Jane Austen's Favorite Bath Buns Recipe (2024)

By

Elaine Lemm

Jane Austen's Favorite Bath Buns Recipe (1)

Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.

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Updated on 12/28/22

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Jane Austen's Favorite Bath Buns Recipe (2)

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 30 mins

Proving: 2 hrs 45 mins

Total: 3 hrs 25 mins

Servings: 12 servings

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Bath Buns are a lovely sweet enriched yeast dough bun synonymous with the city of Bath in south-west England. Bath is also the city of Jane Austen, the world-famous author.

Jane Austen was only too familiar with Bath Buns. She often found it necessary to sneak them surreptitiously into her room to augment the rather meager meals given by her well-meaning but rather stingy Aunt Leigh Perrot, according to the Jane Austen Society.

Here she addresses her sister, Cassandra

"Your going I consider as indispensably necessary, and I shall not like being left behind; there is no place here or hereabouts that I shall want to be staying at, and though, to be sure, the keep of two will be more than of one, I will endeavour to make the difference less by disordering my stomach with Bath buns; and as to the troyle of accommodating us, whether there are one or two, it is much the same:"
Jane Austen to Cassandra, 1801.

This modern recipeuses caraway seeds and crumbled sugar to create a lighter version of the famous bun. Serve them warm, split and spread with salty butter and you will understand just why Jane loved them so much.

Ingredients

  • 115 grams (about 4-ounces) unsalted butter

  • 450 grams (about 1 pound) all-purpose flour

  • 7 grams (about 1 1/2 teaspoons) instant yeast

  • 1 pinch salt

  • 4 tablespoons superfine sugar

  • 230 milliliters (about 1 cup) lukewarm milk

  • 2 large eggs, preferably free range

  • 1 tablespoon caraway seeds

For the Glaze:

  • 1 tablespoon milk

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

For the Topping:

Steps to Make It

  1. In a large baking bowl, rub the butter into the flour. Once you have created a crumbly mixture, add the yeast on one side of the bowl, the salt and sugar on the opposite side (it is not good for the yeast to come into direct contact with the salt). Stir thoroughly.

  2. Add the milk to the lightly whisked eggs, andpour this into the bowl with the caraway seeds.

  3. Then, using either your hand or a wooden spoon, mix really well to create a sticky dough.

  4. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 6 to 8 minutes (you can do this part in a mixer with a dough hook if you have one).

  5. Put the dough to rise in alarge, covered bowl until doubled insize (about 2 hours).

  6. Once the dough has doubled, tip back onto the floured surface and flatten lightly into a round. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces, roll each into a ball and place onto a baking sheet covered with greaseproof paper or a nonstick mat.​

  7. Cover the tray with a damp tea towel and leave to rise again for 30 to 45 minutes.

  8. Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C / Gas 4.

  9. Generously brush the risen buns with the glaze, then bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes (depending on your oven). The buns should be golden brown plus light and hollow when tapped on the bottom.

  10. Remove from the oven and then place the buns onto a cooling rack. Paint on the milk and sugar coating while still warm and immediately sprinkle on the caraway seeds—you may want to gently press them into the glaze to prevent them from slipping off. Repeat with the sugar bits.

  11. These buns are lovely eaten warm, cut and spread with salty butter.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
260Calories
10g Fat
37g Carbs
6g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories260
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g12%
Saturated Fat 5g27%
Cholesterol 53mg18%
Sodium 35mg2%
Total Carbohydrate 37g14%
Dietary Fiber 2g6%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 0mg1%
Calcium 46mg4%
Iron 2mg12%
Potassium 104mg2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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Jane Austen's Favorite Bath Buns Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between Bath Bun and Sally Lunn bun? ›

Although quality control standards are much higher in contemporary kitchens than they were back in 1851, the Bath Bun is small, doughy, and very sweet in comparison to the original Sally Lunn: an altogether sturdier creation with a distinctive brioche-like personality.

