Type | Spiced bun |
---|---|
Place of origin | United Kingdom |
Region or state | England |
Main ingredients | Wheat flour, currants or raisins with spices |
A hot cross bun is a spiced bun, usually containing small pieces of raisins and marked with a cross on the top, which has been traditionally eaten on Good Friday in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, India, Pakistan, Malta, United States and the Commonwealth Caribbean. [1] [2] [3] They are available all year round in some countries, including the UK. [4] [5]
The bun marks the end of the season of Lent and different elements of the hot cross bun each have a specific meaning, such as the cross representing the crucifixion of Jesus, the spices inside signifying the spices used to embalm him and sometimes also orange peel reflecting the bitterness of his time on the cross. [6] [7]
The Greeks in the 6th century AD may have marked cakes with a cross. [8] [9]
In the Christian tradition, the making of buns with a cross on them and consuming them after breaking the fast on Good Friday, along with "crying about 'Hot cross buns'", is done in order to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus. [10] It is hypothesised that the contemporary hot cross bun of Christianity derives at some distance from a bun developed in St Albans in England. There in 1361, Brother Thomas Rodcliffe, a Christian monk at St Albans Abbey, developed a similar recipe called an "Alban Bun" and distributed the bun to the poor on Good Friday. [11]
In 1592, during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, the London Clerk of Markets issued a decree forbidding the sale of hot cross buns and other spiced breads, except at burials, on Good Friday, or at Christmas. The punishment for transgressing the decree was forfeiture of all the forbidden product to the poor. As a result, hot cross buns at the time were primarily made in domestic kitchens. Further attempts to suppress the sale of these items outside of these holy days took place during the reign of James I of England (1603–1625). [12]
The first definite record of hot cross buns comes from a London street cry: "Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs. With one or two a penny hot cross buns", which appeared in Poor Robin's Almanac for 1733. [13] The line "One a penny, two a penny, hot cross-buns" appears in the English nursery rhyme "Hot Cross Buns" published in the London Chronicle for 2–4 June 1767. [14] Food historian Ivan Day states, "The buns were made in London during the 18th century. But when you start looking for records or recipes earlier than that, you hit nothing." [4]
English folklore includes many superstitions surrounding hot cross buns. One is that if the bun was made from dough kneaded for the host and baked and served on Good Friday, it would not spoil or grow mouldy during the subsequent year. Much the same was claimed for sacrificial bread in Classical times before Christianity. [15] Another belief encourages keeping such a bun for medicinal purposes. A piece of it given to someone who is ill is said to help them recover. [16]
If taken on a sea voyage, hot cross buns are said to protect against shipwreck. If hung in the kitchen, they are said to protect against fire and ensure that all breads turn out perfectly. The hanging bun is replaced each year. [16]
In the United Kingdom, the major supermarkets produce variations on the traditional recipe such as toffee, orange-cranberry, salted caramel and chocolate, and apple-cinnamon. [17]
In Australia, recent variations of the Hot Cross Bun by major supermarkets have included chocolate chip, sour cherry, burger sauce, Iced VoVo, Pizza Shapes, Vegemite and cheese, jalapeño and cheese, and others. [18]
In Jamaica and some Commonwealth Caribbean islands, the hot cross bun has over time evolved into a spiced Easter bun with the addition of molasses, spices and a loaf shape. [19] [20] This bun is eaten with cheese in islands such as Jamaica and Guyana and served with beverages such as mauby or ginger beer. [21]
In Slovakia and in the Czech Republic, mazanec is a similar cake or sweet bread eaten at Easter. It often has a cross marked on top. [22]
In South Africa, hot cross buns are typically eaten with pickled fish during the Easter season.
The traditional method for making the cross on top of the bun is to use shortcrust pastry, [23] [24] though some 21st century recipes recommended a paste of flour and water. [25]
Hungarian or Magyar cuisine is the cuisine characteristic of the nation of Hungary, and its primary ethnic group, the Magyars. Hungarian cuisine has been described as being the spiciest cuisine in Europe. This can largely be attributed to the use of their piquant native spice, Hungarian paprika, in many of their dishes. A mild version of the spice, Hungarian sweet paprika, is commonly used as an alternative. Traditional Hungarian dishes are primarily based on meats, seasonal vegetables, fruits, bread, and dairy products.
A spiced bun is a sweet bun to which spices were added during the baking process. Common examples are the hot cross bun and the Jamaican spiced bun.
Roti is a round flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, and Southeast African countries.
A semla, vastlakukkel, laskiaispulla, Swedish eclair, fastlagsbulle/fastelavnsbolle or vēja kūkas is a traditional sweet roll made in various forms in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Estonia, and Latvia, associated with Lent and especially Shrove Tuesday in most countries, Shrove Monday in Denmark, parts of southern Sweden, Iceland and Faroe Islands or Sunday of Fastelavn in Norway. In Sweden it is most commonly known as just semla, but is also known as fettisdagsbulle, lit. 'Fat Tuesday bun' or 'Shrove Tuesday bun'. In the southern parts of Sweden, as well as in Swedish-speaking Finland, it is known as fastlagsbulle. In Poland it is known as ptyś. In Estonia it is called vastlakukkel. In Norway and Denmark it is called fastelavnsbolle. In Iceland, it is known as a bolla and served on Bolludagur. In Faroe Islands it is called Føstulávintsbolli, and is served on Føstulávintsmánadagur. In Latvia, it is called vēja kūkas. Semla served in a bowl of hot milk is hetvägg.
