I love the combination of caramel, coffee & milk chocolate (& probably always will), as it is coming up to Easter I thought I'd try & make some hot cross buns containing this wonderful flavour combination. 

I'm very happy with the result.  

 

This recipe was designed for use with Bakers' Magic gluten free flour, I don't know whether the recipe will give you plump soft buns if another gluten free flour is used.

 

Ingredients

Bun mix

400 g Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour

100 g Maize starch

6 tsp Psyllium husk (or psyllium powder)

2 tsp Yeast

50 g Brown sugar

 1 tsp Cinnamon

4 tsp Instant coffee

 1.5 tsp Salt

250 g Milk chocolate chips

500 g Warm water

1 Egg (at room temperature)

50 g Oil (I use rice bran oil)

Extra Oil

 

Maize starch = Cornflour from maize/corn and potato starch is sometimes labelled as potato flour. For more information go to Maize starch vs Cornflour. 

Psyllium husk - Psyllium is used to make the dough easier to handle however the downside to this is that the buns won't rise as much if too much is used. 

 

Stripe

15 g Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour

25 g Maize starch

5 g Caster sugar

40 g Water

 

Glaze

20 g Caster sugar

20 g Boiling water

 

Method

Simple instructions

1. Mix bun ingredients together apart from choc chips. 

2. Prove dough for 30 mins.

3. Beat dough down & mix in choc chips.

4. Divide dough into 12 - 15 equal portions & roll (with oil not flour). 

5. Prove buns approx. 1 hr - 1.5 hr. 

6. Add stripe.

7. Bake in oven (190 C fan forced) for 35 - 40 min. Baking time will depend on your oven & size of buns. 

8. Cool for ~ 15 mins before brushing on sugar syrup & then devouring. 

Restore flexibility & softness in day old buns (if you have any) by warming them in the microwave. 

 

More detailed instructions :)

Warm water is ~1/4 to 1/3 of boiling water with the remaining cold water (tap). Whether you use 1/4 or 1/3 will depend on how cold your tap water is. If the water is too hot it will kill the yeast.

Pre-incubate the yeast at room temperature for approximately 5 - 8 mins in the warm water containing 10 g of sugar. Stir the mixture to dissolve the sugar & disperse the yeast. This gives the yeast a readily available food source & they can "revive" in a relatively undisturbed environment. After the allocated time the surface of the yeast mixture should be slightly frothy. This indicates the yeast are viable. 

If the yeast mixture has a frothy top or you can see bubbles proceed with bread making.

Are you going to proof the dough in your oven or in another warm spot? If proofing in your oven turn oven to ~50 C for approximately 10 mins then turn it off again.

Depending on how you will bake the buns, oil the tin(s), muffin tray, slice tray etc.

Place all ingredients (excluding the choc chips) into the mixing bowl (including pre-incubated yeast) of a stand mixer. 

Combine ingredients using the flat beater until a uniform consistency is achieved. You may need to stop the mixer and scrap down the sides. This make take longer than 5 mins.

Prove dough for approximately 30 minutes in a warm moist spot.

Beat down dough and add in the chocolate chips.  

Transfer dough to a slightly oiled work surface (I use non-stick paper or my kitchen bench). Put a bit of the extra oil on your hands - it helps to keep the dough from sticking to you when you are dividing & shaping it. Divide the dough into 12 - 15 equal portions. Roll the dough in your hands & then put it onto a greased roasting dish (Base dimensions 28 x 18 cm) in a 3 x 4 or 3 x 5 configuration. 

Let the dough proof for approximately 1 hour - 1.5 hours in a warm moist environment. Turn oven on to 190 C.

Mix together the ingredients for the stripe. I use a stab blender (Bamix). Transfer mixture to a small plastic bag or piping bag fitted with a fine nozzle. If the mixture is in a plastic bag push the mixture down to one corner. Snip off a little of the corner so that the mixture can be pushed out in a thin stream.

Put stripes along the buns lengthwise & then across each pair of buns.

Before putting it in the oven ensure that the dough has risen ~2X.

Bake at 190 C for approximately 35 - 40 min. If your oven has a hot spot turn the bread halfway through baking.

Prepare the glaze by dissolving the sugar in boiling water. It may need to be stirred a little. 

Take the buns out of the oven, remove them from the tin & put them on a cooling rack. Use a pastry brush to coat the tops of the buns/loaf with the glaze. (The buns may not have been baked long enough if the buns sink in the middle after they are taken out of the oven).   

Get the butter & knife ready. Simply enjoy!