If there’s one Easter treat I am really fond of it is a good hot cross bun.
I was horrified the other day when I asked my husband to get me a packet and he came back with something which had Bramley apple and cranberri ...
If there’s one Easter treat I am really fond of it is a good hot cross bun.
I was horrified the other day when I asked my husband to get me a packet and he came back with something which had Bramley apple and cranberries in. What! He had no idea such a thing exists so didn’t bother looking at the packet, but beware if you like a traditional bun because the trend for weird variations has now fully arrived. It started with the odd bit of dried fruit, chocolate chips and soft centres. We can now get exotica like salted caramel flavour, matcha and frankincense and now, my goodness, they are even being served up with Wagyu corned beef, smoked oyster, mayo and lettuce.
So for anyone who is wondering what’s in a proper one and why we eat them at Easter – here’s the story.
A genuine hot cross bun is made with spiced, sweet dough, studded with currents or raisins and marked with a cross on the top. They were traditionally eaten only only on Good Friday. The buns mark the end of Lent and the different elements represent aspects of the Passion with the cross referring to the crucifixion and the spices inside signifying the spices used to embalm him at his burial.
History
Remains of cakes marked with crosses have been found near Pompeii, so we know the Romans were eating something similar. The crosses were crudely marked into the bread with a knife – we are not sure what this signified. Pagan Saxons used a cross to depict the four quarters of the moon, and in other cultures it was simply meant to show the lines along which the bun should be divided.
There are older theories around, such as that of the ancient Egyptians offering small round buns to the goddess of the moon, the cross representing two ox horns, the symbol for strength and sovereignty. Other possible explanations point to their origin during the Greek Empire, or as a Jewish Passover food. The only certainty is that the term “hot cross bun” first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1733, along with a folk song: “Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs, with one or two a Penny hot cross Bunns”.
In the late 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I passed a law decreeing that the sale of buns, spiced cakes, bread and biscuits in London was limited to funerals and the Friday before Easter and Christmas, and the tradition to eat them on Good Friday was born.
Why ban such a seemingly harmless food? The deeply superstitious population believed the buns had medicinal or magical properties, and the Church were fearful of these powers being abused. Some thought the buns could protect their home from fire or bad luck, and sailors would take them on their travels to prevent shipwreck. It was also commonly believed that a bun baked on Good Friday would never go mouldy.
Here’s one that has survived for over two hundred years – the paper packet says it was baked in 1807. It’s rock hard of course but it is believed to bring good luck to its owner – I think I will just be eating mine. It will be a straightforward, raisin-filled extravaganza – but what will you choose this Easter? Let me know.
