Hot cross buns recipe | Jamie magazine recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the original hot cross bun? ›

It is hypothesised that the contemporary hot cross bun of Christianity derives at some distance from a bun developed in St Albans in England. There in 1361, Brother Thomas Rodcliffe, a Christian monk at St Albans Abbey, developed a similar recipe called an "Alban Bun" and distributed the bun to the poor on Good Friday.

DO NOT add too much flour – results in dry dough = tough buns. Sultanas: Some recipes say to add sultanas after the dough has been kneaded or risen. If you do this, you'll find it very hard to disperse them evenly throughout the dough. By adding them before kneading, some do get squished.

The recipe for these buns remains quite traditional, apart from the roux of course, made with bread flour, a little sugar, spices, eggs, butter and dried fruit. In this recipe I have stuck with classic raisins, sultanas and some candied peel.

Hot Cross Buns are inextricably linked to Easter and to Christianity. But in reality, they probably have pre-Christian origins. 'Cross Buns' were baked to celebrate Eostre, a Germanic Goddess of Fertility, after which the season of Easter is said to be named.

It has been suggested that the Elizabethan order to control these early versions of hot cross buns was for fear that they were too 'Catholic', and that they had become associated with the bread of the Eucharist, which was sometimes marked with a cross.

THE world's oldest hot cross bun has been traced back more than two centuries... to a Good Friday and a house in Essex. Andrew Munson and his wife Dot, 73, were passed the 209-year-old bun by an old neighbour with a note saying it was baked on Good Friday 1807 in a Colchester oven.

It's usually the flour bakeries put onto the bottom of the buns. But, it is still perfectly fine to eat. No the white stuff you see from stores is the flour and possibly starch left over from the baking process, and there is no need to worry about it.

In the lead up to Easter Sunday (Sunday, March 31st), you'll be stoked to learn several bakeries in New York–and further afield–are offering delicious hot cross buns (also known as “Easter buns”). Our handy AWNY guide to find hot cross buns in New York has all the details for you.

The term 'hot cross bun' wasn't entered in the Oxford Dictionary until 1733, since the bun was known by other names, including cross bun, spiced bun and Good Friday bun.

And here's the thing – you have a dietitian's word for it – hot cross buns are neither unhealthy nor healthy – they're neutral. They're just a food. And you only eat and enjoy them at one time of the year, so there's absolutely zero point feel guilty about sinking your teeth into the perfect bun.

Why are hot cross buns pagan? ›

Pagan origins

The origins of hot cross buns are shrouded in mystery, but historians believe they date back to the pagan traditions of ancient Britain. The Saxons used to bake buns marked with a cross during their spring celebrations to honour Eostre, the goddess of dawn and fertility.

Teacakes are often larger and flatter with a slightly harder consistency, meaning they can be enjoyed with a range of condiments, including jams and marmalades. A Hot Cross Bun is softer, with more spices baked in, so is often just enjoyed with butter.

Pagan origins

The origins of hot cross buns are shrouded in mystery, but historians believe they date back to the pagan traditions of ancient Britain. The Saxons used to bake buns marked with a cross during their spring celebrations to honour Eostre, the goddess of dawn and fertility.

Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten over the Easter religious Christian holiday to symbolise the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday on the cross.