Brewbakers Albion creates sourdough hot cross bun

A Brisbane baker has given a new twist to the traditional hot cross bun that has been brewing for 26 years and they’re only available for two weeks.

An Albion bakery has given a new twist to the centuries-old hot cross bun that has been 26 years in the making.

Brewbakers’ Richard Cotton has perfected a sourdough hot cross bun, which is denser than a traditional hot cross bun with a more complex flavour.

The sourdough treat uses a starter he made in 1993.

The sourdough hot cross bun. Picture: AAP/Jono Searle

He said his hot cross buns, traditional and sourdough, were only available for two-and-a-half weeks before Easter.

“We’d never do them at Christmas-time or something like that. They’d just lose their value,” he said.

He became “fascinated” with sourdough in 1990, when his brother’s friend who owned a bakery in West End, was short-staffed and needed a hand.

“I went in to help and I’ve been baking since,” he said.

In 1992 the pair opened a bakery together, and a customer gave them a book on the history of bread, with a recipe for French sourdough in the back.

“I made that starter in 1993,” he said.

Richard Cotton at Brewbakers in Albion. Picture: AAP/Jono Searle

The sourdough aficionado has three more starters: a rye starter he made in 1996, a spelt starter from 1999 and a levant starter, made by a French baker who worked for him in 2007.

“Some of them are older than my daughter, she gets jealous when I stir her up about having other children,” he joked.

He uses the 1993 starter to make the sourdough buns, which are more dense and take longer to make: they need to ferment overnight and be mixed at 2am to be out of the oven by 8am.

“It’s worth it for me and the customers who come in for them. It’s a different palate feel and a different, deeper flavour,” he said.

The sourdough hot cross bun is $2.50 and a traditional bun is $1.50.