Hot Cross Buns 2

“ Hot cross buns! Hot cross Buns!,One ha penny, two ha penny, Hot cross buns. If you have no daughters, Give them to your sons ,One ha penny, two ha penny, Hot cross buns “
Easter song, Nursery rhyme, and Street Cry, c. 1798

Submitted by B. Kitchens
March 29, 2010

By having this on demand ability to consume strawberries in winter, and winter vegetables in summer, we are not without a downside. Because Mother nature intended particular bounties to flourish only once a year, in many respects overstepping this law has undermined our appreciation for the bounty , and worse, could diminish it’s flavor and essence. That’s another topic for discussion.

Though not grown directly from the earth of course, such is not the case with Hot Cross Buns (HCB).

You see them only within a narrow window of the year, during Lent until Good Friday, then poof they’re gone until next year. Did I just see one go by? The HCB is a fleeting thing.

Once a year it was my mom’s tradition to make them and made them she did from scratch. And even as an adult, visiting home from March to April at some point there would appear a lovely dozen. Now at this time on the rare occasion when I spot them in stores, I’m reminded of how satisfying the spicy sweet yeasty bread can be. Standard procedure in our house was to split the bun and toast it under the broiler, then top with cold butter. The white icing would melt, but no matter, that part was always a bit too sweet for me anyway.

Very quick history /legend of the HCB:

Though we associate the HCB with Easter, its origins predate early Christianity. Of which we are aware, the tradition of sacred bread reaches as far back as the early Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, and the Babylonians. Greeks and Egyptians partook of their crossed-bread on the occasions of public sacrifice. The offering of round cakes was to “bous”, the “ox “, and stamped on top was a design of a pair of horns, simulating the ox. The bread was eaten before the altar upon sacrifice of the animal.

Note, “Bous” became “boun” to the Anglo Saxons, and, “boun” became ‘bun’.

Our most recent link is with the pagan Anglo Saxons who celebrated Eostre, goddess of dawn and spring. Their celebration lasted for one month (like Lent, though observed, not celebrated). During this time, pagan worshippers made similar bread, as an offering to the goddess, signifying the transition from winter to the new season.

It’s said that the marking of the bread with two crossed lines making 4 quadrants, was representative of the 4 phases of the moon. Did the creator of this invention think, “I have an idea, let’s make these 4 lines and to wit we will have the phases of the moon “? Such theory runs akin to art historical analysis made after creation of the art.

The question of how much the artist intended is neither here nor there. Those who bake know that scoring bread with two crossed lines is merely a practical way to control the direction of it’s expansion while in the oven. Intended or not, no doubt, Christianity retained many pagan customs, this crossed lined round bread being one of them.

But nothing it seems, not even the spicy sweet little bun could escape history without socio-religious turmoil. Since the dough was made by monks who had used the same for the making of the Eucharist wafer, consecrated for mass, the buns were considered a holdover from Catholicism. And so, eventually, the monarchs being Protestants, proclaimed the sale of HCB to be forbidden. (Image: Monty Python guy in medieval court garb, screaming, to the poor villagers, “ Ban the Bun “ “Burn the Bun “, as bakers hid their HCB under their straw floors.)

Writings say that Queen Elizabeth 1 passed a law forbidding bakers from selling them, except during festivals such as Easter, Christmas, and funerals, while other writing says QE1 allowed them to be sold only on Good Friday. Whether the queen lifted the ban on the bun from a 365 basis, or was responsible for it is unclear because there is discrepancy in which century the royal prohibition was decreed.

If one is of the opinion, that ER1 allowed the HCB to be sold on Good Friday only, then there exists the direct connection between Good Friday, aka ‘The day of the cross ‘ to that of the HCB. 14th C. history says that there was a monk named Father Thomas Rocklliffe who began a tradition of giving HCB to the poor of St Albans on Good Friday. He would distribute them to the congregate who visited the monastery on the “Day of the Cross: Hence, again, directly linking Good Friday to the HCB, due to this monk who purposely gave them away on this one day. Apparently for those who had a particularly long way to go home, it provided nourishment (the first of the To-Go Happy Meals).

In subsequent years many customs and superstitions were associated with the HCB; such as claims of healing and protection from evil. Women would make them for their seafaring husbands, as the bun was thought to ward off shipwreck. It was also thought to have medicinal purposes if left, as is, in the house.

Fast forward to this weekend, when at The Market Basket I spotted their own brand of HCB, and so spirited this research. There are many recipes for HCB. The inclusion of some citron along with golden raisins does it for me (I’m a fruit cake lover, so there you go). You could make your own, or you can try The Market Basket’s. They are really delicious. Lightly toasted (and, Don’t Burn the Bun) with butter and a cup of tea and you are in heaven.

Made more enjoyable because it’s the season, and they are fleeting.