It's mid-morning on Good Friday on the Eastern seaboard of Australia...which in our household can mean just one thing: it's hot cross bun time.
Every year for the past six or so, I have lovingly handmade my own hot cross buns. Last year, I flirted with the production of gluten-free ones, but by popular demand this year I have reverted to my tried and tested full-of-wheat recipe.
And right now my buns are baking in the oven, soon to be served hot and buttered to a patient and appreciative group of consumers.
The Good Friday baking of hot cross buns has become a family tradition we all look forward to. It is part of the fabric of our family culture and something I hope my girls will remember with fondness when they are 'all grown up'.
But what happens when traditions are over-worked?
When I was a child, Good Friday was the only day of the year that we ever had hot cross buns. Recently, I have found hot cross buns worming their way into the shopping trolley from about mid-February onwards. My girls have taken buttered (fruitless) hot cross buns in their lunchboxes as a treat for morning tea for the past few weeks.
Does it devalue the tradition if you can have them anytime? Why stop at Easter, why not have them available right up until the Christmas decorations are in the stores?
It makes me cross to see retailers flog traditional fare to death. Easter eggs on the shelves from January. Christmas cakes and mince pies on sale from September. But I guess, if there was no demand there would be no supply.
In Elizabethan times, a law was passed which forbade bakers from making, uttering, or selling by retail, "within or without their houses, unto any the queen's subjects, any spice cakes, buns, bisket or other spice bread...except it be at burials, or upon the Friday before Easter, or at Christmas; upon pain of forfeiture of such spice bread to the poor.1"
Perhaps it's time for our governments to legislate against the wanton consumption of hot cross buns?
Do you save your hot cross bun eating for Good Friday?
1. The famines of the world, past and present by Cornelius Walford
"Two papers read before the Statistical Society of London in 1878 and 1879 respectively, and reprinted from its Journal." accessed via: http://books.google.com/books?id=p22JP3Er_9AC
Edited to add, due to popular demand...details of the recipe!
I use the recipe in the instruction book for my old Breville Breadmaker. I use the breadmaker to make the dough, then knead and shape it into 12 round balls, and leave on a baking tray for 30 mins in a warm spot for the dough to double in size. Then pipe on the crosses, and into the oven (at 190C) for about 20 mins. I brush on a glaze as they come out of the oven.
Breadmaker recipes vary due to the size of the bowls, but here's a link to one which is very similar to the one I use.
18 comments:
In past years I have enjoyed hot cross buns from the time they hit the shelves in Feb until Good Friday and then, often, beyond.
This year I have exhibited monumental self control and eat hot cross buns today only.
My children, however, have been eating them for months.
I love that you make them yourself. Yum.
So where is the recipe?
We still only have Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday I like them more spicy than the bought ones so make my own.I made a batch yesterday and managed to botch up the crosses so they are more like Hot Blob Buns however I am sure they will taste all right!
Does anyone remember the little Nursery 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.
We still only have Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday I like them more spicy than the bought ones so make my own.I made a batch yesterday and managed to botch up the crosses so they are more like Hot Blob Buns however I am sure they will taste all right!
Does anyone remember the little Nursery 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.
I'm afraid I don't really like hot cross buns but I hear what your saying. It's like the Christmas stuff going on the shelves the day after Halloween, your right there ought to be a law...ciao
I was hoping for a recipe as well :)
Another one looking for the recipe. All the one's I have tried are not great.
I've never made hot cross buns. I do have a Breville bread maker. Must try and find the booklet that came with it.
I also didn't realise that they are only eaten on Good Friday, sooo, that means we've been eating them for the last couple of weeks. Bakers Delight make a mocca one we tried the other, but I reckon home made ones would be fantastic.
We religiously (ha!) save Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday.
That is our tradition and we are sticking to it.
Although not baking our own.
I absolutely will not eat hot cross buns until Good Friday. But I bought buns yesterday, and by the time I got home late last night the man of the house had started eating them.
I am outraged that they now appear in the bakeries months before Easter, crosses and all, and that chocolate buns are now produced.
I tried to make them once, years ago and they turned out like little rocks. I gave up the attempt forthwith.
I love hot cross buns and are afraid to say that I start eating them as soon as they hit the shelves, many, many of themn!
But I agree, it does devalue the tradition to be selling them too soon, too often. I certainly wouldn't enjoy them as much if they were around all year.
As for the preselling of Xmas gear and Easter Eggs etc, I firmly walk past it all until it's very near to those celebrations .. it's just silly and unnecessary.
The other person here would and does eat them whenever he can get them.
Yes, mof, I certainly do remember the nursery rhyme very well indeed and even the tune.
Thank you for the recipe link. Great idea to use the breadmaker. That is one of the things from our time that I am very grateful for.
My parents lived in Nigeria when I was a child and Mum used her Kenwood Chef to mix up dough each day but I still remember lots of kneeding and hours spent covered in flour.
I do however love the big old breadtins that she used to use back then. Mostly I make my dough in the breadmaker and then put it in the breadtins to rise and then cook in the oven.
Home baking is one of the things from before our time that I miss. Buying biscuits from the supermarket is easy but no where near as satisfying. It makes me warm inside to see home baking making a come back.
I'm firmly in the camp of bun buying as soon as they hit the shelves. It seems to get earlier every year and I fully expect to be able to eat them in December before too long.
I had forgotten the nursery rhyme until the mof reminded me.
Those buns look delicious. I swear I can almost smell them. While I do good with cakes and cookies, I'm an absolute failure at bread-making of any kind. I have never attempted to make hot cross buns and I'm sure if I had they would have turned out like persiflage's.
I do like that law - especially the bit about forfeiture to the poor. Happy Easter and your buns look beaut - they are much nicer fresh, aren't they?
had my first HCB a few weeks ago, the kindy had a fundraiser with homebake, so I bought some chocolate chip HCB - absolutely yummy warmed in the microwave!
Love that law about the spice LOL
god those buns look great. My husband is the resident bread machine maker in the family - I am getting him onto this methinks. This year I only had the hot cross buns on Easter weekend - it dang near killed me - I love them! Thanks for checking out my shop - good luck in the draw ... could be a return winner circle thingymejig
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