03/26/2007

One a Penny, Two a Penny

Hot cross buns are an Easter tradition

BY CYMBRE FOSTER
Special to the Record-Eagle

Record-Eagle/
Douglas Tesner
Karen Cimeley adds the frosting to finish hot cross buns at Bay Bread in Traverse City.

Hot cross buns are as easy to find at Easter in England as marshmallow Peeps are in America.

But unlike their spongy counterparts, hot cross buns are steeped in history and symbolism.

Bread has long played a role in religious holidays in a variety of cultures. Baked with special ingredients and in specific shapes, bread can symbolize religious events or simply round out a traditional holiday meal.

Easter breads are often sweet and studded with dried fruits, spices or dripping with icing. Many were traditionally baked to celebrate the coming of spring or the end of religious fasting.

Kulich, for instance, is an iced Russian Easter bread baked in a columnar form and traditionally blessed at midnight Mass on the eve of Easter Sunday. Tsoureki is a Greek Easter bread often eaten to break the Lenten fast. It is traditionally baked in a braid or twist that incorporates hard-boiled eggs.

Perhaps one of the best known Easter breads is the hot cross bun, a spicy, slightly sticky yeast bun that has been associated with English culture since the Middle Ages. What sets these sweet treats apart from other Easter breads is the cross on top.

Today in England, hot cross buns are traditionally eaten for breakfast on Good Friday. This tradition likely began when Queen Elizabeth I banned the consumption of hot cross buns except during festivals such as Christmas and Easter.

It's also surprising how many superstitions are associated with this bit of bread. In England, buns baked on Good Friday are said to never go moldy.

The English also believe that hanging a hot cross bun in the house on this day protects them from bad luck. Sailors took them to sea to protect themselves from shipwreck and farmers believed that they would keep the rats out of the grain.

Whether you want to bake some to enjoy with a cup of coffee or use them as a good luck charm, you need to begin with some basic ingredients: flour, milk, sugar, butter, eggs, dried fruit such as currants or raisins and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves.

"It's basically a simple yeast bread,” said Laura Rozeboom, who moved to Traverse City from England six months ago.

"I've been making them for the last three or four years,” said Rozeboom, who learned to bake from her aunt.

Hot cross buns are readily available in most grocery stores in England, she said.

Rozeboom typically includes raisins, spices and maybe some candied orange peel in her recipe. The entire bun is glazed with an egg yolk wash and baked until nice and brown. The final step is the addition of the icing cross.

"The central thing is the cross,” she explained. The icing is usually a combination of powdered sugar and milk but can be flavored with citrus such as lemon or orange juice.

Rozeboom, a substitute teacher at Traverse City Christian School, said she hopes to make them for the students this Easter season.

If a lack of time keeps you from baking your own, many local bakeries are making a variety of Easter breads, including hot cross buns. Bay Bread in Traverse City began making hot cross buns last week and will offer them daily until Easter. These buns have raisins and nuts and the icing cross, said owner Stacey Wilcox.

The folks at Potter's Bakery in Traverse City also have been making hot cross buns daily. Their recipe includes dried fruits and spices topped with a cross.

Hot Cross Buns

• 2 (1/4 oz.) packages active dry yeast
• 1/2 c. water (110° to 115°)
• 1 c. warm milk (110° to 115°)
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 t. ground nutmeg
• 6&1/2-7 c. all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 c. dried currants
• 1/2 c. raisins

Glaze and Icing:

• 2 T. water
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 c. confectioners' sugar
• 4 t. milk
• 1/4 t. vanilla extract

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add milk, sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, nutmeg and 3 c. flour; beat until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in the currants, raisins and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, six to eight minutes. Place in a greased bowl; turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about one hour. Punch dough down; shape into 30 balls. Place on greased baking sheets. Cut a cross on top of each roll with a sharp knife. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

To make glaze, beat water and egg yolk; brush over rolls. Bake at 375° for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

For icing, combine confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth; drizzle over rolls. Makes 30 buns.

— recipezaar.com

Russian Easter Bread (Kulich)

• 1 c. whole milk
• 1/2 c. sugar plus a pinch
• 1&1/2 sticks (3/4 c.) unsalted butter
• Pinch of saffron threads, crumbled
• 2 t. salt
• 2&1/2 t. active dry yeast (from 1/4-oz. package)
• 1/4 c. lukewarm water (105°-115°)
• 6 c. all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
• 4 large eggs

Make dough: Heat milk, sugar, butter, saffron and salt in a one-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved, about two minutes. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm.

