Festival Breads

Festival breads were traditionally made to celebrate days of special religious or national importance. Some, such as Italian panettone, were served at all important celebrations, including Christmas, Easter, weddings and christenings, whilst others (for example, hot cross buns), were made just once a year. However, many of these once-a-year breads are now baked commercially and are sold in supermarkets and bakeries all the year round.

In this section, we take a look at some of these festive breads, including English hot cross buns, Italian panettone and German stollen.