Hot Cross Buns

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.

Today is Good Friday, which means it’s time to eat Hot Cross Buns. The Hot Cross bun used to be eaten in England at Easter but now it is eaten all year round because it’s so delicious. It is a sweet glazed bread bun with currants, they are quite lovely when toasted with butter.

The cross is a symbol of the crucifixion, and was said to ward off evil Spirits. In some stories, people hung the buns in their doorway. After the reformation in England, Protestants tried to ban the sale of the bun with word that the cross contained a Catholic Communion wafer! In the 1500s Queen Elizabeth 1 passed a law allowing them to be sold only at Easter and Christmas.

There has been a lot of superstition about Hot Cross Buns too, some say the buns baked and served on Good Friday will not spoil and if you save them they bring you luck. There is a family in England that hands one down from generation to generation. Not me, no moldy buns in my house. They are too good not to eat them all as they come out of the oven!

RECIPE

Ingredients 

450g/1lb strong white bread flour 

7g/½ oz dried yeast 

2 tsp ground cinnamon 

1 tsp allspice 

100g/3½oz raisins 

1 orange, zest only 

100g/3½oz sugar 

50g/1¾oz butter 

250ml/9fl oz milk 

1 free-range egg 

For the cross 

75g/2¾oz flour 

4 tsp caster sugar 

4 tbsp water 

For the glaze 

1 tbsp smooth marmalade 

1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar 

2 tbsp water 

butter, to serve 

Preparation method 

1.For the dough, sift the flour, dried yeast, cinnamon, allspice, raisins, 

orange zest and sugar into a bowl. 

2.Warm the butter and milk together in a saucepan until the butter has 

melted. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg. 

3.Fold the milk mixture into the flour mixture to form a dough. 

4.Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes, 

or until the dough is smooth and elastic. 

5.Divide the dough into 12 pieces, shape into balls and cover with a 

damp cloth. Set aside for 12 hours, or until the dough has doubled in 

size. 

6.Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. 

7.Meanwhile, for the cross, mix the flour, sugar and water together in a 

bowl and spoon into a piping bag with a plain nozzle. 

8.Place the buns onto a baking tray and pipe a cross onto each bun. 

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through. 

9.Meanwhile, for the glaze, heat the glaze ingredients in a pan until the 

sugar has melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. 

10.Remove the buns from the oven and immediately brush each bun 

with the glaze. Set aside to cool. 

11.Serve the hot cross buns warm with butter.