To me, time is currently a concept marked by seasonal specials in bakeries.
December it was minced pies, January galette de rois, and now it is those Easter special spiced buns. Personally, I found pies/galettes quite heavy to attempt an exhaustive review on — I managed around 9 and 6 respectively — but HXBs, I thought, I might just survive.
So that was how it all began.
I ate a lot of buns, and I am not quite sure how to do a fair review post without writing reviews of each here — you will just get bored by the fifth bun if I did that. So instead I went for this data oriented approach, involving pandas
and matplotlib
.
This newsletter is arranged as follows:
Methodology
The Buns and Scores
Buns that stood out
Tips to get buns
If you desparately want my opnion on any specific bun, you can DM me.
Methodology
First, I set out to specifically not rate the HXBs, as taste is a personal thing. Instead, I aim to offer a summary of the differences between the buns, so you could decide which bun is for you.
I score them on the following on a scale of 0-5, a lot of these are descriptive rather than subjective (so when I say scores they don’t necessarily mean a 5 is better than a 2):
Glaze: higher = shinier
Shape: 0 round, 5 square
Height: 1 quite thin/flat, 5 very tall relative to width of the bun
Spicy-ness: 0 no spice, 5 distinct/heavy spice
Sweetness: 0 more savoury, 4 very sweet (5 is intolerably sweet which didn’t happen)
Fruits/peels density: 0 none, 5 packed with fruit/peel
Texture: 0 firm and chewy, 5 airy and light
Flour: the higher the number the more interesting/darker the flour used
Price is not considered here but it’s in the appendix.
Rules of Getting Buns
Although I set out originally to get ALL of London’s HXBs, I realised this was nearly-impossible given time. In fact, I still have some outstanding buns that I planned to get but haven’t had the chance to which I will write about in the appendix.
But in general, I prioritised buns that are independent or have only a few chains, and are not too far to get to. Also — classic (ish) buns from bakery counters only. I would cycle to said bakeries/restaurants, buy the buns, and then eat them on the day as-is to try and assess the bun itself as much as possible.
I managed 21 buns, but if I do eat more in the future, I will update on Instagram.
The Buns and Scores
Aesthetics: What do they look like?
Here’s a group shot:
There are 3 aspects in this category: height, roundness, and glaze.
For height, this is the perceptive height (compared to the width/diameter of the buns), rather than real measured height. Here, the buns are mostly evenly distributed.
For the shape, a ‘low’ score means it’s almost perfectly round. If you are looking for the roundest buns, you can find them in Crispin E1 and Quality Chop House, though the latter seems to have different batches of buns that are also more square.
Finally, glaze is pretty self-explanatory. Most are glazed, but high-scorers have a shinier and more even glaze, giving an extra layer of sweet stickiness.
Taste: Fruit/Sweetness/Spice
The preference for these are completely personal, so I am glad there is a distribution of buns available out there. A low score of sweetness meant it’s almost savoury.
In most buns, the amount of fruit/peel correlates highly with the sweetness, except in the cases of Flor and Karma Bakehouse, where they have managed to pack in generous amounts of fruit without yielding a very sweet bun.
Flour and Texture
Not using just white flour definitely adds extra layers of flavour, but I also know people who prefers white bread versions. Since I don’t know the specific recipes for each, and spice granules tend to be distributed throughout all the buns, this is only my best estimate so please take it with a pinch of salt.
In terms of texture, most buns fall right into the middle. Those that particularly stood out are moved towards the ends of the spectrum. Personally, I don’t have a preference in this; airy buns are great, but firmer/chewy buns can be a joy to eat too.
Similarity of Buns
Just thought it would be fun to do this based on the scores.
Buns that stood out
Let’s start by saying that all buns were good old classic hot cross buns. After eating over 20 HXBs, however, there were some that were difinitively dinstinct from the rest, and here is the list.
Flor: The Exoticly Spiced
Yes you guessed it, Flor is first up with its boldly flavoured bun. Slightly towards the savoury side compared to the rest, the spice mix that went in definitely puts their buns in a completely different bucket*.
And it’s not only the spice blend that stands out here — the bun themselves are made with a mix of grains and are sourdough-based. Plus a generous amout of fruit.
Definitely worth a try.
(*Interestingly though, even though I found it most different compared to other buns, a friend from Australia said that it is quite similar to the ones from home. But it was definitely ‘exotic’ for me.)
