Low-Carb Yeast Hot Cross Buns

Easter just wouldn’t be Easter without hot crossed buns! After seeing Martina’s recipe for keto yeast bread, I knew I needed to try yeasted hot cross buns this year, and I was so glad I did, these turned out incredibly and got rave reviews from everyone who tried them.

I made a few slight adjustments to Martina’s recipe – she uses defatted sesame flour but I couldn’t find this so I’ve used almond meal and reduce the water and eggs accordingly. If you wish to make any other substitutions, I suggest heading over to Martina’s recipe as she has a bunch of ideas on swaps, as well as other tips and suggestions there.

Hot cross buns are usually full of sultanas which I’ve never been a fan of, so I’ve made these with chocolate chunks instead. If you prefer though, you could omit these and just keep the buns plain. The spices and the icing cross work to keep these buns tasting like the traditional version, so you don’t even need anything extra in them.

Even if a batch of ten is too much for you, these low-carb hot cross buns can be frozen for up to 3 months. You can then let them defrost at room temperature or briefly reheat in the oven and served plain, with butter or you can even try some of our sugar-free berry jams!

Step-by-step

1. Turn the light on in the oven so that it starts to warm (only the light). The temperature should be about 40 °C/ 100 °F, but no more than 45 °C/ 110 °F. If you don't have this option on your oven, preheat the oven to the lowest setting (mine is 50 °C/ 120 °F).

2. Pour ³/₄ cup of the warm water into a bowl. Add the sugar and stir until fully dissolved. Sprinkle with active dry yeast (or use 30 g/ 1.1 oz fresh yeast).

3. Open the oven for about 30 seconds to cool down slightly before placing the yeast inside and close the door. The light will be enough to keep the bowl warm. Allow to proof for around 10 minutes. When ready, the yeast will be frothy and will have grown in volume.

   

4. While the yeast is proofing, place all of the remaining dry ingredients in another bowl. Mix to combine or use a hand mixer to process well. If you want to add chocolate chunks or any other add ins, add these in now as well. You can even add some of my Sugar-Free Cranberry Raisins!

   

5. Once the yeast has proofed, remove the bowl from the warm oven. Keep the light in the oven on.

6. Add the egg whites and yolks to a large bowl with the vinegar and warm water. Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer and process until well combined. Add the yeast mixture and continue mixing until combined.

   

7. Add the dried mixture, about ¹/₂ cup at a time and process well. Gradually add more until you use all of it.

8. Lightly wet your hands and form the dough into evenly sized balls (around 8 – 10). Place on a lined baking tray, and place in the oven and let proof with the oven light on to 60 minutes or until doubled in size. Once the dough has proofed, remove from the oven.

   

9. Preheat the oven to 195 °C/ 380 °F (conventional), or 175 °C/ 350 °F (fan assisted). Whisk the remaining egg yolk with about 2 teaspoons of water. Gently brush on top of the bread without pressing too much (do not deflate the bread).

10. Bake for 15 minutes, then check, and if too brown by this stage, cover with foil. Bake for a further 10-15 minutes.

    

11. Once baked, remove from the oven and let cool on the pan 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

12. Make the icing by mixing the powdered sweetener with the water to form a paste. You want the paste quite thick, but if too thick thin with an extra teaspoon of water. Pipe onto the buns in a cross. Allow to set.

    

13. Once completely cool, slice in half and serve with warm butter and/or low-carb chia jam. Store at room temperature in a sealed container for up to 3 days. To store for longer, freeze for up to 3 months.

    

Recipe

Low-Carb Yeast Hot Cross Buns

★★★★★4.5 (21 ratings)

Easter just wouldn’t be Easter without these keto yeast hot crossed buns! Make them plain with cinnamon and ...

Hands on

20m

Overall

2h 15m

Servings

10

3.9 g

Net carbs

11 g

Protein

14.7 g

Fat

207

kcal

1 serving2 servings3 servings4 servings5 servings6 servings7 servings8 servings9 servings10 servings11 servings12 servings20 servings30 servings40 servings

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Ingredients makes 10 servings

• Yeast starter ingredients:
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast (10 g/ 0.4 oz) or 30 g fresh yeast (1.1 oz)
• 1 tbsp sugar or yacon syrup (note: this won't affect the carb count)
• ³/₄ cup warm water (180 ml/ 6 fl oz)
• Dry ingredients:
• 1 ³/₄ cups almond flour (175 g/ 6.2 oz)
• ¹/₂ cup packed flax meal (75 g/ 2.7 oz)
• ¹/₂ cup coconut flour (60 g/ 2.1 oz)
• ¹/₄ cup unflavoured whey protein powder or egg white protein powder (25 g/ 0.9 oz)
• 6 tbsp whole psyllium husks, powdered (24 g/ 0.9 oz) - will make 3 tbsp psyllium husk powder
• ¹/₄ cup granulated Erythritol or Swerve (50 g/ 1.8 oz), or to taste
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• ¹/₂ tsp baking soda
• ¹/₂ tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¹/₄ tsp ground ginger spice
• ¹/₄ tsp ground nutmeg
• Optional: ¹/₂ cup chopped 90% dark chocolate or chocolate chips (90 g/ 3.2 oz) or ¹/₂ cup Sugar-Free Cranberry Raisins (58 g/ 2 oz)
• Wet ingredients:
• 4 large egg white, at room temperature
• 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (30 ml)
• 200 ml warm water (6.8 fl oz)
• Glaze:
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tsp water
• Icing:
• ¹/₂ cup powdered Erythritol or Swerve (80 g/ 2.8 oz)
• 2-3 tsp water

