A nod to the original St Albans bun
Many of the hot cross buns we know today trace their roots back to the St Albans bun, believed to have been first made in the 14th century by a monk at St Albans Abbey.
Those early buns were spiced, enriched and marked with a cross, becoming associated with Easter and the arrival of spring. Over time the recipes evolved, but the idea remained the same: a lightly sweet, fragrant bun filled with fruit and warming spices.
Our version keeps that heritage in mind while bringing a few forgotten ingredients back into the mix.
Grains, Dough, Fruit and Spice
For us, grain is the foundation of everything we bake.
Our hot cross buns use a diverse mix of wholegrains, including wholegrain barley, adding flavour, texture and nutritional value, while supporting grain diversity and farming that prioritises soil health. The dough combines sourdough and yeast, giving complexity, structure, lift and softness, and is balanced with butter and oil to keep the crumb tender yet rich. Inside, candied orange peel, cranberries and sultanas bring brightness, and as the buns come out of the oven they are brushed with a lightly spiced syrup of clove, star anise and nutmeg, giving them shine and another layer of gentle warmth.
Bringing Grains of Paradise Back
One of those ingredients is grains of paradise.
Used widely in medieval European cooking, grains of paradise are a West African spice related to cardamom and ginger. They were once common in baking before gradually disappearing from most modern recipes.
Their flavour is subtle but distinctive. Warm, lightly peppery and aromatic, they add depth without overpowering the bun. In our spice blend they sit alongside more familiar spices, helping create a layered warmth from the first bite.
Made for the Easter Season
Our hot cross buns are baked for the Easter season but are versatile enough to enjoy any time. Soft enough to pull apart, aromatic from the spice blend, and balanced with fruit, they work equally well served warm alongside coffee or simply on their own.
As the Evening Standard wrote:
“What sets the bun apart is the fact that it needn’t be toasted […] there’s something uniquely artisanal about a hot cross bun that can be pulled apart to reveal speckles of spice and brown sugar hidden within mountainous fluffy folds of risen dough.”
Better grains, better fermentation, and carefully chosen spices make these buns a seasonal classic done our way.
