Category: History

One a penny, two a penny!

While these days hot cross buns will run you a bit more than they did in the song, they’re still as popular as ever during Lent and Easter. It’s a treat that makes its way to us from merry old England, where hot cross buns have been enjoyed for centuries. They even come with a fair bit of superstition and legend attached to them!

What Is a Hot Cross Bun?

These are fluffy yeast buns that are often made with raisins or currants and marked with a cross. While the original buns sported plain crosses made by slashing the dough with a knife, today we love them with sweet white icing piped over them to make the cross stand out. According to legend, the first buns were made on Good Friday by a 12th century monk, but the first historical references date to the 1500s.

Queen Elizabeth’s Bakery Laws

You might think that Queen Elizabeth I was too busy fighting the Spanish Armada and attending Shakespeare’s plays to care much about the London bakers, but apparently she found room in her schedule to decree that hot cross buns were such a special treat that they could only legally be sold on Good Friday, Christmas and funeral days. People tried to get around this by making their own, though if they were caught, they had to give away their precious dessert to the poor.

Hot Cross Bun Superstitions

Because of their legally enforced scarcity, all kinds of beliefs popped up about the buns’ magical, sacred properties. People would hang them from the rafters to ward off evil spirits and believed they’d last for a year if baked on Good Friday. They’re also believed to strengthen friendship when split in half and shared.

Whether you plan to share your hot cross buns or not, you can get as many as you like at Montgomery Bakehouse this season! And don’t worry about breaking any laws — Queen Elizabeth has no say about how often we bake them here in Texas!

As the new year approaches, most people are creating New Year’s resolutions and wanting the best for the year to come, and we have the perfect solution to start your new year off the right way. We are now carrying our delicious New Year’s Pretzels. These pretzels are different than any other pretzel that you have ever had before. It is a sweet dough with icing on top. While the traditional ones are not filled, we fill ours with an assortment of fruit and cream cheese. These pretzels are not only a tasty treat, they also have a significant legend behind them. The legend of the New Year’s pretzel says that if you eat one at night on New Year’s Eve or on New Year’s Day morning, you will have good luck for the coming year. There are many theories on the origins of the pretzel’s shape. Some say that the pretzel’s shape was derived from the way German monks prayed with their arms crossed over their chests. Others have said that the shape comes from the winter solstice sign that was a circle with a dot in the middle on the old calendar. Still more say that the shape was created from the way the German children used to run through the streets with pretzels around their necks wishing good luck to relatives as the new year approached. No matter what the real reason is for the pretzel’s shape, a little luck for the upcoming year definitely does not hurt. We are open Monday through Wednesday this week from 6:30am to 7pm, and we are open on Thursday from 6:30am to 3pm. We will be closed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Be sure to stop in and get your special New Year’s pretzel, so that you can have the best of luck in 2016.

With Columbus Day coming up, what better way is there to spend your holiday weekend with Montgomery Bakehouse sweets? Whether you have off work or school, or not, some of our fall treats and other classic Bakehouse sweets will make the perfect weekend combination. Thanks to Columbus, we have this widely known “new world”. Although he was not the first to discover it, he became the face of North America because of his brave trip here and because he made the attributes of North America so well known to the others living in Europe at the time. If it had not been for him, we may not be living in or have the same country that we live in today.  After everyone telling Columbus that there was no way that he could sail the other direction to reach the West Indies, it is so inspiring to see that Columbus never gave up on his dream, and in turn discovered what would become the greatest nation in the world. It is so amazing to  look back on our American heritage and truly see how God had such a big role in shaping our country in everything from Columbus happening to find North America to the founding fathers creating a government unlike any other government around during that time, and what would become the longest governing document. To find out more about America’s godly heritage, visit http://www.wallbuilders.com. This is a great organization that we as a family support, and we encourage others to research them and their mission. To celebrate all of America’s heritage, try our delicious George Washington Cake. This is a molasses cake with a pie crust bottom, and chocolate icing on top. Although it may not be named after Columbus, without Columbus, America may not have seen such a great man as George Washington. Come in today and on Columbus Day to try this delicious treat!