Manawatu¯’s hottest buns discovered
You may need more than a penny or two to buy them, but hot cross buns are as essential as toilet paper during a pandemic when Easter rolls around.
But with most bakeries and supermarkets selling an ever-increasing range of the cross-topped sweets, it can be hard to know where to buy them from.
Members of Stuff’s Manawatu¯ newsroom put their taste buds to the test in a blind tasting yesterday to find Manawatu¯’s tastiest hot cross buns.
Seven six-packs of buns were purchased from a variety of locations, with all buns heated and butter provided for those who needed it.
Some regular winners, such as Wildflour and Cuba St Bakehouse, were left off the list in favour of new challengers.
The standout buns this year could not have been from more different producers: Pak ’n Save in Palmerston North and Knead.
Knead is a small husband-and-wife bakery making bread, pastries and desserts to sell at Palmerston North markets.
Their hot cross buns were rich on spice and packed full of fruit.
‘‘Standout favourite, would be happy to have these in the cupboard on Good Friday,’’ one taster said.
They did contain too much peel for some though.
Pak ‘n Save’s spiced buns were dark, moderately spiced with flecks of fruit throughout.
The most controversial buns were BABCO’S chocolate variety.
Some tasters instantly wrote them off, decreeing chocolate and hot cross buns should forever be apart.
It was hard to find the spice flavour through the chocolate, but that was not necessarily a bad thing.
‘‘Tastes like I have fussy children, but I’m determined to keep the tradition alive,’’ one taster said.
BABCO’S standard buns also split people.
For some they brought back memories of home-made buns, while others were fans of the fruit, which was soaked in port, brandy and Cointreau.
Some, however, felt they lacked spice and were not fans of the brioche-like bun, although they were the best looking.
BABCO’S buns were the first two to disappear from the tasting table.
A common adjective popped up when people tasted the buns from Beresford and Rosebowl bakeries in Feilding – average.