I also used a pinch of ground clove, but you can also substitute allspice or ground cardamom instead. Spices – Cinnamon, and usually nutmeg, are the most common inclusions in hot cross bun recipes, including mine. Sugar – I used granulated sugar here, but you can also use brown sugar instead. As stated above, try to stick with 2-3 fillings and keep it between 1-2 cups total. I would recommend sticking to a mixture of 2-3 at the most, counting candied citrus if you use it, and try to keep the total amount between 1-2 cups.Ĭandied Citrus Peels – I use a small amount (a ¼ cup) of diced up candied orange peels in this recipe, but you can omit that if you wish. You can also use golden raisins (Sultanas) or Craisins (dried cranberries). Feel free to skip the candied peels and orange juice if you wish, or you can buy candied peels already made, but I would recommend at least doing the zest.ĭried Fruit – In this recipe I use a mixture of raisins and currants (labeled Zante currents in the US). Oranges – Optional, but I used the zest from one, made candied orange peels from a few more, and juiced them to soak the raisins in. Yeast – Instant yeast works well here so that you can mix everything together without proofing the yeast first. The Buns:įlour – All-purpose or bread flour can be used for these, I use bread flour in this recipe. At its core, the hot cross bun is an enriched, yeasted dough mixed with warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, filled with various dry fruits and/or candied citrus. Ingredients for Hot Cross BunsĪs mentioned before, there’s a lot of variation in the ingredients for hot cross buns, and you should feel free to mix things up to your liking. Other cross buns are believed to have been eaten as far back as ancient Egypt, as well as ancient Greece and Rome, for similar reasons. Ēostre was a goddess of spring and fertility, and the cross supposedly symbolized the rebirth of the world after winter, while the 4 quarters of the bun stood for the 4 phases of the moon and the 4 seasons. Anglo-Saxons ate cross buns in honor of their Germanic goddess Ēostre, whom some attribute to us calling the holiday Easter. They also have a history of being baked on Good Friday for Easter weekend, along with a lot of superstitions.Īs with several other Christian holidays and traditions, hot cross buns may also have a more pagan origin. The modern version of the hot cross bun has become very popular with Christian faiths, especially Catholics, with the white cross symbolizing Jesus’ crucifixion. He mixed the yeast with cinnamon and made a white cross on top of the buns and handed them out to the poor on Good Friday. A common theory also states that a monk named Thomas Rodcliffe at St Albans Abbey in England developed the, we’ll say “modern”, version of the bun most people are familiar with in 1361. There are definitely recipes that date back to the 1700s in England, but before that you can’t really find anything. So, the history of the hot cross buns can get a little muddled and confusing. Despite a lot of variations, they’re almost always warmly spiced and sticky sweet, without being overly sweetened to a full-on dessert status. What is true with hot cross buns, however, is that their recipes and fillings can vary quite a bit. As with other recipes that are hundreds of years old, hot cross buns have an interesting history that’s often hard to piece together and know which parts are true or not. Like king cake and panettone, hot cross buns are a traditional holiday sweet bread that has become popular worldwide and can often be found anytime of the year and not just for their original holiday origins. Traditionally baked and sold for Good Friday in many Christian countries, they have become synonymous with the Easter holiday. The yeasted dough is mixed with warm spices, dried fruits, and candied citrus with their signature cross on top. Hot cross buns are a perfect blend between a dinner roll and a sweet roll.
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