Hot cross buns
Buns are some of the best things to have emerged from English kitchens. In no other country did they become such an art."
Oliver Thring - The Guardian
In my Italian class this morning we were talking about Easter things of course and the topic of hot cross buns came up. Why buns? Why England? One of our more eager class members said she would investigate. So not wanting to be outdone I decided to do my own investigation. I will see if she finds out as much as I.
So first of all, yes indeed they are British, maybe even English, and other cultures don't seem to have the same number of buns as the British. Indeed most of them don't have any unless they are derived from the British ones. They seem to have mastered the art. Here is Elizabeth David on the subject.
"Bath buns, hot cross buns, spice buns, penny buns, Chelsea buns, currant buns - all these 'small soft, plump, sweet, fermented' cakes are English institutions. Very stodgy ones too, if you buy them from the bakeries, and to be avoided by anyone mindful of their weight and, in particular, of the obesity problems of so many of today's English children. Just occasionally, though, it is agreeable o be able to bake some of these old English specialities at home, to discover what they were really like - how much lighter, how much more character and individuality they had than the stereotyped products turned out by the commercial bakeries. Made at home, Bath buns and spice buns are by no means heavy, and hot cross buns, well spiced and fresh from the oven, are entirely delicious. None of these buns should be more than very lightly sweetened, and the fat content is not high." Elizabeth David
How interesting that back in 1977 she was talking about child obesity. And depressing too. We knew then and did nothing and now the problem is so much worse.
She is right that they are a treat - I do remember the hot cross buns that we only ever had on Good Friday. And at university I sometimes used to treat myself to what we called a sticky bun bought from the Union snack bar. It was an eclair shaped bun slathered with icing so really not healthy. But I loved it. I was very thin then. Nowadays I sometimes have hot cross buns for breakfast, and sometimes when they are fresh from the shop I have them in the afternoon. Slathered with butter, but never jam. And maybe the quality of what we can buy is a bit better these days? Coles is certainly marketing one brand as gourmet stuff, though I haven't tasted them so couldn't say whether they are better or not.
Here in Australia you can get hot-cross buns from boxing day, and in many varieties and flavours, with additions of chocolate, coffee, dates, apples and all manner of other things. I don't think the English do this, although I saw one article that, whilst decrying this Australian custom, said that it was creeping into the English supermarkets. And in this case I think I agree. They should have ample amounts of fruit - sultanas, etc. and spice, but nothing else to my mind. It's just not right.
And whilst we are on the subject of hot cross buns and their availability from boxing day to beyond Easter I do concur that it is wrong They should indeed only be consumed on Good Friday - and I'm not a Christian. It's a tradition, and if you can get them all the time then it is no longer a tradition.
"Hot cross buns are a festive food, rather than a common or garden breadstuff, and they deserve to be treated as such. A rich, golden dough, heavy with spice and sweet with dried fruits and sugar makes them the kind of thing you really shouldn't eat all year round – which is exactly as it should be." Felicity Cloake
Mind you I do think you could make spiced buns all year round - just don't put the crosses on them. Indeed Elizabeth David thinks you only need to cut a cross into them. No need for a pastry cross on top:
"To emphasise the cross, some bakers superimpose strips of candied peel or little bands of ordinary pastry. Both these methods involve unnecessary fiddling work. Neither, in my experience, is successful. There is no need to worry overmuch about the exactitude of the cross. You have made the symbolic gesture. That is what counts." Elizabeth David
So where do they come from? Well there are a few different theories - all covered by Oliver Thring in The Guardian, and Wikipedia. I liked this explanation best:
"The pagan Saxons baked breads slashed with crosses to honour Eostre, their goddess of spring and fertility and the source of our word Easter. The four sections symbolised the four quarters of the moon, or the seasons, or something else."
Oliver Thring - The Guardian
I liked this version because I'm not a Christian, and since coming to Australia I have realised how much Christianity is built around those pagan festivals of the Northern Hemisphere that mark the changing of the seasons. Obviously the Christians see the cross as a symbol of the crucifixion, and the easter eggs, and easter bunnies and lamb represent Christ rising from the dead. Rebirth. But of course this all takes place in Spring - season of rebirth and renewal after the death of winter. Ditto for Christmas which takes place at the winter equinox when winter is banished and the light begins to return. And both of these events had their own pagan festivals.
"The truth is that the cross is such a common, ancient sign it can represent almost anything. And since one can yoke so many meanings to the symbol, breads decorated with it have developed an exceptional number of superstitions and legends." Oliver Thring - The Guardian
Wikipedia thinks that the Greeks had buns with a cross on them, but this might just be a way of getting the bun to split as it rises. You do that to bread after all don't you? As to the spices that some say represent the spices used to embalm Jesus' body, this may also be 'a most inventive piece of retcon'. Then there are the superstitions - buns baked on Good Friday will not go mouldy, taking them with you on a sea voyage will prevent shipwrecks ...
It is commonly thought though, and really there is no need to argue with it that they are a representation of the crucifixion and the resurrection. They are a contrast to pancakes on pancake day about which I spoke some time before.
"one using up the fats and sugars of the household, and the other reintroducing them to the diet in a celebratory riot of fruit and spice" Felicity Cloake
"They emerged in modern form in the late 1600s, as spices and sugar from the new world became cheaper and the middle class swelled." Oliver Thring - The Guardian
It seems that spiced buns were indeed on sale in the sixteenth century, but Elizabeth I and James I too banned their sale on days other than for Good Friday, burials or Christmas. It was a ban that failed and the tradition of eating them on Good Friday became increasingly popular, with the first recipes being written down in the eighteenth century. They were sold in the streets which led to the famous nursery rhyme cum street rhyme.
Hot-cross buns!
Hot-cross buns!
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot-cross buns!
If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons;
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot-cross buns!
Interesting that it implies the buns were for the daughters rather than the sons. I wonder why that was?
Today, as I said, you can get them all year, and whilst we may all be a bit horrified at the breaking of tradition, we certainly buy them. Tesco apparently sold 70 million in one recent year. So I think we like them.
"It is, quite simply, a baking travesty that the humble hot cross bun is only available in the lead up to Easter. Everything about is pastry screams yearlong indulgence. Fragrant with spices and best eaten hot? That's the kind of thing you want to eat, bundled up in scarves and oversized cardigans, on a wintry Sunday afternoon stroll. Studded with boozy dried fruit and long strips of citrus peel? Practically made for a spring picnic. Fresh, untoasted, torn apart in chunks? Good for a sun-drenched summer barbecue. The hot cross bun is a treat for all seasons." Hannah Rose-Lee - Whimn
So if you have time, have a go at making your own. Felicity Cloake has investigated all the usual suspects for you and come up with the perfect recipe. But if you have a favourite cook, I'm sure they have a recipe. Just look them up on the net.
"Spiced yeast bun dough has to be kept warm, as spices have a tranquillising effect on yeast." Dan Lepard
Now I never knew that.
And if you've got leftovers, Coles Magazine will help you with that.
