What makes a good Hot Cross Bun and where to find one

The French are very good at seasonal baking and cakes, with things like Galette des Rois and La Chandeleur. Apart from Christmas, the English staples seem to have fallen by the wayside, except for the Hot Cross Bun. In the UK they can be found all year round now apparently, but here in Dubai they make an appearance the week before Easter then disappear. This is just as it should be in my book!

Why are they called Hot Cross Buns? They used to be served warm from the oven on Good Friday and they have a cross on them.

The origin of Hot Cross Buns is shrouded in a bit of mystery and varying tales, but while they have been given Christian meaning in more recent times they are thought to have a pagan origin or even have roots with the Romans. Their popularity gained in the 1600s as sugar and spices transported from across the world became cheaper and more abundant.  Crosses are now made of pastry but were probably just a mark made with a knife in olden days. Their consumption was regulated by Queen Elizabeth I who decreed that they could only be eaten on Good Friday and at burials or for Christmas. If you were caught baking them on any other day you had to donate the lot to the poor.

Marks and Spencer hot cross buns

There are various superstitions attributed to these spiced baked spheres too. From warding off evil spirit to keeping bread fresh and free from mould throughout the year if hung from the rafters of your kitchen. This was taken to extremes in some cases and there some Hot Cross Buns exist which are over 100 years old and have been passed down through generations.

So what makes a good Hot Cross Bun?

These are eaten on Good Friday as they mark the end of Lent where eggs, butter and sugar, have been given up as fast for forty days (or at least used to be). All of these things are packed into these spiced, fruited buns.  A traditional Hot Cross bun should be topped with a slightly sticky glaze to make them glorious shiny and a cross. Some people pipe the cross, others roll out a little pastry to make a slightly thicker, neater one. It should be plain though, just flour and water (we will tackle the thorny problem of novelty shortly). The texture of the bun should be light, reasonably fluffy and rich from the egg and milk but plain enough not to be sickly when combined with fruit. Any added sweetness to the dough must be barely noticeable.  Plump raisins and soft, tangy candied peel must be dotted through the bun evenly.

A variety of hot cross buns

Lafayette Gourmet hot cross buns and Spinneys hot cross buns

How to eat a Hot Cross Bun

When fresh from the oven, within a couple of hours, the buns should be soft enough to prise apart, spread with butter and eat plain. Any older than they are best toasted before anointing with your best butter – whether salted or unsalted is up to you but I favour the former. Traditionally additions like jam or marmalade should not be necessary, and I think the bun is sweet enough not to need it. Naturally, you should always accompany one with a cup of tea.

Baker and Spice hot cross buns

Three methods of making a Hot Cross Bun

Why do Hot Cross Buns differ in texture and taste? There are several bread making techniques (and these are a risen bready bun).

Slow-rise

This involves taking a starter made of dried yeast or natural yeasts from the atmosphere combined flour and water that froths into a ‘sponge’. The dough itself is left overnight in a cool place to slowly rise and let the gluten develop. It typically uses much less yeast in proportion to flour.

Yeasted

I have called this yeasted for want of a better term. These are the type of bun you are most likely to make in your home kitchen. You add yeast to the other ingredients, knead and leave to prove at room temperature for an hour or two, then you knead again, shape and leave for a second prove before baking.

Quick rise, Chorleywood process or activated dough development’ (ADD)

In the 1960s, a method was invented in the UK which enabled large units to manufacture cheap, fluffy bread, with little or no proving, using additives and enzymes. This how the buns, sold in packs, in the supermarkets are made. ‘The Shocking Truth about bread’ is an article with a good explanation.

Baker and Spice hot cross buns

Jones the Grocer hot cross buns

Hot Cross Bun variations

No surprise here. I’m a traditionalist and like a classic bun made by hand with care and to the specifications described earlier on what makes a good one. Invention is not necessarily a bad thing if it improves on the original. This year I’ve seen replacements for the dried fruit, flavoured glazes, savoury buns with bacon crosses, additions of Marmite and seeds, and even some made in the shape of Miffy the rabbit.  My friend Miss Foodwise adds a little grated carrot to the dough for a lighter crumb. The recipe I use is further down the page.