What is a traditional Bath Bun? ›

The Bath bun is a sweet roll made from a milk-based yeast dough with crushed sugar sprinkled on top after baking. Variations in ingredients include enclosing a lump of sugar in the bun or adding candied fruit peel, currants, raisins or sultanas.

Why are they called Bath Buns? ›

Like many aspects of Bath's history, this bun, too, comes with a story. The most popular involves an 18th-century physician named William Oliver, who would treat patients visiting the city's Roman baths and, allegedly, furnish them with sweet, yeasted treats called Bath Buns, which he supposedly invented.

What is a Marlborough bun? ›

The Marlborough Bun is part of Waitrose's heritage regional recipe series and is a traditional blend of fruit and dough baked into a rustic mound.

What is the famous bun in Paris? ›

Paris buns
Typescone
Serving temperaturewarm
Main ingredientsflour, butter, sugar, fruit, egg, milk, sugar nibs
Other informationServed sliced horizontally and buttered
2 more rows

How to eat a Bath Bun? ›

The bun is generally eaten with a knife and fork but there are no fixed rules. Most guests enjoy their bun with a huge smile on their face.

What buns are famous in Bath England? ›

We are famous for the Bath delicacy the Sally Lunn Bun – the original Bath Bun. A lot of people get confused between the London Bath Bun [small, heavy and sweet] and a Sally Lunn Bun.

What is a boo bun? ›

Bao Buns (pronounced “bow”), but also known as a 'steamed buns' or 'baozi' 包子, are a delicious, warm, fluffy treat of stuffing wrapped inside a sweet, white dough. Made with a mix of flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder, milk and oil, the bao is a tad sweeter than its closely related cousin, the dumpling.

Why is it called Sally Lunn bread? ›

The story goes that Solange Luyon, a Huguenot refugee and baker, settled in the town in 1680 and began selling her breads, which quickly brought her both fame and a new Anglicized name, Sally Lunn.

What do Brits call buns? ›

"Roll" crops up everywhere, but it's most common in the south, with "bun", which also shows up throughout the country, being the favoured word in the North East. "Barm" is very localised to the Manchester area, and "batch" is incredibly specific: this is used just by residents of Liverpool and Coventry.

What is British slang for buns? ›

Okay all you have to remember is……that some buns are actually properly referred to as bread buns, obviously made of bread, this can be shortened to buns, but some people will call the same thing “ barm cakes”, ( I did actually ask for a barn cake to try, in Blackpool, thinking it was a local delicasy). or “ baps",( ...

What do Bath Buns taste like? ›

The Bath Bun is small and sweet and is laced with sugar and fruit. The story goes that Dr William Oliver, who was born in Cornwall in 1695, created the sweet-flavoured Bath Bun for his patients.

What is a Tennessee bun? ›

The ultimate southern BBQ style rustic burger bun with a dash of red malt in the dough – just with the addition of poppy & sesame seeds for extra flavour.

What is a Chicago bun? ›

Chicago Style Hot Dog Buns are specific in that they need to be eaten in a poppyseed bun. These can be kind of hard to find outside of Chicago so I went ahead and figured out a way to doctor up a regular hot dog bun. Brush the buns with an egg wash.

What is a Soho bun? ›

Soho Buns. Rich brioche dough, studded with white. and dark chocolate chips. #

What is the difference between a Sally Lunn and Boston Bun? ›

In most of New Zealand, the exact same bun – studded with fruit, a little spiced, covered in a thick layer of icing and desiccated coconut – is called a Sally Lunn. Even more complicated is the fact that the name is stolen from a recipe developed at an English eating house from the 1680s.

What are the different types of bread buns? ›

Buns are versatile; they can be savory or sweet, filled or unfilled. You might be the most familiar with hamburger buns or hot dog buns, but other popular bun varieties include cinnamon buns, hot cross buns, pretzel buns, and sticky buns.

What type of bun is traditionally eaten at Easter? ›

Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten over the Easter religious Christian holiday to symbolise the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday on the cross.

References

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