1/2 cup vegan butter or margarine, room temperature
Flour piped cross:
1/2 cup all-purpose or bread flour
1/2 cup water
Hot cross bun bread wash:
1 1/2 tbsp melted vegan butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
11/2 tsp ground cinnamon
extra chocolate chips
Method
Measure and weigh out all ingredients before beginning.
Heat the coconut milk to lukewarm, then, stir in the 2 tbsp of the brown sugar with 1 tsp of flour.
Add the yeast stir with a wooden spoon and cover. Place the bowl in a warm area to activate for 10-12 minutes.
Add the remaining flour, plus the remaining brown sugar, cacao powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chocolate chips to a large bowl.
Gently mix the ingredients for a minute, and use your hand to knead the dough until it comes together, the dough will look shaggy. (here you can make use of a stand mixer with a dough hook)
Then, add in the room temperature vegan butter, and mix until the butter is incorporated into the dough, knead until you have a smooth dough.
Place the dough ball into a large greased bowl, and cover with a clean dish towel.
Place the bowl in a warm area. Proof the bread until it’s doubled in size, about an hour.
While the dough is rising, you can grease a medium baking dish with cooking oil, or leftover vegan butter.
Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down lightly and gently pull the dough from the bowl onto a floured surface. Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, to divide the dough into 12-16 even pieces.
To form round rolls, gently roll a dough ball in between your palms. Then pinch the bottom of the dinner roll together to create a more round top, and place the buns in the baking dish when done.
Cover the dinner rolls with a thin clean dish towel place in a warm area and let them double in size again. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
For the cross topping: Mix the flour and water in a small bowl. If you find the mixture is too runny to be piped, stir in another tablespoon or two of flour.
Spoon the mixture into a piping bag or ziplock bag, and snip the end of the piping bag. Pipe one long line over a row of rolls, and repeat until every bun has a cross on it.
Once the oven is preheated, place the vegan hot cross buns into the oven to bake for 23-28 minutes until golden.
Glaze: Mix the tablespoon of melted vegan butter, golden syrup, and cinnamon, for the bread wash. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the mixture over the tops of the rolls. Add a few more chocolate chips on top. Allow them to cool slightly, and serve warm with vegan butter.
Store any leftover rolls in an airtight container or freeze.
