PREVIOUS PAGE: MUKUMONO PLATE FROM KOSKELA. ALL OTHER PROPS STYLIST’S OWN. STOCKISTS P176outside this time, you were forced to give
all your buns to the poor.
The buns were now made in the
secrecy of the home and the mythology
again grew around them as they were
invested with magical powers. If hung
from the rafters on Good Friday, for
instance, they would resist decay, it was
thought, and people would nibble on
them throughout the year for their
supposed restorative powers. The buns
would rid the house of bad spirits, protect
it from fire and safeguard ships against
shipwreck. In Ireland people would share
hot cross buns with their best friends on
Good Friday, reciting the lines “Half for
you and half for me, between us two,
good luck shall be” to guarantee their
friendship for the coming year.
While the bun itself has scudded across
epochs from paganism to Christianity,
our modern recipe is attributed to a
14th-century monk at the Cathedral of
St Albans, who first mixed the yeast with
cinnamon and delivered his baked treats
to the poor. And I weep when I imagine
what this monk would say were he to
wander into a supermarket today. Yes, like
my neighbour, I’m a purist when it comes
to the bun. This is partly out of reverence
for a past that is accessible to us through
food, and also because I’m not ready to
cede all our sacred rituals to the new gods
of consumption and profit. In fact, this
Easter I’ll be hanging a spiced hot cross
bun from the rafters and praying it
keeps the evil mocha-orange-peel
spirits at bay.Hot cross buns
MAKES 9 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 20 MINS (PLUS PROVING)Using vegetable oil in place of butter gives these buns a softer crumb and
helps them keep longer. Some may think adding chocolate to hot cross buns
is a travesty, but we’ve included the variation for non-purists.500 gm plain flour
1 tsp (about 1 sachet) dried yeast
50 gm brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
½ nutmeg, finely grated
350 ml lukewarm milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
50 gm currants
30 gm mixed peel
Softened butter, to serve
FLOUR PASTE
40 gm plain flour
GLAZE
55 gm (¼ cup) caster sugar1 Combine flour, yeast, sugar, spices
and a large pinch of salt in a large
bowl. Add milk and vegetable oil and
mix to a smooth dough (it will be a
little sticky). Mix in the currants and
mixed peel, place dough in a lightly
oiled bowl, cover bowl with a damp
tea towel and leave to prove until
doubled in size (1½-2 hours; see note).
2 Preheat oven to 190°C and line
a 22cm-square cake tin with baking
paper. Knock back dough and, with
lightly floured hands, divide it into
9 even pieces. Roll each under yourhand in a circular motion until smooth
and round (you may need to dust
them lightly with a little flour to
prevent sticking), then arrange
evenly in the tin and leave to prove
until doubled in size (30 minutes).
3 For flour paste, mix flour and 50ml
water to a thick paste that will hold
its shape when piped – add a little
more flour or water if necessary.
Transfer to a small plastic bag, snip
of a corner and pipe crosses on the
buns. Bake until golden and cooked
through (20-22 minutes). Cool in tin
for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool
on a wire rack.
4 For glaze, mix sugar with 50ml
boiling water in a bowl, stirring until
dissolved. While buns are still hot,
brush with glaze, then leave to cool
until just warm or room temperature.
Serve with butter. Hot cross buns
will keep for 2 days in an airtight
container.
NoteTo serve the buns in the
morning, prepare the dough the
night before and prove it overnight
in the fridge. In the morning, roll the
dough into balls and prove them
again before baking.Chocolate hot cross bunsFor chocolate hot cross buns,
replace 40gm flour with an equal amount of Dutch-process
cocoa powder, and in place of the fruit, add 70gm coarsely
chopped dark chocolate (65%-70% cocoa solids), kneading
half through the dough and scattering the remainder on top.
For the flour paste to make the cross, substitute a quarter of
the flour with cocoa powder.●42 GOURMET TRAVELLER