Meanwhile, stir together yeast, warm water and pinch of sugar and let stand until foamy, about five minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

Put flour in a large bowl and make a large well in center. Lightly beat three eggs and add to well along with milk and yeast mixtures. Carefully stir together with a wooden spoon, gradually incorporating flour, until a soft dough forms. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Put dough in a lightly oiled large bowl, turning to coat with oil, and let rise, covered with a clean kitchen towel, in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about three hours. Punch down dough and let rise again, covered with towel, until doubled in bulk, about one hour.

Form loaves: Generously butter two soufflé dishes. Punch down dough and divide in half. Loosely wrap one piece in plastic wrap and set aside. Cut away one third of remaining piece of dough and reserve, then roll remaining two thirds into a large ball and transfer to a soufflé dish.

Roll reserved piece of dough into an 18-inch-long rope on work surface with palms of your hands. Cut rope into three equal pieces and lay pieces vertically side by side on work surface, about 1/4-inch apart. Gather three ends farthest from you and press them together, then braid strands, pressing together other ends to secure braid. Lay braid over top of dough in soufflé dish (trim braid if using coffee cans). Form another loaf with remaining dough in same manner.

Cover loaves with clean kitchen towel and let rise in draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1&1/2 hours (loaves will rise about one inch above rims of dishes).

Bake loaves: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly beat remaining egg with a large pinch of salt, then brush egg over top of each loaf. Bake loaves until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about one hour. Turn loaves out onto a rack, then turn right side up and cool completely.

Note: Bread can be made one day ahead and kept, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature or frozen two weeks.

Makes two loaves.

— Gourmet

Filomena's Italian Easter Bread

• 6 extra-large eggs (at room temperature)
• 1&2/3 c. sugar
• Zest and juice of half a lemon
• 1 c. olive oil
• 1 c. whole milk (at room temperature)
• 1/4 lb. cake yeast (equivalent to 7&1/2 packets of active dry yeast — if you use dry yeast it will need to be dissolved in liquid that's slightly warmer than room temperature)
• 7 c. all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting board and baking sheets
• Oil for proofing bowl
• 12 hard-boiled eggs for decorating
• 1 egg for egg wash
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1&1/4 c. confectioners' sugar
• Nonpareil sprinkles for decorating (optional)

In a very large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until combined. Whisk in lemon zest and juice.

In a medium-size bowl, combine olive oil and milk. Crumble in yeast and whisk until incorporated.

Pour yeast mixture into egg mixture and whisk to combine.

Whisk in flour one cup at a time until you've added six cups, waiting for each cup of flour to be incorporated before adding more. The texture of the dough should be soft but not sticky. If the dough is sticky, continue adding more flour a little at a time.

Turn dough out onto floured board and knead until smooth, approximately 5 minutes — continue to lightly dust board with flour while kneading to avoid sticking.

Lightly coat the inside of a large, clean bowl with oil. Shape dough into round, and place in bowl.

Rub additional oil on top of dough and cover with plastic wrap.

Cover bowl with a dish towel, and let dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until it's doubled in size; approximately 1&1/2 hours.

Shape dough into twists, rounds, and doves, embedding hard-boiled eggs, as desired, for decoration.

Without crowding, place shaped breads on baking sheets that have been lined with parchment paper and dusted with flour.

Cover with dish towels and let rise for approximately 1&1/2 hours. To test if dough has risen enough at this point, drop a small piece into a bowl of warm water. If it floats, it's ready for baking. If it sinks, the dough needs to rise more. Preheat oven to 275°.

Brush egg wash onto some of the breads. Leave others plain, as these can be brushed with glaze after baking.

Bake breads in bottom third of oven until golden, approximately 15 to 25 minutes depending on size. Check the breads midway through baking to make sure the bottoms aren't getting too dark.

If this happens, switch breads to a higher rack in oven.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine lemon juice and sugar to make glaze.

When breads come out of oven and are still hot, brush those that haven't been egg-washed with glaze, and sprinkle on nonpareils, if desired.

Makes numerous small or several large loaves.

— Epicurious