The hot cross bun bakeoff

Our Easter tradition is that on Easter Friday we make hot cross buns. I bake bread most days so it is fairly straightforward. However, this year two of my babies have been diagnosed with coeliacs/gluten intolerance and I thought I should find a gluten free recipe for the three of us. I haven't eaten a hot cross bun for ten years so I was feeling motivated about the challenge (challenge being that successful gf bread is not an easy feat to master!).

I did a google search and found this blog from Australia:
Adventurous me, gluten free
and this great NZ blog:
Coeliac diagnosis – Gluten Free OMG!

The recipe involved lots of messy, time consuming hand mixing. That's what happens when you take binding wheat flour out of the recipe - you basically get sticky gloop. We added raisins and diced apricot for fruit. I was pretty optimistic at the half way stage of the process....

 These are the buns prior to rising and baking.....

and the end result! 

I wish! Those are the perfect gluten/wheat flour ones

and these are the gf ones that look a little sad. 

I think I added too much rice flour when I was shaping them!

The proof they say is in the eating....not bad at all surprisingly :)

I would love the Masterchef contestants to be challenged with a gf segment!

Jack (my biggest fan in the world) said they were the best hot cross buns EVER. 

But he was eating the non gf one.

 Another tradition on Easter Friday is to decorate with my old rabbit collection and flowers. There has been a lot of discussion on what day the chocolate should be eaten and why that can't possibly be brought forward a day or two. Too tempting - I wonder if they will still be sitting there on Sunday!