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for a minute or two.  Divide into 16 pieces and shape into buns. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Place the buns on the tray, leaving a little room in between for spreading. Cover with a tea towel and place in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 180°C (conventional). Combine the maple syrup and water (from brushing and topping). Brush the buns with half of this mixture.

Combine the flour and cold water (from brushing and topping) to make a paste. Spoon into a small snaplock bag and snip the corner to create a piping bag. You could obviously use a piping bag if you have one. Pipe o’s and x’s (or just the traditional crosses) onto your buns. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Brush with remaining maple water mixture. Enjoy!!

Makes 18

oOo If not serving straight away, I suggest splitting and toasting the buns before eating.

oOo If you want to have these in the morning, you can start them the day before. Once the dough has doubled in size for the first time, refrigerate overnight. Pull the dough out early and bring back to room temperature before shaping into buns and proving again.

oOo If you do make the homemade butter, it will last for 2-3 weeks in the fridge.