Hot Cross Buns Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does a traditional hot cross bun contain? ›

They're yeasted sweet buns filled with spices and various fruits such as currants, raisins, and/or candied citrus. They're decorated with a white cross representing the crucifix, either marked right into the dough or etched on top with icing. Hot cross buns are a traditional Easter food, typically eaten on Good Friday.

A traditional Hot Cross bun should be topped with a slightly sticky glaze to make them glorious shiny and a cross. Some people pipe the cross, others roll out a little pastry to make a slightly thicker, neater one. It should be plain though, just flour and water (we will tackle the thorny problem of novelty shortly).

HOT CROSS BUNS ON GOOD FRIDAY

They are symbolic of this significant day in the Christian faith when Jesus was crucified. Each bun is decorated with a cross made from flour paste, which represents the cross on which Christ died.

The Greeks in the 6th century AD may have marked cakes with a cross. In the Christian tradition, the making of buns with a cross on them and consuming them after breaking the fast on Good Friday, along with "crying about 'Hot cross buns'", is done in order to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus.

Hot cross buns contain a little fat from butter/shortening (around 5%) and are high in carbohydrate so consideration is needed around portion size for people with diabetes. Hot cross bun sizes vary a lot. For example, one commercial variety sold in a 6 pack contains 40g carbohydrate and 920 kJ (220 calories).

Your hot cross buns are made entirely out of vegetable products so there's no need for anyone to pray over the batter while the baker stirs in currants and citrus peel. The stamp on the package simply signals to Muslims that it's okay to eat those buns — not that someone prayed over them.

Spiced buns were banned when the English broke ties with the Catholic Church in the 16th century. However, by 1592, Queen Elizabeth I relented and granted permission for commercial bakers to produce the buns for funerals, Christmas, and Easter. Otherwise, they could be baked in homes.

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.

If you over knead dough it will break down the glutens and make the buns hard. Under kneading – if dough is under kneaded it won't rise properly.

Palm Sunday is the last Sunday of Lent and first day of Holy Week in Christian churches. It falls on the Sunday before Easter and is always a movable feast.

Why are eggs a symbol of Easter? ›

Eggs represent new life and rebirth, and it's thought that this ancient custom became a part of Easter celebrations. In the medieval period, eating eggs was forbidden during Lent (the 40 days before Easter) so on Easter Sunday, tucking into an egg was a real treat!

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.

Easter Sunday: This is the most traditional day for eating Easter eggs, as it marks the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in Christian tradition.

According to Christian tradition, Easter eggs should be distributed on Easter Sunday - often following a roast lamb Easter dinner or perhaps a tasty vegetarian alternative. This dates back to medieval times when eating eggs was forbidden during Lent, and Easter marked the end of the fasting period.

Most recipes call for raisins and cinnamon, but there are tons of variations out there. Traditionally, hot cross buns are associated with Easter—a Christian holiday and festival celebrating the resurrection of Jesus—and eaten on Good Friday, or the Friday before Easter.

The so-called 'Alban Bun' was made with flour, eggs, yeast, currants and an expensive spice similar to cardamom fittingly called grains of paradise. Imprinted with a cross using a knife, the lavish buns were supposedly distributed to the poor at the gates of St Alban's Abbey from 1361.

What goes into a traditional hot cross bun recipe? At their most basic, hot cross buns are just yeasted sweet bread rolls that are spiked with dried fruit and warm spices like cinnamon, allspice or cardamom, giving them a slightly greyish appearance.

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.

The soft, lightly spiced fruity buns are the ultimate Easter food here in the UK but traditionally they aren't vegan friendly as they contain milk, butter and egg.