My version of Sally Lunn Buns

Sally Lunn is said to be a French Huguenot refugee, who fled France during the revolution to the town of Bath, England.  There are many stories surrounding Sally Lunn, but one thing I can tell you for certain, her little brioche-like buns are delicious!

(photo borrowed from the internet) 

My hubby and I traveled to Bath, England in 1993 for our 25th anniversary and thanks to our oldest daughter, Erin, who had spent time there during her junior year of college and planned our trip, had a wonderful time.  I was drawn to this building, not only for its history, but the intoxicating aroma of buns baking.  We had lunch there one day and one day we just bought buns to take with us on a hike.  The building was acquired in the 1930s by Marie Byng-Johnson and she opened it as a tea-room specializing in Sally Lunn buns promoting the recipe she is said to have found in a secret cupboard.

Sally Lunn Buns
4 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
2 tsp. sea salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar + 2 tsp.
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk 
4 large eggs
1 pkg (or 1 T) active dry yeast
1/4 cup very warm water (about 110F-degrees)

extra melted butter to brush the pans and tops (about 4 Tablespoons)

[You will be happy to know that I made these by hand] In a large bowl, measure the flour and salt, set aside.  In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar.  In a small pan, melt the butter with the milk.
In a 1 cup glass measure, whisk the active dry yeast and 2 tsp. sugar together--allow to set about 7-10 minutes to proof.

Add the egg/sugar mixture to the dry ingredients and with a rubber spatula, start to combine.  Next, add the proofed yeast, then, the melted butter/milk.  Continue to mix with the spatula until thoroughly combined.  The dough will seem sticky, but not to worry.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate about 1 hour for ease in handling.

Remove bowl from refrigerator and you should be able to lightly knead the dough; I did this right in the bowl it was made in.

Now, cover the bowl again with more plastic wrap, but this time, make sure you lightly spray it with a non-stick vegetable spray.

I had a wonderful birthday present last year from my daughter--a proofing box!

If you don't have one, I would highly recommend it for all you serious bread bakers.  Otherwise, find a warm place in your kitchen to allow this dough to rise--about 1 1/2 hours.

When the dough has doubled, transfer it to a lightly-floured bread board and divide into 6 pieces.

Place one of these in the palm of your hand and while pressing on the bread board, roll into a smooth ball.

I found these "small" cake pans in the grocery store (they're made by Wilton and were only 3/$5.99).
With the extra melted butter, brush the pans well and place a dough ball in each. Brush the tops of the balls with more melted butter and cover with plastic wrap to rise once more until doubled (about 40 mins-1 hour).

 Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  When the buns have doubled in size, place in the oven and bake for 23-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Brush the tops once more with butter (heck, can you really have too much butter:-D) then, remove the buns from the pans and allow to cool slightly.

These "cake-like" buns brought back such memories of a warm, Fall day in Bath; life is good, Enjoy!