Chow Down Chicago: Good Eats from the Windy City

Most people know the nursery rhyme "Hot Cross Buns," but lesser known is just how far back in history these treats go. Since ancient times, hot cross buns have been a way to celebrate faith, spring, and new life.  Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans offered small round breads with cross symbols to their gods and goddesses. Depending on the celebration, the cross symbolized the four seasons, the four quarters of the moon, or the horns of the sacrificial ox. In Greece, these ceremonial breads were called boun , which is where the word "bun" comes from. Pagan Anglo-Saxons baked crossed cakes to honor their goddess Eostre, who was celebrated with a springtime festival. Some elements of this festival were later adopted by Christians as Easter. In 1361, Christian monk Brother Thomas Rocliffe of St. Albans, England, developed a recipe for what he called "Alban buns" and distributed these crossed buns to the poor on Good Friday. Now the buns took on a Christian ...