Hot cross buns recipe | Jamie magazine recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why are my hot cross buns so hard? ›

Add the extra flour if required so the dough comes away from the bowl – the trick is to use the minimum to keep the dough soft so it rises easily (= fluffy buns), but just enough so the dough doesn't massively stick to your fingers (should be bit sticky though). Tough dough from too much flour = tough buns!

THE world's oldest hot cross bun has been traced back more than two centuries... to a Good Friday and a house in Essex. Andrew Munson and his wife Dot, 73, were passed the 209-year-old bun by an old neighbour with a note saying it was baked on Good Friday 1807 in a Colchester oven.

A piece of it given to someone who is ill is said to help them recover. 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.

The so-called 'Alban Bun' was made with flour, eggs, yeast, currants and an expensive spice similar to cardamom fittingly called grains of paradise. Imprinted with a cross using a knife, the lavish buns were supposedly distributed to the poor at the gates of St Alban's Abbey from 1361.

Too much flour, or not the right kind, could be to blame. Dough made only from flour with a high or even average amount of protein (like bread flour or all-purpose flour) can become tough from overmixing. Protein gives bread structure in the form of gluten—the more you mix and move the dough, the more gluten you get.

Yeast is too hot Yeast may have been dissolved in water that was too hot, or the liquid ingredients in the recipe may be too hot, causing the yeast to die. Yeast needs to be warm - not too hot, not too cold. Yeast is too cold If the other ingredients are too cold, it could cause some of the yeast to die.

Your hot cross buns are made entirely out of vegetable products so there's no need for anyone to pray over the batter while the baker stirs in currants and citrus peel. The stamp on the package simply signals to Muslims that it's okay to eat those buns — not that someone prayed over them.

Hot cross buns are a popular British staple, so it's no surprise that you can find them in most supermarkets all year round. However, the spiced sweet bun particularly comes into its own in the lead up to Easter - and often gets a makeover or two, as well.

They are symbolic of this significant day in the Christian faith when Jesus was crucified. Each bun is decorated with a cross made from flour paste, which represents the cross on which Christ died. The spices in hot cross buns are said to represent the spices that were used to embalm Christ after his death.

Hot cross buns contain a little fat from butter/shortening (around 5%) and are high in carbohydrate so consideration is needed around portion size for people with diabetes. Hot cross bun sizes vary a lot. For example, one commercial variety sold in a 6 pack contains 40g carbohydrate and 920 kJ (220 calories).

Why are hot cross buns only at Easter? ›

The bun had been blessed. In the late 16th century Queen Elizabeth forbade the sale of hot cross buns at any time other than burials, Good Friday and Christmas, perhaps because they were considered to be so holy. If you were caught baking them outside this time, you were forced to give all your buns to the poor.

The first known mention of the name “hot cross buns” comes from a rhyme in the 1733 book Poor Robin's Almanack : “Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs, with one or two a penny hot cross buns.” Although on modern hot cross buns the cross is usually piped on with pastry, in most recipes before the 20th ...

Revive. If your buns are starting to turn stale, sprinkle with water and heat for a few minutes in the oven. If they're very stale, blitz into breadcrumbs and add to puddings, like our hot cross bun treacle tart. You can freeze hot cross buns.

The first year I lived overseas, in Germany, I was devastated to discover that they did not have hot cross buns at Easter time. But then I found they had something even better: Osterbrot. Translated directly: Easter bread — which is in essence, a giant hot cross bun.

In the U.K. during Easter, hot cross buns are all over. (And if you're lucky, you'll see them everywhere all year round, too.) But in 2022, it felt like something changed, and they were landed triumphantly in America, too.

Basically gluten is good at absorbing vapor which results in softening. Without heated water vapor, it would turn out rubbery or tough & chewy. Another method is to rub the surface of the buns with water, but not to make them soggy. Then heat in microwave on medium high for 10-20 secs.

8. Immediately after baking, whilst still hot, brush a bit of butter on the buns, then cover with a kitchen towel to retain moisture and keep them soft.

the dough has been worked too much: as a home baker using hands this is unlikely, but still possible. Once you have the structure of the dough you need, stop and let it rise as any further working will form too much of a structure, making it too strong to expand.