The Dusty Knuckle: The Most Airy/Soft
Regardless of whether it was a HXB, this was a great bun full stop. On the less sweet side, the texture of this was just unbelievably good. Uses a dark grain dough as well which I adore.
I didn’t get one the first time I visited, so went back the next day at 8am, queued for 10 minutes, waited for another 10 as the buns were still in the oven. It was worth it.
Only regret? Not buying 20.
Karma Bread: The Warmly Spiced
It was a bit of a trek to cycle 40 minutes just for a bun, plus 20 minute wait time as I got there too early, but this bun was also quite interesting so it was worth it.
Similar to Flor, the spice blend is distinctively different, but the difference is towards the other spectrum. I can’t quite put my fingers on it, it is well-spiced, but the spice blend somehow made the flavour of this bun much less punchy and more like a warm low hum compared to the rest of the buns. It’s also on the savoury side which I enjoyed.
Honey & Spice Deli: The Most Candied Peel-y (Citrusy)
Perhaps it’s the magic of mediterranean cuisine — they know their spices and candied fruits! The citrus peel on this bun definitely stood out, both compared to other buns and compared to other components of this particular HXB, and it was rather pleasant.
The appearance was also different: white bun but with a dark crust, much like a pretzel bar the salt, and I loved the chewiness of the cross.
Esters N16: The Most Candied Peel-y (Bitter)
Overall a great bun, but I particularly love how the Italian orange candied peels gave bitterness in some bites. This made the bun less sweet overall, which is a good thing in my books.
Little Bread Pedlar: The Most Ginger/Cardamom-y
A very solid bun that stood out because of how pleasantly spiced it was but without being majorly exotic. It was also soft, moist, and airy.
The Bread Station: The Most Savoury
The most distinct on the sweet/savoury spectrum. A lot of buns were just not sweet and got a 1 here, but this I gave out my only 0 as it was categorically savoury.
As someone who doesn’t have a sweet-tooth, I really liked it. Would make a great base for a sandwich.
E5 Bakehouse: The Moreish One
Like the one from Karma Bakehouse, I am not exactly sure why this stood out, but it was incredibly moreish, and the only bun I ate in one sitting without sharing with any of my friends (who came to help with most other buns). Perhaps it was a combo of good dark flour, soft crumb, a classic spice blend… but everything well executed.
St. John: The Best Traditional
Perhaps there is a bit of personal preference here because I love St. John, but when I looked at the scores, theirs does seem to be the most balanced in all the flavour aspects. Plus, it comes as a round bun and has a beautifully sticky and shiny glaze.
Tips on Getting Buns
To be honest with you, some (maybe most) of these buns are rather competitive to get. The first time I went to bakeries such as St. John and The Dusty Knukle, I returned home empty handed because they sold out ‘a while ago’.
So, to wrap up the main post, here are some practical tips:
obviously, get there early, ideally 5 - 10 minutes before they open, but any time before 8:30 am you should be fine
go during weekdays before work, usually less busy than weekends
check their Instagram/websites for updates on when the buns come out
some do CLICK + COLLECT online
some buns are stocked at other cafes/restaurants, which could be closer to you location-wise, and also less competitive because fewer people know about them :)
Afterword
As always, thank you so much for reading!
I had SO much fun putting this Easter special review together (great excuse to eat lots of buns), and I hope you have found it informative despite it being a non-traditional review post.
If you enjoyed reading this, please click <3 at the top. Even better, leave a comment to let me know what you think, or share it with a friend who might love this post too :)
If you are not in London and can’t get your hands on these buns, you can always make your own. Pastry chef Beth O’Brien and home baker Annie Salanson just did some recipe reviews here and here respectively.
Finally, since I am releasing this earlier than usual, the next one will be in 10 days time :) So here is an early ‘Happy Easter’, and good luck in getting and eating delicious HXBs!
Appendix
Buns I Didn’t Eat but Think Would be Great
I heard good things about Paul Rhodes but it’s a bit far in Greenwich
I love the bread from Sourdough Sophia in Crouch End, so I imagine their sourdough HXB would be excellent
Pophams haven’t released one yet, but I hope they do one
2 very exciting delivery buns: Pump Street Bakery, Nicola Lamb x Le Swine ( heard amazing things about both!!)
Price
Here is how much each HXB cost, ascending:
I thought it would be fun to see if location made a difference to price too (because it should). And indeed, the most expensive buns came from West/Central London, whereas North/South does not seeem to matter as much.
Huge round of applause to the amount of effort put into this post!!! Love it :)
This is such an incredible read! I'm in awe of your dedication to HXB!