The bun marks the end of Lent and different parts of the hot cross bun have a certain meaning, including the cross representing the crucifixion of Jesus, and the spices inside signifying the spices used to embalm him at his burial.

A 12th-century monk introduced the cross to the bun. The origins of hot cross buns may go back as far as the 12th century. According to the story, an Anglican monk baked the buns and marked them with a cross in honor of Good Friday. Over time they gained popularity, and eventually became a symbol of Easter weekend.

Hot Cross Buns are inextricably linked to Easter and to Christianity. But in reality, they probably have pre-Christian origins. ‘Cross Buns’ were baked to celebrate Eostre, a Germanic Goddess of Fertility, after which the season of Easter is said to be named.

Hot cross buns are an Irish and English Easter tradition. Soft, spiced and fruited yeast rolls, they are marked with a cross to symbolize the crucifix, and are baked and served on Good Friday.

In 1592, Queen Elizabeth I decreed that hot cross buns could no longer be sold on any day except for Good Friday, Christmas or for burials. They were simply too special to be eaten any other day.

Well you’ll be happy to know that throwing a packet into your shopping trolley and eating one daily can absolutely be part of a healthy diet over Easter. Really. Hot cross buns can be a good source of fibre and complex carbohydrates.

“A hot cross bun has raisins, sultanas and yeast that ferments when consumed. When a breathalyser test is done immediately after eating a bun, it will register a high alcohol level due to the effects of all these elements on the breath content,” Prins said.

Flour Cross: Pipe a “paste” of flour and water on top of each bun BEFORE baking. This is the most traditional application of the cross and the method I usually choose. It gets a *little* hard after baking, but it’s still perfectly chewy.

SUPERMARKET hot cross buns can contain as much sugar as a chocolate bar, The Sun on Sunday can reveal. And they’re not just high in sugar. A Tesco bun contained half a gram of salt, the same as in a pack of salted peanuts.

HOT CROSS BUNSTraditional Hot Cross Bun

	Ave. qty per serving	% Daily Intake** per serving
Carbohydrate	40.4g	13%
– Sugars	16.9g	19%
Dietary Fibre	2.1g	7%
Sodium	267mg	12%

Hot cross buns were invented by the Christians in ancient Rome and are a traditional snack eaten during Easter. They are made of sweet, spiced bread dough with raisins which ia baked. Most people eat hot cross buns either toasted or cold with loads of butter.

There could be a number of reasons why your hot cross buns turn out heavy or even hard. The most common reasons are as follows: Over kneading – this is more likely to happen if you use an electric mixer and dough hook. If you over knead dough it will break down the glutens and make the buns hard.

Dense or heavy bread can be the result of not kneading the dough mix properly –out of many reasons out there. Some of the other potential reasons could be mixing the yeast & salt together or losing your patience while baking or even not creating enough tension in the finished loaf before baking the bread.

Once the dough has been kneaded enough it should be smooth and shiny and should also spring back easily if you press your finger on the dough. However be careful if kneading by machine, as it is possible to over-knead the dough which will eventually break down the glutens and can also cause the buns to be hard.

2 months

How Do You Defrost Hot Cross Buns? The best thing about frozen baked hot cross buns is that you don’t need to defrost them at all! You can pop them under the grill or into the toaster and toast them right from frozen. For unbaked hot cross buns, you need to allow them to defrost and prove before baking.

If you want to take out only a couple of buns at a time then freeze them in an airtight container with baking parchment (parchment paper) in between the layers of buns. The buns should defrost in 2-3 hours at room temperature and can be warmed in an oven preheated to 150C/fan 130/300F for about 5 minutes.

To defrost in microwave, place 1 hot cross bun onto a sheet of paper towel. Heat, uncovered, for 45 to 50 seconds on MEDIUM-LOW (DEFROST) (30%) power.

You, like the majority of people, are almost certainly eating hot cross buns wrong. Don’t toast the crossies; microwave them. Yes, microwave. You’re bringing the bun back to how the bakers originally intended it to be eaten – straight from the oven, warm and gooey on the inside.

What is the best way to heat hot cross buns? You can re-heat hot cross buns in a number of ways. For a light, toasted bun, slice them and add them under a pre-heated hot grill/broiler in your oven. Keep an eye on them, as 1-2 minutes is all you will need.

Do you warm up hot cross buns? If you using store-bought, I would definitely recommend heating them up before serving them. The easiest way is to toast them but you can also wrap them in foil and warm them up in the oven for a few minutes.

Gellatly, Ptak, and Bertinet all agree that hot cross buns are best made and served the traditional way, eaten warm or toasted with salted butter. “They should be rich in spice and fruit with a good depth of orange and lemon zest,” says Gellatly.

“It’s between 20 and 25 minutes, probably the same at home in a 220C oven,” says Daniel. Leanne’s are cooked for 35 minutes at 180C in a commercial oven. “But at home, I’d start out at 220C to get that nice crust on top and then turn down to 180C after 15 minutes,” she says.

If you turn stale buns into breadcrumbs you can use them in myriad desserts, too. To make hot cross bun breadcrumbs, place halved stale buns onto a baking tray and then bake for 10-20 minutes (depending on how stale they already are) at 130 °C until crisp and dry.

Method. Cut the two Hot Cross Buns in half and toast them in a toaster or in an oven under the grill until golden brown. Serve hot with butter and apricot jam.

For Christians, the cross represents the crucifixion of Jesus. The spices inside the buns symbolise the spices put on the body of Jesus after he died. The buns are best served hot, hence how they received their name.

After heating: Serve warm. Do not reheat once cooled. To heat on grill Moderate heat 2-3 mins All cooking appliances vary.

Put half a hot cross bun on two plates, add some slices of banana and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzle over some caramel sauce and add some walnuts.

The need to knead The hot cross bun dough is very sticky, especially at the start. To aid the kneading process, Mar suggests sieving a thin layer of additional plain flour onto the board and over the top of the dough. Having slightly wet hands also helps. ”You can feel the dough, if it’s ready,” she says.

Toasted hot cross buns smeared with butter create a great breakfast for any occasion.