Many consider bread to be the “staff of life.” Bread certainly has been a staple in many households worldwide for millennia. The Food History timeline tells us that unleavened breads date back to the earliest of civilizations, but risen bread, made with yeast, appears somewhere around 4,000 BC. Our daily bread has been around a long time!

  It is not surprising that a lot of celebrations that feature a meal like Christmas, Passover, or Easter also have some form of bread in the preparation or serving of that meal. 

When I attended Fort York’s Hungry for Comfort Celebration in Toronto in February 2020, the theme was Jewish foods. One of the workshops and competitions was about making Challah bread. One of my Culinary Historians of Canada friends and Fort York Historic Cook, Sherry Murphy, took first prize for her Challah bread. Challah is a white braided egg bread that was at one time reserved for use on the Sabbath. It was served at a Passover or Seder meal much like the Last Supper. For her prize-winning bread, Sherry used the recipe from “The Bread Bible” by Rose Levy Beranbaum. 

Much like Challah, another bread Sherry (who has Italian heritage) has made is an Italian Sweet Bread. Genovese bread, or in this case rolls, often have saffron in it. Sherry used Eliza Acton’s recipe from her cookbook published in 1860 entitled, “Modern Cookery and All Its Branches”. Sherry has provided me with pictures of both these breads she made. Thank you, Sherry!

Geneva Rolls, or Buns.

Ingredients:

2 lbs flour

3 ozs butter

1 large tablespoonful solid yeast

1 teaspoonful saffron in less than a quarter pint of water

1 pint of new milk

2 eggs

more milk

Directions:

Break down very small three ounces of butter into a couple of pounds of flour

Add a little salt, and set the sponge with a large tablespoonful of solid yeast, mixed with a pint of new milk, and a tablespoonful or more of strong saffron water

Let it rise for a full hour, then stir in a couple of well-beaten eggs, as much hot milk as will render them lukewarm, and wet the rolls with them to a light, lithe dough

Leave it for half to three quarters of an hour longer, mould it into small rolls, brush them with beaten egg yolk, and bake them for 20 minutes to half an hour. 

The addition of six ounces of good sugar, three of butter, half a pound or more of currants, the grated rind of a large lemon, and a couple of ounces of candied orange-rind, will convert these into excellent buns. 

When the flavour of the saffron is not liked, omit it altogether. Only so much should be used at any time as will give a rich colour to the bread.

A perennial favourite at Easter is Hot Cross Buns. This has been on my list to try and make for a while now, but time always seems to escape me! According to The Food History Timeline, the first record of Hot Cross Buns being made is in  “Poor Robin’s Amanack (1733): Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs, with one or two a penny hot cross buns’ (a version of the once familiar street-dry "One-a-penny, two-a penny, hot cross buns’).” This recipe is from Canadian Living Magazine.

Hot Cross Buns

 Ingredients:

1 cup raisins or currants

 1/2 cup candied mixed peel or finely chopped dried apricots

 3/4 cups 2% milk, warmed

 1/3 cup granulated sugar, divided

 1 8 g pkg active dry yeast

 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour

 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

 1 1/4 teaspoon salt

 1 teaspoon baking powder

 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

 1/4 teaspoon each ground cloves and nutmeg

 2 eggs

 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed and softened

 1 1/2 cup icing sugar, divided

Directions:

In a microwaveable bowl, microwave raisins and 1/2 cup water on high until hot, about 45 seconds. Stir; let stand for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Transfer to a separate bowl; stir in mixed peel.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir milk with 1 tsp of the granulated sugar until dissolved. Sprinkle in yeast. Let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes.

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, stir together flour, remaining granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. 

Whisk eggs into milk mixture; beat into flour mixture. Fit stand mixer with dough hook attachment; beat on medium speed for 5 minutes. Gradually beat in butter, a few cubes at a time, beating for 10 seconds after each addition and scraping down the side of the bowl, until soft silky dough forms, about 4 minutes.

Transfer to a large, greased bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. 

