ONE A PENNY—TWO A PENNY!

Evening Star, Issue 22004, 13 April 1935, Page 24

ONE A PENNY—TWO A PENNY!

ORIGIN OF BREAD AND HOT CROSS BUNS (Contributed by the Homo Science Extension Service.) Hot Cross Buns.—Tn measuring standard level measures arc used. ■ Scalded milk, one cup. Sugar, quarter ot a cup. Butter, two tablcspooiii'uis. Salt, half a teaspoonful. Compressed yeast, one tablespoonful dissolved in a quarter of a cup of lukewarm water. Cinnamon, three-quarters of a teaspoonful. Flour, three cups. Egg, one. Currants, quarter of a cup. Method: Add butter, sugar, and salt to the milk, and when lukewarm add the yeast dissolved in the lukewarm water, egg well beaten, cinnamon, and flour. Bent thoroughly, and when well mixed add the raisins. Cover and let rise overnight. Tn the morning knead the dough till the surface is smooth and blisters appear on it. Shape as buns, place on a greased tray about an inch apart, leave in a warm place till almost double in bulk, then brush over with beaten egg and bake for about twenty minutes in a moderate oven (425 deg Fahrenheit reduced later to 400 deg Fahrenheit). The hot cross bun dates back to the days when England was still pagan; in fact, we find that it was instrumental in tbe conversion of that country to Christianity. The pagans of Tlngland wore accustomed to eating cakes in honour of the goddess spring, and, however successful Christian missionaries were in altering the people’s beliefs they foifnd that they had great difficulty in inducing them to abandon the age-old custom. These resourceful missionaries were not to he daunted, as a Christian project they put the sign of the .Cross upon the bun of Saxon era. and so it has come down to ns through the centuries “ one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns.” However, the origin of bread as we know it—that is, ns a raised loaf—was probably first made by the Egyptians, though some historians give the credit to the Chinese. Specimens of loaves and cakes made by Egyptians four thousand years ago have been preserved and can be seen at the British Museum. 'The custom then travelled from Egypt to Greece, the Greeks then showed the process to the Homans, who in turn spread the knowledge in the northern countries of Europe, where a variety of grains, such as wheat, barley, rye, millet, and rice were used. Sometimes the people combined with these grains substances such as dried lotus roots and the boiled root of the cornflag. In early English life squares or rounds of broad were cut with a neatlycurved edge, and when baked formed the trenchers or plates from which the food was eaten. Bread is a food of high merit, but the term “ staff of life ” must not mislead us into thinking that bread is a complete food, for it lacks especially fat and protein, while the white bread also lacks certain Vitamins and mineral matter. Hence it is interesting to note that natural instinct has led ns to use it with foods which are high in these particular food classes, such as eggs, butter, cheese, meat, and fish. in the far-off days man ale more of the natural foods—his bread was made from the whole meal. Then in ,liis endeavour to concentrate foods, to remove from them the parts which have displeased through not giving smoothness of texture, case of cooking, or some other quality, lie lias in many cases altered the food to such an extent that it no longer contains the food value it possessed in its natural state. Consequently diets consisting largely of refined and unnufactured foods, while being satisfactory in all other respects, may have three distinct lacks—namely, vitamins, mineral matter, and roughage. This does not mean that none of these will be present, but the supply will not be sufficiently large to meet tbe needs of the body. Hence to restore what is needed to our diets the body requires that we should eat more of the natural foods, especially milk, fruit, vegetables, and whole-grain cereals. If we use highly-refined cereals for baking our bread, and, incidentally, our hot cross buns, wc must be doubly sure that these “ protective ” foods—milk, fruit, and vegetables—arc present.