Lafayette Gourmet hot cross buns

The best Hot Cross bun in Dubai

This taste test all started when Marks and Spencer sent me a parcel of buns out of the blue. I decided to get my hands on as many as possible to see which I like best. Baker & Spice and Jones the Grocer sent some and Russell Impiazzi from Lafayette Gourmet delivered his personally on Good Friday. I bought some from Spinneys and Lime Tree Cafe.

Quick rise

Marks & Spencer

I was given five varieties of bun and was very intrigued by the flavours.  The Luxury traditional were my favourite, not too sweet with a good proportion of sultanas, currants, orange and lemon peel. The cranberry and orange also worked well as the cranberries added a tangy sharpness. Surprisingly the dark chocolate and salted caramel fudge was not bad in flavour – a sort of riff on pain au chocolate. The blueberry buns were far too sweet with a strange cooked taste to the fruit, and the Bramley apple were like bottled apple sauce in a bun – just wrong. The texture of all was soft, light and a bit pappy as the production method dictates. They were much better toasted but not that satisfying. The glaze had soaked into the bun so none were shiny.

Spinneys

These are the Fine Fare brand made by Spinneys in the UAE. They had kept their shape and were reasonably shiny with the glaze. The texture was similar to the M&S ones, they had a nice smattering of plump fruit and a subtle spice. For my tastes, the dough was far too sweet and I struggled to finish one, even tempered with butter. They were the most economical of all tasted.

Lime Tree Cafe hot cross bun

Lime Tree Cafe hot cross buns

Yeasted

Lafayette Gourmet

Chef Russell Impiazzi delivered these himself having just finished a children’s Easter cookery class which he’d baked these for. He apologised that there was no peel and chocolate chips instead of fruit due to the demands of his children. The appearance was the best of all the buns I tested; regular in shape, neat crosses and a wonderful, glistening glaze on top. I took a quick picture and wolfed one down immediately. They were nicely spiced, the dough unsweetened (I think) giving a nice foil to the dark chocolate.

Lime Tree Cafe

These buns were part of the array of decorated Easter goods spread over tables in Lime Tree. They looked the part but were the most expensive of all the buns I tested as even take away comes with butter and jam (I declined but the price did not adjust). The texture was fluffy, open and soft enough to pull apart, but the spicing level way too intense – the dough itself looked light brown due to the amount used – the cinnamon and clove left a bitter aftertaste.

Lafayette Gourmet and Spinneys hot cross buns

Spinneys hot cross buns

Jones the Grocer

Gleaming with a very sticky almost jammy glaze, these were a generous size with a very homemade looking cross (not a bad thing!). The texture was good – needed slightly more time to prove I think as the crumb was not as open as the LG ones. The spice was very subtle, more of a warm after taste. Sultanas and soft pink peel dotted through for tanginess rather than sweetness. On the edges some of the crosses had gone hard and chewy – but overall a good bun.

Slow rise

Baker & Spice

This was a much denser bun, fresh from the oven really excellent with just butter, and by the end of the day better toasted. The spice was spot on and the sweetness provided by the glaze not the dough. There was a really good sharp tang and soft citrus bits from chunky homemade orange jam that’s used instead of peel. I had another taste of these with the Dubai Eye team on radio where we sampled a chocolate version too. The traditional Hot Cross Bun met with enthusiastic approval but the chocolate bread studded with chocolate was thought not to be chocolatey enough. I think these would be nice with a sweetened cream, cinnamon butter or dunked in hot chocolate – all not really HCB territory.

Home made hot cross buns

Make your own Hot Cross Buns

As the name says, these are really best with the warmth of the oven still a memory. They are not difficult to bake and very satisfying when you pull them apart.

Homemade hot cross buns

Some I made earlier!

Are you a traditionalist like me or do you fall on these different twists and flavours with gusto? Have you even eaten a Hot Cross Bun? Are there any different seasonal treats you like to make or eat? Let me know in the comments below.

Disclosure: As mentioned above, some of the bakers were kind enough to supply me with samples for testing. I know Chef Aaliya of B&S and Chef Russell of LG well – however this did not influence my appraisal and these are my honest opinions.