The Alban bun is an early precursor to the hot cross bun familiar today.[1] In appearance it differs from the hot cross bun, as the cross – representing the crucifixion – is cut into the top of the bun with a knife, rather than being piped on with flour paste.[2]
The original recipe is said to have been developed by Brother Thomas Rocliffe, a 14th-century monk at what was then St Albans Abbey, now St Albans Cathedral, in Hertfordshire.[a]The church’s official title is the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban. From 1361 Rocliffe distributed these buns to the poor on Good Friday.[3]
Although the recipe remains a closely guarded secret, its main ingredients are flour, eggs, yeast, currants and grains of paradise or cardamom.[1] The buns are still produced to the original recipe – with the addition of some extra fruit – by the local bakery Redbournbury Watermill, but only during Lent and Holy Week.[2][b]Redbournbury Watermill was once owned by St Albans Cathedral.[2]
Notes
| a | The church’s official title is the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban. |
|---|---|
| b | Redbournbury Watermill was once owned by St Albans Cathedral.[2] |