Good Friday Hot Cross Buns

History

Spiced and fragrant dough, a topping peppered with raisins, and the image of the cross are all characteristics of the hot cross bun. This bread has long been a culinary tradition of Christians used throughout Lent and especially on Good Friday. This makes sense given the centrality of the cross to this most holy day. But the famous English hot cross bun isn’t the only instance of Christians marking their bread with a cross on Good Friday: the tradition is found all over Europe in the German cross loaf, Kreuzstollen, or the Austrian Karfreitaglaib. Even so, the legend of the St. Alban Abbey in England remains one of the most well-known stories associated with this culinary custom:

The story goes that one monk of the fourteenth century served in the kitchen of the St. Alban Abbey located in Hertfordshire. It’s said that Father Rocliff whipped up the bun to serve alongside the regular soup on Good Friday. It was an instant hit and many others followed in Rocliff’s footsteps trying their hand at the recipe. However none ever surpassed the quality of Father Rocliff’s hot cross bun. As these bun’s popularity grew throughout England, songs started to appear throughout the nineteenth century, developed by vendors who sold the buns to all who passed by. Many of them might be familiar to you thanks to your early days in music class:

Hot Cross Buns, Hot Cross Buns,

One a penny, two a penny,

Hot Cross Buns!

If your daughters won’t eat them,

Give them to your sons;

Bit if you have none of those little elves,

Then you must eat them all yourselves!

You may choose to consume the buns on Good Friday, or if you are observing a stricter fast on this day, join the Christians of old who would give the buns away to those in need. Otherwise you could freeze them to keep until the Easter feast as a treat to enjoy alongside other rich breads. They would fit right in!

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns begins with a simple dough recipe enriched with milk, eggs, butter, raisins, orange zest, and spices, all ingredients that are popularly enjoyed on Easter after the fast from such foods is broken. The unique crosses on top come from a thick flour-water paste that is piped on top of the rolls before popping in the oven. And finally, a sugar glaze goes over the buns immediately after baking and gives them the final sweet touch that you get with every bite.

Ingredients

1 cup milk, warm

2 teaspoons yeast

⅓ cup sugar

6 tablespoons melted butter

2 eggs

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon allspice

zest of one orange

1 cup raisins

3 ½ – 4 cups flour

Flour Paste

⅓ cup flour

2-3 tablespoons water

Sugar Glaze

¼ cup water

¼ cup sugar

Instructions

1. Combine the yeast with the warm milk, ensuring that the milk is not hot to the touch. Let rest until the yeast has bloomed, then add in the sugar, butter, eggs, spices, orange zest, and raisins. Begin sifting in the flour to the mixture one cup at a time until a dough forms. Then add more flour little by little until it is workable without sticking to your hands. Knead for five minutes, then cover and let rest until it has doubled in size, about one hour.
2. After the dough has doubled, grease a 9×11″ pan and divide the dough into 12 pieces. Form each piece into a ball, rolling the sides under itself and rolling it in your hands to create some tension in the top of the ball. Place each in the pan, cover again, and let rise for one more hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and make the cross design over the buns by mixing together flour and water to form a thick paste. Transfer it to a plastic bag, snip the corner off, and pipe on the flour mixture over the buns.
4. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the buns are cooked through.
5. Before removing from the oven, combine equal parts water and sugar, microwave it for 1-2 minutes until the sugar dissolves in the water. Immediately upon taking the buns out of the oven, pour the sugar water over the buns and allow them to soak up the syrup.
6. Serve and enjoy!

References:
1. Vitz, Evelyn Birge. A Continual Feast. Ignatius Press. 1985.
2. Weiser, Francis X. Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs: The Year of the Lord in Liturgy and Folklore. Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. 1952.