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Recap + Giveaway: Hot Cross Buns at COBS Bread + Enter To Win Bread For a Year!

Last weekend, to celebrate Hot Cross Buns season, COBS Bread Crestwood bakery (9680 142 Street) invited me to come learn more about their hot cross buns!

Cobs Bread Bakery - Edmonton - Hot Cross Buns

Inside COBS Bread Crestwood!

Did you know: hot cross buns are traditionally eaten around Easter and each year, COBS Bread only makes their hot cross buns (from scratch, fresh daily) from January through to March 30?

Also that they are the name of a very popular kids’ song that I think many will remember learning how to play on the recorder in elementary school! Ha.

Cobs Bread Bakery - Edmonton - Hot Cross Buns

Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns!

COBS wanted to bring a bit more attention to their very popular Hot Cross Buns, and give me an opportunity to run a fun bread + Easter giveaway for readers!

Read on for a recap of my visit to COBS Bread Crestwood, and head to the bottom of the post to enter to win COBS Bread For a Year (voucher for one white or whole wheat loaf per week for 52 weeks) + an Easter Bread Prize Package (one 6-pack of Hot Cross Buns, 4 scones, and one sourdough loaf)

Cobs Bread Bakery - Edmonton - Hot Cross Buns

Craving Hot Cross Buns now! (especially the chocolate chip ones!)

During my morning visit to COBS, I learned that while there are 700 COBS Bread bakeries across Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, each individual bakery bakes everything in-house, fresh daily. That means their team of bakers come in throughout the wee hours of the morning making scones, rolls, buns, and all kinds of bread.

Something very important to COBS as well is that they donate all leftover bread to local charities at the end of the day. Crestwood manager and head baker Scott Holmes tells me that in Edmonton, they donate leftovers to Hope Mission, the Breakfast Club program with schools, the Edmonton Food Bank, and senior’s homes. Tracking wastage or items that don’t get sold in a day is important to them.

Cobs Bread Bakery - Edmonton - Hot Cross Buns

The filling for COBS Bread Hot Cross Buns!

For Hot Cross Buns season, COBS bakes three varieties: traditional fruit buns, chocolate chip buns, and cranberry orange buns. Each day they make about 270 traditional, 180 cranberry orange, and between 120-150 chocolate chips.

During the three months of the year they sell the buns, they’re basically selling out every day. (Side note: each chocolate chip bun is packed with 100 chocolate chips per bun. Deadly, but delicious).

Cobs Bread Bakery - Edmonton - Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns dough before being broken into rolls!

The traditional fruit buns are filled with raisins and currants, and the dried cranberries and orange is soaked for two hours to achieve ultimate moistness before being mixed in with the bun dough.

All the ingredients are weighted by hand, but COBS does have this awesome machine that helps cut out the rolls:

After they’re cut into rolls, a baker places them (as straight as possible) on a tray and into an industrial proofer for rising (this would be the equivalent of covering your bread with cloth at home to help it rise).

Cobs Bread Bakery - Edmonton - Hot Cross Buns

Place them straight!

 

Cobs Bread Bakery - Edmonton - Hot Cross Buns

Nice and risen!

The buns are placed as straight as possible before resting and rising, so it’s easier for the next baker to add the ‘cross’ topping later on.

Cobs Bread Bakery - Edmonton - Hot Cross Buns

Crossing the buns!

To add the ‘cross’ in hot cross buns, COBS uses three different types of mixtures – some with hints of cinnamon, some with a spice.

Cobs Bread Bakery - Edmonton - Hot Cross Buns

Some damn fine Hot Cross Buns (pre-glaze)!

COBS only sells hot cross buns January through March – one of a few items they only bake seasonally. Scott says it builds up quite a demand and gets people looking forward to the season each year.

 

After coming out of the oven, the buns are glazed – which adds to the flavour but also helps keep them moist. Then they’re presented in the front of the bakery!

You can buy in packs of 6 for $6.95 (mix and match your favourite varieties) or get them individually for $1.35 each.

Cobs Bread Bakery - Edmonton - Hot Cross Buns

It’s Hot Cross Buns Season at COBS Bread!

I had such a great visit to COBS Crestwood and am really craving hot cross buns!

My visit also inspired my friend Chris to make his own hot cross buns – yum!

If you’re not as confident in your home baking skills, or just want to pick up some buns conveniently – head to your nearest COBS!

Cobs Bread Bakery - Edmonton - Hot Cross Buns -

Thanks to Scott with COBS Crestwood for the awesome bakery tour and hot cross buns lesson!

Meanwhile, I am so excited that COBS has given me the opportunity to give away bread to readers!

Cobs Bread Bakery - Edmonton - Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns from COBS Bread, on til March 31, 2016.

Enter my giveaway for Bread For a Year (voucher for one white or whole wheat loaf per week for 52 weeks) + an Easter Bread Prize Package (one 6-pack of Hot Cross Buns, 4 scones, and one sourdough loaf) below:

** GIVEAWAY ** (now closed)

ENTER TO WIN COBS BREAD FOR A YEAR + AN EASTER BREAD PRIZE PACKAGE!

(Valued at $216)

Here are the different ways you can enter this contest (please check off what you’ve done through the Rafflecopter widget below to qualify!)

  • Leave a comment on this blog post telling me which variety of COBS Hot Cross Buns you’d most like to try!
    Note: You MUST leave a comment in order to be eligible for the prize!
  • Tweet this message: It’s #HotCrossBuns season at @COBSBread! I’d love to try some & win @lindork’s bread giveaway! http://bit.ly/21hFFZa #yegfood #yeg 
  • Like COBSBread on Facebook – COBSBread

(Click here if the widget doesn’t load)

I’ll randomly select one winner after the contest closes on March 4, 2016.

* Note: Comments are moderated so if they don’t appear right away, don’t worry!

Thanks to COBS Bread for arranging this giveaway with me!

Good luck!!

Linda

Follow lindork on Instagram

Disclaimer: I will always provide my 100% honest opinion on this blog. COBS Bread invited me to learn about their hot cross buns and do a giveaway for readers. This has no impact on opinions stated in this post.

Linda Hoang

Linda Hoang

Linda Hoang is a Canadian blogger based in Edmonton, Alberta, who writes about and photographs / films travel, food, lifestyle and family topics. She's also a seasoned social media/digital strategist with a journalism background, the founder of the Edmonton International Cat Festival and co-founder of Stop Race Based Hate, an online anti-racism education tool. Linda loves exploring the world with her partner Mike, their Miracle Baby Benjimin, eating their way through cities, supporting local businesses, and experiencing arts and culture (like Instagrammable Walls!) Linda is also a fur-mom to three cats and two dogs.

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This blog is based in Treaty 6 Territory, traditional and ancestral lands of many First Nations and Métis in Alberta. I’m a settler who lives, works, and plays in the Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton) area on Turtle Island (Canada). I’m committed to reconciliation. uplifting and supporting Indigenous communities and one way I do that is by highlighting Indigenous-owned artists, business owners, makers, events, and other experiences here on this blog and on social media.

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