Hot cross bun

The Greeks in the 6th century AD may have marked cakes with a cross.[8][9]

In the Christian tradition, the making of buns with a cross on them and consuming them after breaking the fast on Good Friday, along with "crying about 'Hot cross buns'", is done in order to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus.[10] It is hypothesised that the contemporary hot cross bun of Christianity originates from St Albans in England, where in 1361, Brother Thomas Rodcliffe, a 14th-century Christian monk at St Albans Abbey, developed a similar recipe called an 'Alban Bun' and distributed the bun to the poor on Good Friday.[11]

In 1592, during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, the London Clerk of Markets issued a decree forbidding the sale of hot cross buns and other spiced breads, except at burials, on Good Friday, or at Christmas. The punishment for transgressing the decree was forfeiture of all the forbidden product to the poor. As a result, hot cross buns at the time were primarily made in domestic kitchens. Further attempts to suppress the sale of these items outside of these holy days took place during the reign of James I of England (1603–1625).[12]

The first definite record of hot cross buns comes from a London street cry: "Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs. With one or two a penny hot cross buns", which appeared in Poor Robin's Almanac for 1733.[13] The line "One a penny, two a penny, hot cross-buns" appears in the English nursery rhyme "Hot Cross Buns" published in the London Chronicle for 2–4 June 1767.[14] Food historian Ivan Day states, "The buns were made in London during the 18th century. But when you start looking for records or recipes earlier than that, you hit nothing."[4]

An 1884 advertisement announcing the sale of hot cross buns for Good Friday in a Hawaiian newspaper.

English folklore includes many superstitions surrounding hot cross buns. One says that buns baked and served on Good Friday will not spoil or grow mouldy during the subsequent year. Another encourages keeping such a bun for medicinal purposes. A piece of it given to someone who is ill is said to help them recover.[15]

If taken on a sea voyage, hot cross buns are said to protect against shipwreck. If hung in the kitchen, they are said to protect against fire and ensure that all breads turn out perfectly. The hanging bun is replaced each year.[15]

In the United Kingdom, the major supermarkets produce variations on the traditional recipe such as toffee, orange-cranberry, salted caramel and chocolate, and apple-cinnamon.[16]

In Australia, coffee-flavoured buns are also sold in some bakeries.[17] There are also sticky date and caramel versions as well as mini versions of the traditional bun.[18] Other newer variations that can be purchased from major supermarkets include chocolate chip, chocolate and cherry, butterscotch,[19] apple and cinnamon, banana and caramel, jalapeño and cheese, and white chocolate and raspberry.[20]

In Jamaica and some Commonwealth Caribbean islands, the hot cross bun has over time evolved into a spiced Easter bun with the addition of molasses, spices and a loaf shape.[21][22] This bun is eaten with cheese in islands such as Jamaica and Guyana and served with beverages such as Mauby or Ginger beer.[23]

In Slovakia and in the Czech Republic, mazanec is a similar cake or sweet bread eaten at Easter. It often has a cross marked on top.[24]

Hot cross bun, with a piped cross made from flour paste, cut in two

The traditional method for making the cross on top of the bun is to use shortcrust pastry,[25][26] though some 21st century recipes recommended a paste of flour and water.[27]