HOT CROSS BUNS IN EASTER: ORIGINS and RECIPE

 

Hot cross buns, hot cross buns!
One ha’penny, two ha’penny, hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters, give them to your sons,
One ha’penny, two ha’penny, hot cross buns!

ORIGINS:

Source: Rachel Nuwer for Smithsonian Mazagine:

Delicious hot cross buns—those doughy, raisin-studded delights—are traditionally eaten during Lent, especially in the week leading up to Easter. Marked with an icing or dough cross on top, they've been a holiday staple of some communities for centuries. (Versions of the hot cross bun even appeared in ancient Greece.) Given the baked good's long history, legends and superstitions have had ample time to develop and grow around them. Here are five favorites: 

A 12th-century monk was the first person to mark the bun with a cross.

This monk baked the buns on Good Friday, in honor of the upcoming Easter holiday, IrishCentral reports, and they soon gained popularity around England as a symbol of the holiday weekend. However, the first definite record of hot cross buns comes from a 16th and 17th century text stating: "Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs, with one or two a penny hot cross buns."

Nowadays the cross might be made of chocolate icing or cream, but, traditionally, it is made of a simple dough or just a knife imprint.

They stay fresh for a whole year.

If you hang a hot cross bun from your kitchen rafters on Good Friday, legend has it that the bread will remain fresh and mold-free throughout the entire year. This harkens back to the body of Christ, which, according to the Bible, did not show any signs of decay after his crucifixion and prior to his resurrection. The bun should be replaced each year on Good Friday. 

They expel bad spirits.

Due to the blessed cross on top, hot cross buns hung in the kitchen are supposed to protect from evil spirits. They're also said to prevent kitchen fires from breaking out, and ensure that all breads baked that year will turn out perfectly delicious. Likewise, taking hot cross buns on a voyage at sea endows the boat with some protection from shipwreck, according to legend.

And cement friendships.

Those who share a hot cross bun are supposed to enjoy a strong friendship and bond for the next year. A line from an old rhyme captures this lore, says Irish Central: "Half for you and half for me, between us two, good luck shall be." 

They're too sacred to eat any old day.

In 1592, Queen Elizabeth I decreed that hot cross buns could no longer be sold on any day except for Good Friday, Christmas or for burials. They were simply too special to be eaten any other day. To get around this, FoodTimeline explains that people baked the buns in their own kitchens—although if they were caught they had to give up all of the illegal buns on their premises to the poor.

So, now you're chance to enjoy! You can buy them or make them at home.

You can celebrate Easter with this Easy hot cross buns recipe:

Ingredients for the buns

• 500g strong white bread flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 heaped tsp mixed spice
• 50g caster sugar
• 50g butter , chopped into cubes
• 200g mixed dried fruit
• 7g sachet easy-blend dried yeast
• 200ml milk
• 2 eggs

For the crosses & glaze

• 3 tbsp plain flour
• honey or golden syrup, for brushing

Method

• STEP 1

  Tip the flour into a bowl and stir in the salt, mixed spice and sugar.

• STEP 2

  Rub in the butter with your fingertips. Stir in the dried fruit, then sprinkle over the yeast and stir in. Gently warm the milk so it is hot, but still cool enough to put your finger in for a couple of seconds. Beat with the eggs, then pour into the dried ingredients.

• STEP 3

  Using a blunt knife, mix the ingredients to a moist dough, then leave to soak for 5 mins. Take out of the bowl and cut the dough into 8 equal pieces.

• STEP 4

  Shape the dough into buns on a floured surface. Space apart on a baking sheet, cover loosely with cling film, then leave in a warm place until half again in size. This will take 45 mins-1 hr 15 mins, depending on how warm the room is.

• STEP 5

  When the buns are risen, heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Mix the flour with 2 tbsp water to make a paste. Pour into a plastic food bag and make a nick in one of the corners. Pipe crosses on top of each bun.

• STEP 6

  Bake for 12-15 mins until risen and golden. Trim the excess cross mixture from the buns , then brush all over with honey or golden syrup. The buns will keep fresh for a day. After that they are best toasted and served with butter.