One of the most lovely treats when visiting Bath, UK is the supple majesty of the Sally Lunn Bun. Nestled in an alley in the shadow of Bath Abbey, The Sally Lunn's Historic Eating House delivers a baked delicacy with a dubious history.

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LINKS TO INGREDIENTS & TOOLS**
Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat: https://amzn.to/3fFxHTD
Saffron Threads: https://amzn.to/2STJow0
Thermapen: https://www.thermoworks.com/Thermapen-Mk4

LINKS TO SOURCES**
The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink by Andrew Smith: https://amzn.to/2yQi4rV
Dinner With Mr Darcy by Pen Vogler: https://amzn.to/2WLlQLd
Jane Austen in Bath by Katharine Reeve: https://amzn.to/2yOhlHx
English Bread and Yeast Cookery by Elizabeth David: https://amzn.to/2SY67an
The Cook and Housewife's Manual by Margaret Dods: https://amzn.to/3brZ5RE
https://www.sallylunns.co.uk/

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SALLY LUNN BUN
"ORIGINAL" RECIPE (From The Cook and Housewife’s Manual by Margaret Dods; 1826)
Make them as French bread, but dissolve some sugar in the hot milk. Mould into the form of cakes. A little saffron boiled in the milk enriches the colour of these or any other cakes

MODERN RECIPE (Based on...)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 ¼ cup (280ml) whole milk
- 6 tablespoons (85g) of butter at room temperature
- ¼ cup (50g) sugar
- 3 3/4 cup (450g) of bread flour (or all purpose)
- 7g instant yeast or active dry yeast.
- 2 eggs (Plus an extra egg for the egg wash)
- The zest of 1 lemon
- 1 ½ teaspoons of salt
- 2-3 saffron threads (optional; for color only)

METHOD
1. Warm the milk over low heat.* Add the sugar and dissolve. Once warm, add the butter and melt in. If you are using saffron for color, add the threads to the milk and set mixture aside to cool to 110° or cooler before adding it to the other ingredients.
**If you are using instant yeast, heat the full amount of milk. If you are using active dry yeast, warm only 1 cup on the stove. Take the other 1/4 cup and mix with the yeast and a sprinkle of sugar to activate the yeast.
2. Sift flour into a large bowl or a stand mixer. If using instant yeast, whisk in to flour. Once milk mixture is cooled to 110° add to flour and mix (remove saffron threads with a strainer). Add lemon zest, eggs and salt and mix. If you are using active dry yeast, add that last. Work dough until it comes together and forms a smooth sticky dough. (About 8 minutes on medium speed) It will not form into a ball.
3. Cover and let rise for 60 - 90 minutes or until doubled in size.
4. Once doubled, punch down dough and put out onto a lightly floured surface and separate into 3 or 6 pieces, depending on the size bun you would like. Form dough into balls and place on lined baking sheet, slightly flattening into a cake. Cover and let rise for another 45 - 60 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 400°F / 200°C and make an egg wash with either a whole egg or egg white (if you used the saffron for color).
6. Bake buns for 15 minutes, tenting them if they begin to brown too much. An instant read thermometer should read 190°F-200°F (approx.90°C). Cool on a wire rack and serve warm with butter, jam or clotted cream.

PHOTO CREDITS
Sally Lunn Window - Ewen Roberts / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)
Bath Bun - Richard Allaway from France / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)
Sally Lunn Museum - Paul Huxley / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

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