Christians across the globe are all set to observe Good Friday on 7th April this year. Good Friday falls two days before Easter Sunday and Christians observe the crucifixion of Jesus Christ two before the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter. Good Friday rituals consist of fasting, praying and doing church services which usually takes place in the afternoon. There is a plethora of dishes made and eaten on Good Friday and one of these is a special treat called hot cross buns. But what exactly are hot cross buns?
If there is a nursery rhyme that you are thinking of, we are sailing in the same boat. Hot cross buns are sweet, fresh spiced buns that are prepared on Good Fridays for over centuries. Made up of sugar, flour, yeast, oil and dry fruits, these sweet buns have a dense texture with both sweet and spicy flavour tingling the tongue at the same time. Traditionally, a cross is made on these buns either with icing or carved before the buns are put to bake. The cross represents the cross on which the Jesus Christ was crucified. Earlier, these buns were exclusively made on Good Fridays but as their popularity increased, they were made and enjoyed the whole year.
Making hot cross buns on Good Friday could be because of many theories believed. While some say that it highlights the Christianity symbolism, some believe a different theory. A legend believes that Queen Elizabeth I had passed a law against the distribution of these sweet buns at the time of Good Fridays, Easter, Christmas and funerals. The citizens did abide by the law, but they were quite superstitious as according to them, the buns had some magical and medicinal properties. They neglected the law and anyway made these sweet buns. Because these buns were not easy to make, they were made in big batches only on special occasions. Among the many superstitions, one was that if the sweet buns are made on Good Friday, they would stay fresh for the whole year. After the popularity of these buns kept increasing, the Queen’s government had to banish the law in the end.
Another legend believes that these buns were first baked by an Anglican Monk somewhere around the 12th century and the cross was put there on purpose. No matter how it came to being, it is an indominable tradition followed on Good Friday. Wanna know how to make these hot cross buns this Good Friday? Here is the recipe.
Ingredients
- 250 ml warm milk
- 3 eggs
- 150 gm black raisins
- 5 gm bread improver
- 5 gm cinnamon
- 5 gm nutmeg
- 5 gm mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves in equal quantity
- 200 gm + 500 gm flour
- 130 gm + 6 gm sugar
- 25 gm corn oil
- 50 gm French-style all-purpose flour
- 35 gm yeast
- 10 gm salt
- Water
Method
- Take a bowl and add 200 gm flour, warm milk and yeast. Keep them aside to ferment for at least 3 hours.
- Thereafter, make a dough using the remaining flour, bread improver, butter, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, spice mixture, sugar and the fermented mixture.
- Also add salt and make a soft sough. You can also use a dough mixer.
- Add raisins and distribute them evenly. Form the dough and set it aside.
- Meanwhile, preheat an oven at 170-degree Celsius and when the dough is set, divide the dough into 24 to 25 equal proportions.
- Roll each portion into a smooth ball and place them on a sheet lined on the baking tray. Leave some space between each dough.
- Now, take a bowl and add French-style all-purpose flour, corn oil, water and 6 gm sugar. Form a smooth consistency.
- Now, brush the buns with olive oil and pipe the icing on the buns while creating cross marks.
- Bake these buns for 12 to 15 minutes until the golden colour is achieved.