'If all our hot cross buns were laid out they would stretch from Sheffield to Dubai' - How Gunstones Bakery supplies the nation's hot cross buns at Easter

And demand for the sweet treat is reaching fever pitch as we approach the Easter Bank Holiday this weekend.

Staff at one bakery near Sheffield have been working hard to meet huge order numbers during what is always their busiest period of the year.

From their factory in Stubley Lane, Dronfield, Gunstones Bakery produce about one third of the nation’s hot cross buns.

The scale of their operation is best summed up by bakery production manager Richard Johnson, who said: “If you were to lay our hot cross buns we make for the Easter period from end to end, we’d go from Sheffield all the way to Dubai.”

A staggering 30 tonnes of flour and 20 tonnes of fruit will be used by the staff working on the production line to produce 250, 000 buns every day.

These are then supplied to Marks & Spencer to be sold in stores across the country.

Gunstones was established in the 1950s and has had an association with the luxury brand stretching back more than 30 years.

Last year M&S sold 48 million hot cross buns - one for every adult in the UK.

Their 2022 range includes the fruit hot cross bun, wholemeal hot cross bun and spiced fruit bun, with mini and traditional versions also available.

There are many specialist jobs among the workforce to ensure the hot cross buns that roll off the production line are of the highest quality.

One of the most unusual jobs among the workforce of 650 is that of raisin sorter, who is responsible for inspecting the raisins and checking there is no grit which could compromise the bun.

Richard Broadley, general manager, said the 4 Luxury Hot Cross Buns, 9 Mini Luxury Hot Cross Buns and 4 Apple Hot Cross Buns are the most popular brands.

He added: “These traditional flavours and fantastic quality buns are so popular we sell them all year round.”

The bakery has also recently introduced two new products – the Golden Blond Chocolate and Salted Caramel Hot Cross Bun and Extremely Cheesy Hot Cross Bun.

Mr Broadley said: “Hot cross buns is a very interesting production and incredibly seasonal so that gives the factory lots of challenges and lots of opportunity.

“We start in October and it’s meticulously planned out day by day right through to Easter.

“We recruited people from August through to Christmas and in January; we’ve taken on about 100 people.”

Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday when noon marks the end of Lent.

They were first mentioned in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1733, but are said to date back to the 12th Century.

The cross on the bun symbolises the crucifixion of Jesus as the bread is supposed to represent his body and the spices refer to the cloth saturated with spices that was wrapped around him after his death.

Asked to name his favourite flavour, Mr Broadley, aged 56, who has worked at Gunstones Bakery for three years, said: “The Extremely Chocolatey hot cross bun – that was Sunday night’s dessert, with ice cream!”

He also wished everyone a ‘fantastic Easter’ and added that he “hopes you are all able to enjoy one of our delicious treats over the Easter period, and beyond.”