contra-buns for a Springtime feast
Before I begin, I wanted to introduce all of you, my dear readers, to the newest addition to the freshcrackedpepper family: my very own registered domain name! We are now www.freshcrackedpepper.com! Yup, it’s mine, all mine. Bought n’ paid for. For those of you non-bloggers, this will be about as consequential as a sparrow alighting on a mountaintop in Greenland, but I’m sure some of you out there understand just how momentous this can be. I feel like I’ve just got my first magazine assignment for Cooks Illustrated. Or close anyway. This doesn’t really change your lives at all, other than the fact that you can now email me at jen@freshcrackedpepper.com. Please try to keep your excitement at bay.
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Yesterday I started a tradition: making hot cross buns on Good Friday. Obviously this is not an original idea, but I don’t have many annual traditions of my own. Customs, however, are so tied to kinship that in family’s absence seem even more important. The impetus for this one came from my partner in crime who, in a fit of temptation at the grocery store last week, gathered up a plastic box of hot cross buns and looked at me with an indulgent smile. A guilty glance over the ingredients was all it took to get me food blog searching for a hot cross buns recipe to call my very own.
fermenting the sponge starter
But first, a lesson in history. Little did I know that these innocent buns have had their share of prejudice. Back in the day, protestant English monarchs thought they were a “dangerous” hold-over of Catholic belief in England, being baked from the dough used to make communion wafers. I call myself Anglican, but this tidbit is enough to make me scoff at religious obduracy. Besides, I couldn’t imagine a more unlikely association as a delicate bundle of spices studded with fruit, and a communion wafer reminiscent of cardboard. Thankfully in this case, popular opinion reigned supreme and in spite of attempts to have the sale of the buns banned, Elizabeth I passed a law permitting bakeries to sell the popular treat–but only at Easter and Christmas. According to pagan history, the buns are believe to have pre-dated Christianity. They were eaten by the Saxons in honour of Eostre, the goddess of Spring (from whom the modern term Easter is thought to be derived). The cross symbolized the four quarters of the moon, or the balance of light and darkness during the Equinox.
For the recipe, I had to look no further than the comments on my very own blog. In a confluence of time that only the internet has made possible, while Susan from Wild Yeast was leaving a comment about my latest soup, I was reading through her post on hot crossed buns. Looking soft, whole-wheat shaded, and just complicated enough to make me feel smug, I was almost ready to baptize this new recipe into my humble congregation of baked things.
ready to rise
shaped for second rising
Only a few obscure ingredient to gather up and I was ready to bake. A friend relieved my currant-less state, and I managed to find candied peel (after a look of confusion from random store clerk) on the clearance rack of my local grocery store. The three hours (with good company, mind you) of mixing, rising, waiting, “crossing,” baking and glazing were absolutely and utterly worth it. The buns came out with the right marriage of tender chewiness, light spice and tangy sweetness.
Today is Holy Saturday, a day lodged between the two most elevated days of Holy Week, and possible of the entire Christian year. It’s a day when the sorrow of loss covered a small group of devoted followers. It is, as the Dutch call it, a Silent Saturday. As I sit in the sunshine of my living room enjoying one of these buns toasted with a fine spread of peanut butter, I keep thinking about Easter as a turning point. It is a season where the natural world slowly begins to angle itself towards the celebration of growth and the triumph of life.
take up your cross, little buns
nicely browned
Whether you celebrate this religious holiday or simply awaken your senses to the Earth cracking open its shell, I hope you find your own ways to recognize it. For me, rolling and shaping these friendly buns reminded me of the ways all of us — regardless of creed — search for rhythm and significance. I leave you the words of singer-songwriter Dar Williams who addresses this in the following song:
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
And just before the meal was served, hands were held and prayers were said,
Sending hope for peace on earth to all their gods and goddesses.
glazed with sugar
Rather than re-typing the recipe in its entirety, I’ll simply pass along the link. Warning: all measurements are in hard-core-baker form. (ie: weights, so you’ll need a scale) The only things I might change: trying King Arthur Flour’s white whole wheat flour for even more softness, and adding a bit of orange and lemon zest.
Jen- I was truly excited for your new domain name…seriously!
Jen..or should I say Ms. Jounalist…these are by far the most beautiful hot cross buns I have ever seen. I loved the way the dough looked before it rose, like it was full of smnarties!!! If they tasted as good as they look you must have been in heaven!!!
Cheers, Judi
Wonderful! I can imagine the white whole wheat flour was very good. I too have gotten strange looks from store workers when I asked for candied peels. They can be hard to find, especially this time of year. I had some left from Christmas for my buns, but it dawned on me that I could make my own any time.