Sunday, March 10, 2019

HOT CROSSED BUNS

Yes, it's that time of year again when the Mistress reveals my moist, soft and fluffy Hot Crossed Buns!!! To some of your dismay...not those buns!!! I made a batch yesterday, and is yet another of those traditions that reminds me of my departed grandmother. Delicious hot cross buns—those doughy, raisin-studded delights—are traditionally eaten during Lent, especially in the week leading up to Easter. Marked with an icing or dough cross on top, they've been a holiday staple of some communities for centuries. Given the baked good's long history, legends and superstitions have had ample time to develop and grow around them. Here are five favorites:

A 12th-century monk was the first person to mark the bun with a cross.This monk baked the buns on Good Friday, in honor of the upcoming Easter holiday, IrishCentral reports, and they soon gained popularity around England as a symbol of the holiday weekend. However, the first definite record of hot cross buns comes from a 16th and 17th century text stating: "Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs, with one or two a penny hot cross buns."
They stay fresh for a whole year.If you hang a hot cross bun from your kitchen walls on Good Friday, legend has it that the bread will remain fresh and mold-free throughout the entire year. This harkens back to the body of Christ, which, according to the Bible, did not show any signs of decay after his crucifixion and prior to his resurrection. I'm not about to find that one out.
They expel bad spirits.Due to the blessed cross on top, hot cross buns hung in the kitchen are supposed to protect from evil spirits. They're also said to prevent kitchen fires from breaking out, and ensure that all breads baked that year will turn out perfectly delicious. 
And cement friendships.Those who share a hot cross bun are supposed to enjoy a strong friendship and bond for the next year. A line from an old rhyme captures this lore, says Irish Central: "Half for you and half for me, between us two, good luck shall be." 
They're too sacred to eat any old day.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. 
Mine yesterday turned out very well. Like my grandmother I use some dried fruit and nuts. Between these buns and faschnauts day earlier in the week, I had like about three or four.. .the Lad best hurry back from vacation and help me work all these carbs off!!!! Swim and sun season is right around the corner. Of course, I chased that all down today with a full English breakfast!
Today for those who enjoy the Unusual Suspects, while getting breakfast it was like being in Bodega Bay from the Birds. Anne Marie always say my milkshake bring the boys to the yard, but this birds to the yard today was something. I know starlings are a highly social family, but my give space for other too eat!!!!!
Buster booked from the kitchen.

33 comments:

  1. I thought hot crossed buns were released the other day by The Lad? ;-)

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    1. Funny you should mention that. That came up in a search on the blog for hot crossed buns!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    2. I get the distinct impression I might have missed a few good posts?

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  2. I'm with Ravager on this one! The birds are cute. If you hear school children singing, run!

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  3. And here I was ready to lick the icing off your buns. I don't know where the carbs are going...from your picture the other day...you look great and toned.

    They sure do look good though. I don't know they are big out here.

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  4. Just looking at those they go right to my fat ass!

    I too love hot crossed buns. I would have to try your baked goods.

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    1. I have sampled his tea biscuits; OMB, gurl, so fucking GOOD!

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  5. Yummy! Now I'm going to have the song 'Hot Cross Buns' in my head all day. :-) Your look yum!!!!

    And what body fat on you?

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  6. Oh, Maddie, how I love your birds ... and your buns!

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  7. I have never had hot cross buns, but now I am dying to try them from seeing them on your blog. I didn't even know they were an Easter and Lent thing!

    Looks delicious

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  8. I was just in Germany traveling this week and saw similar buns like that. You can buy them all year. They are very yummy. Yours look very delicious and I will give them a try this year.

    I sure hope Buster isn't traumatized!

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  9. I think you need a scratch and sniff feature installed. And I can even hear the birds squawking. Could it be they were there to enjoy the inside view, or perhaps the cooking?

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    1. oh gurl, you're asking for trouble with that "scratch n sniff". maddie will have us sniffing the lad's buns next!

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  10. Your buns look divine! A fellow musician brought these in the other day for rehearsal. I hadn't had them in years.

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  11. Dried fruit and Nuts!! Gee, I hope it wasn't anybody I know.

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  12. I love hot cross buns! Never heard those legends before, though.

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  13. Oh , I love Hot Crossed buns.I've been thinking of making these rolls all week! William is gonna be all over these! I don't think one more bird can fit on that window sill.

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  14. I am such a dough queen! These are dreamy...I will have visions of hot cross buns all day long floating over the clouds like sheep.

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  15. I'll be singing that song for the rest of the day...
    Hot cross buns,
    Hot cross buns,
    one ha' penny,
    two ha' penny,
    hot cross buns.
    If you have no daughters,
    give them to your sons,
    one ha' penny,
    two ha' penny,
    Hot Cross Buns

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  16. A sure sign that spring and Easter are near. They look perfectly delicious (..and I always love edible buns...)

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  17. Shoot, I was hoping for something else!

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  18. That's not a few starlings...that's a swarm!!!!

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  19. Wow. This looks so good. I want to eat them NOW! Wish they had technology where things could appear through the computer monitor... sigh...

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  20. I am so in love with these buns and folklore, it's almost frightening. I just found my first real hot cross buns in a bakery a few weeks ago. Up until that moment, they had only been the stuff of legend to me.

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  21. If Ii weren't headed to Portland for a wedding this weekend, I'd sure be making those...

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  22. Good history report!
    And we have lots of starlings too. xooxoxox

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  23. I too thought of the ditty one a penny two a penny hot crossed buns

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  24. Your buns look fabulous...as always!

    That's a lot of noisy, voracious, temperamental birds. Buster did the right thing. Careful you don't end up like Tippy Hendron...

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    1. I have to say Eros, when faschnauts Day rolled around I thought of you...I know you like your donuts!

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  25. Ohh
    You just made me hungry! They look delish! Not that I mind when you post about the OTHER buns, Maddie.
    And I loved the lore and stories about them, too. Catholics. We keep the conversations around the table interesting.

    XOXO

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  26. My mother liked them, she never made them, she had an irrational fear of working with yeast.

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Go ahead darling, tell me something fabulous!