Hot cross buns are a spiced yeast bread traditionally exchanged among Christians on Good Friday in England. They have a distinctive look with a cross made of dough or icing and are made with warm milk, flour, sugar, spices, butter, and currants or raisins. The origins of hot cross buns are disputed, but they are now a popular Easter food available year-round in bakeries.
Hot buns are a type of yeast bread that is spicy and traditionally exchanged among Christians on Good Friday, particularly in England. They are also available at other times of the year and are part of the yeast dough family available in most bakeries. Hot buns have a familiar and distinctive look, being puffy quartered pastries with a cross made of dough, icing, or simple cuts into the buns before they’re baked. Traditionally, hot crusty buns are cooked together in a large skillet and torn apart, creating a ragged edge along the sides of the bun.
A true hot bun is a type of yeast bread, made by mixing yeast, warm milk, flour, sugar, spices, butter, and currants or raisins. The dough is left to rise in a warm place and then formed into flatbreads and placed on a pan for the second rise. If the baker is making crosses in the dough, he will cut off the tops of the buns before placing them in the oven or form strips of dough into a cross that is adhered to the top of the bun. After baking, the buns are allowed to cool and are then separated.
Some hot sandwiches are made with a glaze cross, usually with a sweet lemon glaze. This makes them look like many other breakfast desserts that use frosting as a decorative accent. However, unlike other buns, hot buns are traditionally spiced with the addition of spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Dried fruits such as currants are added to give the paste texture.
The exact origins of hot cross buns are disputed. Buns have been associated with the Easter tradition since at least the 1300s, when the monk distributed buns to the poor on a Friday. However, the cross symbol predates Christianity and sandwiches may have originally been traded on pagan holidays such as the Solstice, with the cross symbolizing the changing seasons and phases of the moon.
According to one story, hot cross buns were very popular in the pagan community and the early Christian church attempted to ban them. Elizabeth I of England allegedly legalized sandwiches by associating them with Christian holidays. This story seems somewhat apocryphal, given that hot cross buns had been a part of Christian celebrations since before Elizabeth’s birth, and the Christian church typically doesn’t wage wars over pastry.
Wherever buns originally came from, they are now a popular and delicious Easter food. The hot buns can be found in bakeries year-round, and many also make special Easter versions that can be pre-ordered by families who don’t wish to make their own. The warm hot sandwiches are delicious while fresh and warm, of course, but they’re also deliciously toasty with a blob of butter.
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