Jamaican cuisine includes a mixture of cooking techniques, flavours and spices influenced by Amerindian, West African, Irish, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Indian, Chinese and Middle Eastern people who have inhabited the island. It is also influenced by the crops introduced into the island from tropical Southeast Asia, many of which are now grown locally. A wide variety of seafood, tropical fruits and meats are available.
Simnel cake is a fruitcake associated with Lent and Easter and widely eaten in England, Ireland and countries with patterns of migration from them. It is distinguished by layers of almond paste or marzipan, typically one in the middle and one on top, and a set of eleven balls made of the same paste. It was originally made for the fourth Sunday in Lent, also known as Laetare Sunday, the Refreshment Sunday of Lent, Mothering Sunday, the Sunday of the Five Loaves, or Simnel Sunday; named after the cake. In the United Kingdom, it is now commonly associated with Mothering Sunday and Easter Sunday.
Hot Cross Buns was an English street cry, later perpetuated as a nursery rhyme and an aid in musical education. It refers to the spiced English confection known as a hot cross bun, which is associated with the end of Lent and is eaten on Good Friday in various countries. The song has the Roud Folk Song Index number of 13029.
In many European countries, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, there are various traditions surrounding the use of bread during the Easter holidays. Traditionally the practice of eating Easter bread or sweetened "communion" bread traces its origin back to Byzantium, Eastern Catholicism and the Orthodox Christian church. The recipe for sweetened or "honey-leavened" bread may date back as far as the Homeric Greek period based on anecdotal evidence from classical texts.
Johnnycake, also known as journey cake, johnny bread, hoecake, shawnee cake or spider cornbread, is a cornmeal flatbread, a type of batter bread. An early American staple food, it is prepared on the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to Jamaica. The food originates from the indigenous people of North America. It is still eaten in the Bahamas, Belize, Nicaragua, Bermuda, Canada, Colombia, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Saint Croix, Sint Maarten, Antigua, and the United States.
Cozonac or Kozunak is a sweet yeast dough that can be used to make different traditional holiday breads and cakes. Often mixed with raisins, it can be baked as a loaf or rolled out with fillings like poppy seed or walnuts. It is common throughout Southeastern Europe in countries such as Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia and Greece. Rich in eggs, milk and butter, it is usually prepared for Easter in Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, and in Romania and Moldova it is also traditional for Good Friday, in a simplified version with vegan ingredients, without eggs or milk - named Cozonac de post - to be eaten by Christians during lent. The name comes from the Bulgarian word for hair-коса/kosa, or Greek: κοσωνάκι, romanized: kosōnáki, a diminutive form of κοσώνα, kosṓna.
Hard dough bread, also called hardo bread, is a Caribbean cuisine bread similar to the Pullman loaf or pain de mie, although hard dough bread tends to be sweeter. The dough consists of flour, water, yeast, salt and sugar. Additional ingredients such as treacle, molasses, and vegetable shortening can be used. It typically has a dense consistency and is typically brushed with sugared water before baking. It is a staple food in Jamaican households.
Monkey bread is a soft, sweet, sticky pastry served in the United States for breakfast or as a treat. It consists of pieces of soft baked dough sprinkled with cinnamon. It is often a midmorning/breakfast food and usually served at fairs and festivals.
Coco bread is a Jamaican bread eaten on the island and in other areas of the Caribbean. The bread contains milk or coconut milk and is starchy and slightly sweet in taste.
Easter traditions are customs and practices that are followed in various cultures and communities around the world to celebrate Easter, which is the central feast in Christianity, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus. The Easter season is seen as a time of celebration and feasting, in contrast to the antecedent season of Lent, which is a time of penitence and fasting.
The holiday of Easter is associated with various Easter customs and foodways. Preparing, coloring, and decorating Easter eggs is one such popular tradition. Lamb is eaten in many countries, mirroring the Jewish Passover meal.
A Heißwecke, HICE-veck-ə,, also called a Heißewecke or Hedewig, is a traditional type of currant bun within the German-speaking region of Europe that goes back to at least to the Late Middle Ages. In North and Northwest Germany it is eaten before the beginning of the pre-Easter fasting period known as Lent, especially from Rose Monday (Rosenmontag) to Ash Wednesday (Aschermittwoch). It is a sweet bread roll made with milk and wheat flour that is eaten hot, hence the name: Heißwecken literally means "hot rolls". Heißwecken are predominantly eaten in the area influenced by the Hanseatic League i.e. most of northern Europe from what is now the Netherlands to Poland and the Baltic Sea coast. It has numerous dialectical names that are almost all derived from the term Heißwecken. The most common are Hedewäggen, Hetwegge, Heiteweggen and Heetwich.
To mark the end of the Lent fast Christians eat hot cross buns. These have a special meaning. The cross in the middle shows how Jesus died. Spices inside remind Christians of the spices put on the body of Jesus. Sweet fruits in the bun show that Christians no longer have to eat plain foods.
Since people often gave up meat during Lent, bread became one of the staples of Lent. Bakers even began making dough pretzels--a knotted length of dough that represented a Christian praying, with arms crossed and hands placed on opposite shoulders. Hot cross buns are popular during Lent. The cross of course reminds the eater of Christ's cross.