Sally Lunn Buns (Recipe Inspired by THE OTHER BENNET SISTER)

It’s hard to believe that these Sally Lunn Buns came out of my kitchen.

But, they did, and they’re freaking perfect.

A reminder about me and bread-making…

In case you don’t remember, I suck making yeasted bread. Like, really suck at it.

I mean, I’ve done it, with mixed results.

There was the Fig and Pepper Bread, which turned out surprisingly great, and then the Cinnamon Rolls-turned-Cinnamon Cake, which, while delicious, obviously didn’t go quite as intended.

There are a few non-blog-documented yeast bread events out there, but for the most part, I avoid any recipe calling for yeast like the plague.

However…my love for Jane Austen runs deep, and there’s not much I won’t do for her.

Or, in this case, for Mary Bennet, since Sally Lunn Buns are the book-inspired recipe for The Other Bennet Sister.

Why are Sally Lunn Buns the book-inspired recipe for The Other Bennet Sister?

There’s a lot of breakfasting in Mary Bennet’s world; every morning, she’s pulling apart some freshly baked “hot roll” to have with her tea and jams and such.

The entire time I was reading, I was like, WHERE IS SHE GETTING THESE ROLLS FROM THEY SOUND SO GOOD!

Thanks to some Googling — as  well as referencing my trusty copy of The Jane Austen Diet — I determined that Mary was most likely eating a “Sally Lunn,” also sometimes (mistakenly) called a Bath Bun. These breakfast rolls were one of Austen’s favorite treats when she visited Bath.

I searched awhile for a Sally Lunn Bun recipe that didn’t scare the pants off me. It was a long search. Eventually I stumbled upon this recipe from King Arthur’s Flour Company that called for – wait for it – no kneading of the dough. SOLD!

Sally Lunn Buns are baked in muffin tins (cute!), and all you do is scoop the bread dough into the muffin tins, let them rise, and POOF!

Ya got buns.

I was shocked by how easy it was to make these rolls. Like, if making all bread were this simple, the Whole Foods bakery section would never see my face again.

Why I love Sally Lunn Buns

So, what do Sally Lunn Buns taste like? Basically, it’s a yeasted roll that tastes like your typical white bread, but with a hint of sweetness and lemon.

They remind me a little of a traditional Eastern European babka (or, if you’re Italian, maybe a panettone), only not nearly as rich and heavy.

What do you serve with Sally Lunn Buns?

Sally Lunn Buns are great to put on a breakfast buffet alongside coffee, tea, juice, and some Chocolate Cherry Scones, Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, and Fruit and Nut Granola.

With the holiday season coming up, they’re also great dinner rolls to enjoy with your holiday meals like Baked Flounder with Shrimp Stuffing and Raspberry Thyme Chicken.

Sally Lunn Buns

Sally Lunn Buns are soft yeast white rolls that were popular in Jane Austen's time. This recipe is easy to make for first-time bread bakers.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 27 minutes mins

Servings 18 small buns or rolls

Ingredients

  

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, diced
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 1 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

Instructions

 

PREP INSTRUCTIONS

• Attach the regular paddle and mixing bowl to your standmixer.
• Cut butter into small pieces and set aside.
• Zest lemons and set aside.

BAKING INSTRUCTIONS

• Heat the sugar, milk, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until lukewarm, stirring regularly until butter is completely melted and combined into the liquid (5-8 minutes).
• Remove pan from heat and carefully pour the liquid into the mixing bowl fitted to the standmixer. Let stand 5-10 minutes, until the temperature of the liquid is below 120F.
• Add ONLY 2 CUPS of flour, the yeast, lemon zest, salt, and eggs to the liquid all at once. Turn mixer on low to combine ingredients, then increase speed to medium. Beat on medium for 3 minutes; dough will be wet and sloppy.
• Reducen mixer to low speed and add the remaining 1 ½ cups of flour to dough in small amounts until flour is completely combined. Then increase the speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
• Turn off mixer and detach mixing bowl. The dough will be very wet and gloopy, and too sticky to knead. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and place somewhere warm to rise for 45-60 minutes, or until dough has doubled in volume.
• After the first rise, spray two muffin tins with baking spray and place them on baking sheets. Use a cookie or ice cream scoop to scoop some batter into 18 muffin cavities, then add the remaining batter into each filled cavity. You want each cavity to be filled about halfway.
• Cover the muffins tins with tea towels and place somewhere warm to rise for the second time, for another 45-60 minutes or until noticeably fuller in volume.
• About 20 minutes before the second rise is done, preheat your oven to 350F.
• Uncover the muffin tins and bake the Sally Lunn Buns at 350F for 12-15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
• Remove Sally Lunn Buns from the oven and let cool for five minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of each bun, then carefully pop them out of the muffin tins. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Serve warm with butter and/or jam.

Notes

Sally Lunn Buns is an adapted version of this recipe.