What I’m reading: Eating Irish on John and Sally McKenna’s Substack - recommended in Kristin Jensen’s also wonderful Substack
What I’m listening to: Cillian Murphy on Desert Island Discs
What I’m eating: some pretty exceptional pastries from Small Batch in Melbourne, brought back by my boss, Loz - which we ate sitting out back in the sunny carpark. Bliss (below)
Hot cross bun season might just be my favourite time of year. Don’t get me wrong - I love Christmas, especially at home in Dublin. I was sad to miss it last year, and it was probably the first time I felt a tiny bit homesick, thinking about the cozy fires, chilly sea swims and Christmas pints. I do love mince pies as well, and can only properly get into the Christmas spirit when I’ve had my first mince pie - preferably warm from the oven, with flaky pastry and heavily spiced, boozy filling. When it comes to baked goods, however, it is my steadfast belief that Easter has the upper hand over Christmas. I would take a hot cross bun over a Christmas cake or Christmas pudding - or even a mince pie - any day.
I am not particularly familiar with supermarket hot cross buns, but I am informed that Irish and UK supermarkets produce some pretty acceptable contenders (Marks and Spencer’s seems to be a cult favourite). There is absolutely nothing wrong with a supermarket HXB, but obviously I suggest that you support your local artisan bakery, or better still, make my hot cross buns (recipe below). I’ve tweaked my recipe slightly this year to omit candied peel, as, to be completely honest with you, I wasn’t bothered to make my own - plus, I have a much more efficient way of getting that gorgeous orange flavour into the buns which also happens to do wonders for the texture (hint: it’s inspired by Claudia Roden’s classic orange cake).
There’s been a bit of industry controversy over the hot cross buns in Auckland - and actually across New Zealand at large, due to an annual HXB competition in Wellington. I’ll spare you the details, but just know that HXB are currently a touchy subject among many NZ bakers. That said, I can, of course, highly recommend the HXB at Mor (where I work) - shown below. I’ve also tried and loved the Beabea’s HXB, as well as the Florets sourdough version. We’ve been eating them at work with whipped burnt butter and homemade apricot jam - and have also regularly been making the spare dough into eight tiny HXB that fit in a loaf tin. They’re pretty adorable.
Made well, hot cross buns should be soft and springy, richly spiced and filled with plump dried fruit. They should be fragrant with orange, glazed, and inscribed with the distinctive cross (that, although it adds nothing to the flavour or texture, is essential to the experience). If not eaten fresh (as in, on the day they are baked), hot cross buns should almost always be toasted - but beware of putting them in your toaster. If they are too tall, or the glaze catches on the grates of the toaster, the bun might catch and burn. It is much safer to slice and then toast them under a hot grill, or on a frying pan - you can “dry fry” them but I certainly wouldn’t object to you frying them in a little butter either. I haven’t personally tried this, but I can also imagine HXB being the perfect vessel for cheese, so don’t be alarmed if you see buns on my cheeseboard this Easter.
Where do HXB come from?
I had always thought that hot cross buns had Christian origins - a fairly safe guess due to the crucifix on top and the fact that we eat them around Easter. In fact, I’ve recently discovered that Good Friday is supposed to be the main day for HXB consumption - again, this tracks with my assumption of Christian origin (Good Friday is when Jesus was allegedly crucified, died and was buried).
However, after a little bit of research (I’ve linked the various websites below, if you’re curious), it seems that HXB actually have pagan origins - in ancient Britain. The Saxons used to bake buns to celebrate springtime, and to honour the ancient pagan goddess of dawn and fertility, Eostre. This may actually be where the word “Easter” comes from.
If HXB do pre-date Christianity, then it is likely that they were adopted as a Christian tradition, and presented as an Easter treat which conveniently includes many ingredients forbidden during Lent, a period of abstinence.
For some inexplicable reason, during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I (16th and 17th century ish), a decree was issued in the UK which forbade the commercial sale of HXB - except at Easter, Christmas, and at funerals. This led to an increase in the production of HXB in home kitchens, and I like to imagine also to a black market for buns - but that’s pure conjecture. The secrecy surrounding the baking of HXB led to an air of mystery which fuelled superstition. Hot cross buns were said to contain healing powers, and some said that HXB baked on Good Friday would never go mouldy. What’s more, sailors started bringing HXB on board, believing that they would prevent shipwreck.
During the Victorian era, HXB began to resemble more closely the buns we know and love today. Currants or raisins and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg were added, and street vendors began selling them warm from the oven all over the UK (“one a penny” if they were bigger, “two a penny” for smaller ones). This line originally appears in Poor Robin's Almanac in 1733, and later in a nursery rhyme in the London Chronicle in 1767.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_cross_bun
https://www.jamieoliver.com/features/hot-cross-buns-history/
https://goodfoodireland.ie/blog/a-little-history-of-hot-cross-buns/
recipe: hot cross buns
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