Traditions Old and New

When I was growing up, there were some rules about Lent and Good Friday.  Hot cross buns were only to be eaten at 3pm on Good Friday, and not after Easter Saturday.  Between 12 and 3 on Good Friday, we weren't allowed to do much - it had to be quiet, no rowdy games, no music.

For the last 10 years or so, I have made my own hot cross buns on Good Friday.  My first time, I discovered this process takes about 3 hours - perfect.  I used to listen to a recording of Bach's St Matthew Passion while making hot cross buns - my recording is of Sir Georg Solti conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, a 3 cd set on the Decca label.  It is a wonderful recording (which means, it sounds big and German - none of this 'authentic Baroque performance practice' - and the violin solos are so well played).  Bonus - it lasts for about 3 hours and 6 minutes.  Each time I hear it, I feel I find something new in it.  Bach was a genius.  However, a few years ago I discovered I was missing disc 1.  Agh!  Last year I tried listening to the 2nd cd twice (a bit weird), but since then all stereo systems in my house have died, and when I put the cds onto iTunes it went all weird.  So this year, I was trying to find a last-minute recording - although this was a bit nerve-wracking.  What if I didn't like it?  I didn't find one - not even excerpts - so I had to work out what to do.

My solution: a day free of music.  This was so hard.  I usually listen to the radio while eating breakfast - not today.  I usually have music on while I'm cooking - not today.  My brain, of course, filled in the blanks.  Some neighbours were playing 80s hits around 11am, but from about 11:30 - 3:30 it was very quiet in my neighbourhood.  There is always music in my head though.  So while I was making hot cross buns, my brain played some Uptown Girl (thanks, neighbours), the opening chorus and my favourite arias from the St Matthew Passion, and the Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia (the same one I played with Viola Man for our staff concert - although I wasn't quite as brilliant as Perlman). 

The hot cross buns themselves were my best yet.  Yay!  I will credit this with a few things. 

1 - I figured that I knew by now when dough was 'smooth', so didn't time the kneading, just went with the feel.  This meant, I think, that when it was actually ready to prove, it could just do its thing.  So, for the first time ever, it took just over an hour to double in size, instead of me getting impatient at 90 minutes and saying, that'll do.

2 - I used a slice tin, not just the baking tray.  I saw a few recipes last year that called for this method and at the time I thought, weird.  I don't know if it actually made a difference, but they were really good...



 I still need to improve the flour paste for the crosses on top.  This year I'm blaming this result on last year (the picture is from before they were cooked).  Last year, I was following the recipe for a dozen, and was doing a super job of halving all the ingredients.  Until I got to the water element of the flour paste, which I doubled.  That should just have been last year's problem, right?  Except this year I was following the fruit loaf recipe (which doesn't include flour paste, obviously), and just estimated the flour and water.  "That looks like last year's paste" I thought.  *Mistake*.