GOOD FRIDAY HOT CROSS BUNS

 GOOD FRIDAY

HOT CROSS BUNS



Hot cross buns were first made by Brother Thomas Rodcliffe, a 14th century monk at St Alban’s Abbey who, in 1361, developed the recipe, originally called the ‘Alban bun’ and distributed them to the poor on Good Friday. [That story explains the eating of sweet buns on Good Friday, in case you, like me, never made sense of it. It doesn’t explain, however, why Baker’s Delight sell Hot Cross Buns from Christmas and all through Lent].
The Benedictine monastery of St Albans was dedicated to England’s first saint who was martyred by the Romans. The monastery was originally endowed in 793 AD, the first Abbot appropriately named Wiligod, and by 1163, it was recognised as England’s premier abbey. It did not, of course, survive the reformation -the monastery and all the monastic buildings were destroyed, the offices sequestered, the gold and silver plate seized and the monks banished. The town purchased the monastery church as a parish church (C of E) and the Lady Chapel became a school. In 1870 the Lady Chapel was brought into the use of the Anglican Church.
Hot cross buns are steeped in Easter traditions and are replete with meaning, the white cross, of course, symbolising Christ.
Good Friday is, as everybody knows, a fasting day; the French have a complete fast until after the Vigil on Holy Saturday. The Irish call it a ‘black fast’ - they might subsist solely on cups of tea on this day. Good Friday is about contemplating Christ’s Passion and engaging upon the Via Crucis with Him.
This recipe for Hot Cross Buns is from Darina Allen, of the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School in Shanagarry, Co Cork, Ireland, (see goodfoodireland), from which the image is taken.
HOT CROSS BUNS RECIPE:
INGREDIENTS
• 25g (1oz) fresh yeast
• 75-110g (3-4oz) castor sugar
• 450g (1lb) bakers flour
• 75g (3oz) butter
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2-3 teaspoons mixed spice, depending how fresh it is
• 1 level teaspoon of salt
• 2 organic eggs
• 225-300ml (8-10 fl oz) tepid milk
• 75g (3oz) currants
• 50g (2oz) sultanas
• 25g (1oz) candied peel, chopped (see recipe)
• egg wash made with milk,
• sugar,
• 1 organic egg yolk, whisked together
Liquid Cross:
• 50g (2oz) white flour
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 4-5 tablespoons cold water
METHOD
Dissolve the yeast with 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a little tepid milk.
Put the flour into a bowl, rub in the butter, add the cinnamon, nutmeg, mixed spice, a pinch of salt and the remainder of the sugar. Mix well.
Whisk the eggs and add to the milk.
Make a well in the centre of the flour, add the yeast and most of the liquid and mix to a soft dough, adding a little more milk if necessary.
Cover and leave to rest for 2 or 3 minutes then knead by hand or in a food processor until smooth.
Add the currants, sultanas and mixed peel and continue to knead until the dough is shiny.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place until it doubles in size.
“Knock back”, by kneading for 3 or 4 minutes, rest for a few minutes.
Divide the mixture into 14 balls, each weighing about 50g (2oz). Knead each slightly and shape into buns. Place on a lightly floured tray.
Egg wash and leave to rise.
If using shortcrust, arrange a cross of pastry on each one.
Then egg wash a second time carefully. We tend to decorate with what we call a “liquid cross”. To make this, mix the flour, melted butter and water together to form a thick liquid.
Fill into a paper piping bag and pipe a liquid cross on top of each bun. Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas mark 6.
Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes then reduce the heat to 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6 for a further 10 minutes or until golden.
Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Split in two and serve with butter.

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