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Sally Lunn Batter Bread

By Lorraine

Sally Lunn Batter Bread is a lovely yeast bread, golden in color and baked in a round. Delicious toasted with butter & jam or marmalade. Great with meat and gravy too.
Sally Lunn Batter Bread is a lovely yeast bread, golden in color and baked in a round. Delicious toasted with butter and jam or marmalade. Great with meat and gravy too. Instead of dinner rolls I served this unusual bread last night. Sally Lunn batter bread is unusual in appearance and texture and it comes with a bit of history.  I have made it in the past but was now curious as to the origin.
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from: Smithsonian.com
Who was Sally Lunn?
Well, that’s hard to say. She might have been a real woman, a French-born pastry cook named Solange Luyon who fled to England as a refugee in the late 17th-century. A modern-day bakery and museum called Sally Lunn’s still stands on the site in Bath where she is said to have baked and sold a distinctive type of bun:
Legend has it that from her home in France, where the Protestant Huguenots were being cruelly persecuted, came young Sally Lunn to find employment with a baker who rented premises in Lilliput Alley. She sold his wares in the street, but when her skill at baking Brioche was discovered she no doubt spent for more time in the bakery itself. Sally Lunn’s Buns were a tremendous success; others tried hard to copy them, but her skill with the rich, soft and delicate dough inspired customers specifically to request the Sally Lunn.
But other stories abound. A 19th-century British book says the buns in question were invented by a French refugee named Madame de Narbonne, who established a bakery in Chelsea, England sometime around 1800. She specialized in “a particular type of tea cake” which became quite popular in local households, and Sally Lunn was the name of the Scotch maidservant who delivered it.
Or perhaps there was no Sally Lunn, and the baked buns got their name from their appearance, round and contrasting (the bottom side being dark from baking), like the sun and the moon: Soleil et lune, in French, transformed by cockney British accents into something more like “Solly Lun.”
Sally Lunn Batter Bread is a lovely yeast bread, golden in color and baked in a round. Delicious toasted with butter & jam or marmalade. Great with meat and gravy too.

Sally Lunn Batter Bread

PRINT RECIPE
Yield: 12-16 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast 
  • 1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
  • 1 cup warm milk (110° to 115°)
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 5-1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour

HONEY BUTTER:

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup honey

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, butter, sugar, salt, eggs and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Do not knead. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Stir the dough down. Spoon into a greased and floured 10-in. tube pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Bake at 400° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

Combine the honey butter ingredients until smooth. Serve with bread. Yield: 12-16 servings.

NOTE: Since the bread has very little sugar, the honey butter is wonderful spread on a slice. Toasted with butter and jam would be lovely for breakfast or afternoon snack with tea.

you might also like…

Holiday Brioche 

Bake a festive loaf of rich holiday brioche from easy recipe using a bread machine. Frosted with a white glaze and colorful sprinkles. Great food gift idea.

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 Sally Lunn Batter Bread is a lovely yeast bread, golden in color and baked in a round. Delicious toasted with butter & jam or marmalade. Great with meat and gravy too.

Comments

  1. Charlotte says

    I love this bread and I lost my recipe. I found some recipes but honey was used in those. My recipe did not call for honey. I am so glad I found this, can’t wait to try it. This would make a delicious addition to your Easter dinner. It tastes like dinner rolls but much easier to make. Do try it with honey butter or cinnamon butter or strawberry butter on it. Try slightly toasting and just put butter on it and maybe a little jam. You get the idea, this bread is delicious with whatever you like. I think I need to start a loaf now!

    Reply

  4. FABBY'S LIVING says

    Oh, I wish I could go inside my computer and cut myself a piece of the Sally Lunn yummy looking cake! Thank you for the recipe too, pretty lady. Have a blessed Sunday.
    FABBY

    Reply

  5. Just a little something from Judy says

    Sally Lunn bread with honey butter would go perfectly with my mug of hot coffee this morning. Looks like a masterpiece to me!

    Reply

  6. podso says

    Interesting history; I am familiar with the name but not sure I knew all of this. The bread looks inviting enough to try, especially if it has a story to go with it. I enjoyed the look at your little egg planters — neat how you used a collage to share a tutorial!

    Reply

  7. Sue says

    Very interesting stories, Lorraine, I like the first one best. The Sally Lunn that you made looks almost to pretty to eat, after seeing how moist it looks, I think I would like to have a slice. I like the fact that it has very little sugar, but the honey butter is a temptation. ~smile~ Enjoy your day.
    Blessings,
    Sue

    Reply

  13. Gypsy Heart says

    Very interesting background. It looks so much like a pound cake doesn't it? Your photos are beautiful! Thanks for sharing the story and the recipe. I think I'd love to try it!

    xo
    Pat

    Reply

  15. Winnie says

    As I love working with yeast (I specialize in baking challahs) – I'm definitely going to try this recipe.
    It looks and sounds wonderful!

    Reply

  16. NanaDiana says

    I made this once or twice years ago. It might be fun to try it again. Thanks for the history lesson along with the recipe- xo Diana

    Reply

  20. Maple Lane says

    Interesting and looks so delicious, especially since I have not yet eaten breakfast! Beautiful photo, too!

    Reply

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