Early hot cross bun recipes have been linked to 12th-century Anglican monks who marked baked goods with crosses on Good Friday, also known as the Day of the Cross. In 1361, a priest made small cross-marked spiced cakes, and the baked treat became a tradition for those practicing stricter Easter rituals. At one point, hot cross buns made on Good Friday were fried and used as medicine as they were thought to have holy power, or strung in homes to ward off malicious energy. Yet in 16th-century England hot cross buns were made discreetly, as they became so intimately intertwined with Easter that bakers suspected of being Catholic were arrested under the protestant rule of Elizabeth I. Their defense if caught? The X in the dough helped ensure a better rise during baking. This reasoning was accepted, and the law was amended so that hot cross buns could again be made.
Today, you’ll find bakers adding personal touches to traditional recipes, making crosses with icings or chocolate instead of the simple scoring or flour paste. While the spices found in hot cross bun recipes have been linked to the spices used to anoint Jesus after his death, all sorts of new ingredients from cocoa to citrus zest are now accepted. Regardless of whether you celebrate Easter with specialty foods like the Greek’s tsoureki bread, hot cross buns make a delightful year-round treat, and religious or spiritual inclinings don’t necessarily need to be your main concern.
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