Hot cross bun fight: Plenty of a-peel leads suburban bakery to spicy success
With Easter being a time for traditions, the Manawatū newsroom has again switched on the oven and sharpened its taste buds to identify the best hot cross bun in town.
There are only two certainties when it comes to hot cross buns.
The first is that my wife’s are the best, and the second is, regardless of the baker or brand, they are always the most scrumptious on Good Friday.
But the spicy morsels can still be a source of rich debate, from the number and size of sultanas used, to whether there’s any acceptable substitute for sultanas at all.
One of the six bakeries we surveyed this year offered a berry variety. However, we decided to stick to the classic Easter treat. That also meant no chocolate, and no fruitless buns.
We also decided no supermarkets. We figured that they seemed to be doing very well for themselves already, and were doubtless winners when to came to the convenience of tossing a six-pack into the trolley.
Fourteen staff were tasked with a blind tasting and ranking of six buns from Palmerston North and Feilding bakeries, ranging in price from $6.50 a six-pack to $17.50, but only one – me – knew which came from where.
The 2022 defending champion Master of Gingerbread was given a pass this year in favour of a newcomer, and that newcomer indeed impressed.
Knead Bakery in Hokowhitu ($13.90 a six-pack) was a dominant overall winner, with a hot cross bun praised for its balance of spice and zest.
Several tasters commented on the plentiful presence of peel and its influence on the flavour, and though only two tasters rated it their favourite bun of the bunch, crucially, nobody rated it lowly.
It scored in the top three for twothirds of staff.
Wildflour Kitchen never finishes far from the top, and 2024 is no different. The light, fluffy buns were key to its popularity and placing second.
However, some staff later balked at the $17.50 price tag – it was the most expensive bun surveyed.
Only one point behind in third place was Rosebowl Bakery with its bright white crosses and “good amount of fruit and flavour”.
It scored slightly higher than its Feilding counterpart Beresford Bakery, a favourite of several tasters but considered a little too dense for many others. At $7.50 and $6.50 respectfully, the Feilding bakeries offered the best value for bite.
Cuba Bakehouse ($8.50) also had its admirers, but lost points for being a bit “heavy”.
The most divisive bun by far was BABCO ($15) and its alluring, lightlycoloured offering.
There was little argument that this was the best-looking hot cross bun – and the only glazed one – but it was too sweet for many, and strayed too far from tradition in its texture and flavour. “Nice, but that’s not a hot cross bun” encapsulated the view of several tasters.