Instructions

1. Turn the light on in the oven so that it starts to warm (only the light). The temperature should be about 40 °C/ 100 °F, but no more than 45 °C/ 110 °F. If you don't have this option on your oven, preheat the oven to the lowest setting (mine is 50 °C/ 120 °F).

2. Pour ³/₄ cup of the warm water into a bowl. Add the sugar and stir until fully dissolved. Sprinkle with active dry yeast (or use 30 g/ 1.1 oz fresh yeast).

3. Open the oven for about 30 seconds to cool down slightly before placing the yeast inside and close the door. The light will be enough to keep the bowl warm. Allow to proof for around 10 minutes. When ready, the yeast will be frothy and will have grown in volume.

4. While the yeast is proofing, place all of the remaining dry ingredients in another bowl. Mix to combine or use a hand mixer to process well. If you want to add chocolate chunks or any other add ins, add these in now as well. You can even add some of my Sugar-Free Cranberry Raisins!

5. Once the yeast has proofed, remove the bowl from the warm oven. Keep the light in the oven on.

6. Add the egg whites and yolks to a large bowl with the vinegar and warm water. Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer and process until well combined. Add the yeast mixture and continue mixing until combined.

7. Add the dried mixture, about ¹/₂ cup at a time and process well. Gradually add more until you use all of it.

8. Lightly wet your hands and form the dough into evenly sized balls (around 8 – 10). Place on a lined baking tray, and place in the oven and let proof with the oven light on to 60 minutes or until doubled in size. Once the dough has proofed, remove from the oven.

9. Preheat the oven to 195 °C/ 380 °F (conventional), or 175 °C/ 350 °F (fan assisted). Whisk the remaining egg yolk with about 2 teaspoons of water. Gently brush on top of the bread without pressing too much (do not deflate the bread).

10. Bake for 15 minutes, then check, and if too brown by this stage, cover with foil. Bake for a further 10-15 minutes.

11. Once baked, remove from the oven and let cool on the pan 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

12. Make the icing by mixing the powdered sweetener with the water to form a paste. You want the paste quite thick, but if too thick thin with an extra teaspoon of water. Pipe onto the buns in a cross. Allow to set.

13. Once completely cool, slice in half and serve with warm butter and/or low-carb chia jam. Store at room temperature in a sealed container for up to 3 days. To store for longer, freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition per serving, 1 bun

Carbs 8%Protein 23%Fat 69% of calories

Net carbs

3.9 g

Total carbs

23.2 g

Fiber

7 g

Sugars

2.1 g

Protein

11 g

Fat

14.7 g

Saturated fat

2.3 g

Calories

207 kcal

Sodium

216 mg · 9.41% RDA

Magnesium

83 mg · 20.9% RDA

Potassium

301 mg · 15% EMR

Nutrition by ingredient

Per 1 bun	Net carbs	Protein	Fat	kcal
Yeast, active dry yeast	0.2 g	0.5 g	0 g	4
Yacon syrup - used with yeast	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Water, still	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Almond flour (blanched ground almonds, almond meal)	1.5 g	3.7 g	9.2 g	103
Flax meal (flaxmeal), ground flaxseed	0.1 g	1.4 g	3.2 g	40
Coconut flour, organic	0.6 g	1 g	0.9 g	22
Whey protein powder (protein isolate, Jay Robb)	0.1 g	2 g	0 g	8
Psyllium husks, whole	0.2 g	0.1 g	0 g	1
Erythritol (natural low-carb sweetener)	0.3 g	0 g	0 g	1
Cream of tartar, raising agent	0.1 g	0 g	0 g	0
Baking soda, raising agent (bicarbonate of soda)	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Salt, sea salt	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Cinnamon, spices	0.1 g	0 g	0 g	1
Spices, ginger, ground	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Nutmeg, spices	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Egg white, fresh	0.1 g	1.4 g	0 g	7
Egg, yolk, raw, fresh	0.1 g	0.5 g	0.9 g	11
Apple cider vinegar	0 g	0 g	0 g	1
Water, still	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Egg yolk, fresh	0.1 g	0.3 g	0.5 g	5
Water, still	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Erythritol (natural low-carb sweetener)	0.4 g	0 g	0 g	2
Water, still	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Total	3.9 g	11 g	14.7 g	207

Serving size 1 bun

• Gluten free
• Dairy free
• Nightshade free
• Pork free
• Avocado free
• Fish free
• Shellfish free
• Beef free
• Pescatarian
• Vegetarian