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What can I add to make my gluten free buns a decent size. I have tried for years. There has to be something to lift them and make them to the same size as our regular hot cross buns

merilyn
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  • Hmmm, do they seem as light as the regular buns? – Jolenealaska Apr 12 '14 at 08:17
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    America's Test Kitchen just put out a [gluten free cookbook](http://www.amazon.com/The-How-Gluten-Free-Cookbook/dp/1936493616/), which had some in depth explanations of the advantages of different gluten free flour replacements. Of course, I gave my copy to a co-worker who's gluten free, so can't look anything up right now. – Joe Apr 12 '14 at 22:41
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    Is there a base recipe that you are working from on which we could offer guidance about modifications? – Didgeridrew Apr 14 '14 at 03:44
  • As far as I know, yeast is gluten-free. Do you add enough and/or let the dough rise enough? – Mien Apr 18 '14 at 15:27
  • possible duplicate of [Having trouble getting gluten free bread to rise](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/28140/having-trouble-getting-gluten-free-bread-to-rise) – BaffledCook Apr 29 '14 at 20:24
  • "There has to be something to lift them and make them to the same size as our regular": No, there doesn't have to be such a thing. The structure of yeast bread is basically built out of gluten. Substitutes do not have the same physical properties, and while they allow some rising to happen, it is unlikely that any of them is as well suited to the task as the one substance which has been the undisputed champion for the last millenia: gluten. I understand that not everybody can eat it, but sometimes you just have to accept that there isn't a perfect substitute. – rumtscho May 12 '14 at 20:36

1 Answers1

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Hot cross buns are a yeast bread, and without developed gluten most of the air produced by the yeast will escape from the dough. Without developed gluten you won't get the same lift, and your texture will be much more crumbly.

The typical solution to this is to add xanthan or guar gum to your dough, this will act as a gluten substitute and help trap air and improve texture. Both are readily available in many countries. You can also add both at the same time.

Suggested amounts for bread are: Xanthan Gum - 1-2tsp per US cup of flour (about 125g depending on the type of flour) Guar Gum - 1 1/2 tsp - 1tbsp per US cup

It depends on how stretchy you want your dough to be. Hot cross buns tends to be pretty stretchy, so if it were me I'd add 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 tsp per cup of flour and see how you go. Let us know how it goes!

GdD
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