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Turn out dough onto lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle with raisin mixture; knead to combine. Shape into a 15-inch log; cut crosswise into 15 rounds. Shape each into a ball, folding ends underneath and pinching at bottom. Arrange, 1/2 inch apart, on prepared pan; cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Whisk 3/4 cup of the icing sugar with 4 1/2 tsp water; brush over hot buns. Let cool on pan for 10 minutes; transfer directly to rack to cool completely.

Whisk remaining 3/4 cup icing sugar with 3 1/2 tsp water, adding more water, 1/2 tsp at a time, if needed. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a large plain tip or resealable plastic bag with 1 corner cut off and pipe cross shape on top of each bun.

For a quick glaze, in a microwaveable bowl, microwave a half cup of apricot jam on high until hot, then brush it onto the cooled buns and let set.

Makes 15 buns.

If you are having Easter dinner at your place this year, I recommend these pan rolls to have with your meal. This recipe is a 4-H recipe that came from the 4-H Breadwinners Club in 1982.

Buttermilk Bread and Rolls

Ingredients:

50 ml (¼ cup) water

2 ml (½ tsp) sugar

15 ml (1 tbsp) regular dry yeast

25 ml (1 tbsp plus 2 tsp) butter

625 ml (2 ¾ cup) buttermilk

25 ml (1 tbsp plus 2 tsp) sugar or honey

10 ml (2 tsp) salt

1500 ml (3 cups) all-purpose flour

2 ml  (½ tsp) baking soda

Directions:

Assemble all ingredients and equipment. Turn on the oven light or prepare a warm place (30°C) for rising.

Measure warm water into a liquid measuring cup checking temperature by the wrist method or with a candy thermometer. Add the first lot of sugar and stir until dissolved. Sprinkle yeast into water. Let stand for 10 minutes in a warm place. Stir briskly.

Dice butter and add to the saucepan with buttermilk. Place over medium-low heat and stir constantly until butter has melted. Pour into a large bowl. Add sugar and salt and stir to dissolve.

Stir in 1 ½ cups flour and baking soda. Beat until smooth, adding yeast when ready. Stir in all but final ½ cup flour. Flour the counter and turn out the dough, scraping the bowl clean. Put a bowl to soak in cold water. 

Flour hands and knead for 10 minutes. Sprinkle reserved flour on the counter as required. When kneading is completed, rub the underside of dough with a little flour to prevent sticking and cover with a tea towel.

Clean bowl. Measure 3 L (12 cups) very hot water into a bowl and mark the level. Drain and dry bowl. Lightly grease the interior of bowl with butter or oil, then roll dough in the bowl to grease the surface. Cover bowl with a tea towel and wrap in a plastic bag. Let dough rise until it reaches the “doubled” mark. (1 ½ hours at 30°C) 

Deflate dough by punching the centre. Using a rubber spatula turn out dough onto the counter. Slap down on the counter several times to completely deflate it. Cut dough in half. Knead each half into a round ball, keeping cut edges to the inside. Place on a floured counter and cover with a tea towel. Let rest 10 minutes before shaping. Grease loaf and cake pans. 

Cut one half of the dough into 18 pieces. Shape or knead each one into a ball and place in a greased cake pan. Cover.

Roll the other half out with the rolling pin, smooth side down, to a rectangle 40 cm by 20 cm. Starting at the short end, roll up jelly-roll style. The roll should be fairly tight. Pinch out any little bubbles that form. Press the final edge into dough. Tuck the ends of “log” under and place in a greased loaf pan. Rub tops of loaf and rolls with a pinch of flour.

Cover both pans. Let rise until double (1 hour at 30°C). Arrange oven racks so bread will bake in the centre of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Bake rolls for 25 minutes. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.

Bake loaf for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and tap the bottom of the pan against the edge of the stove. Turn out and check that it is done by rapping with the knuckles on the bottom. A hollow sound indicates it is fully baked. Cool by placing diagonally across the top of the pan or on a rack. 

If you did not get a chance during the Covid lockdowns to make bread, I hope you will take the time to try one of these. Happy Easter!  ◊