Bread Part 2 - Sally Lunn

Time for a Do Over!

Sally Lunn with butter and raspberry jam

I was really unhappy about the bread failing (see previous post), so I decided to try again.  

Challenge 7: Pretty as a Picture

I'll be honest - at this point I didn't care how pretty the result was or not - I just wanted the bread to rise and have an acceptably light but not over light texture.

We could discuss variations on Sally Lunn ad infinitum - I've seen batter versions that are poured into the pan, shaped buns, and bread loaves.  The recipe I selected suggests it can be griddle cooked, resulting in something similar to an English muffin.

We could discuss who Sally Lunn was and trace the recipe from England to America.  But, you know what?  Perhaps another time.  I'm just fighting mad after the last challenge failure.  We are just going to focus on this bread and getting it to come out (it's baking as I type)


The Recipe, Year, and Region

This version of Sally Lunn comes from Miss Leslie's Directions for Cookery, In Its Various Branches, published in 1840 in Philadelphia.




How Did I Make It?

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb white flour  (I have a food scale, which makes these measurements so nice and easy!)
3 medium eggs at room temperature
A mixture of milk and water, totaling 2 cups, at 100 degrees F
2 T dried yeast
2 T butter, melted and cooled
pinch of salt


To make sure the yeast was happy, I mixed it with the milk and water, then added the butter.  I set the bowl to proof in a proofing cabinet (my oven with the light bulb on and a cup of boiling water for heat and humidity).  The fats slowed the proofing, so I let it sit for 20 minutes.  It still didn't have much reaction, but I decided to go with it.

I mixed the flour and salt, then made a well in the center.  After adding the milk/butter/yeast mixture, I added the well-beaten eggs and mixed the dough until thoroughly blended.  

I didn't know what size pan would be appropriate, This is recipe produced a soft yeasty dough, so the tube pan I use for batter versions would not work.  I turned the dough into a well-buttered cast iron pan (size 8 chicken fryer with deep sides).  I set it to rise for 30 minutes.

Risen, ready for the oven


I baked at 350 F for 40 minutes.



The Sally Lunn turned out smoothly and had a lovely crisp crust.    





How Much Did It Cost?

Not all that much - everything was in my pantry.  The flour was about $1.00. $1.00 for the eggs.  Perhaps $3.00 total


How Did It Turn Out?

Very very well!  It rose!  I think the most important thing is to adjust your expectations - some Sally Lunns are very sweet and cake-y; this is more breadlike.


Comments

  1. QNPoohBearApril 8, 2016 at 8:03 PM

    From the recipes I've read and tried, Sally Lunn bread is from the American South. It's a yummy golden yellow yeast cake. Sally Lunn buns are something completely different- more like a sweet bun.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Chocolate Cream Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #2 - Culinary Vices! The Challenge :   Culinary Vices (January 15 - January 28)   Some foods are really, really naughty. Globs of butter, lashings of sugar and syrup, decadent chocolate and wine. Bring out your naughty, indecorous side with foods associated with all the bad things, in the best ways. Being a child of the twentieth century, I know what I consider to be decadent (chocolate!  whipped cream!  rich creaminess!) and being a student of the nineteenth century, I know that my tastes do not necessarily align with theirs.  Many of their desserts are not as sweet and naturally, few rely on refrigeration - I do qualify "few," because there are desserts, such as ice cream, which require chilling. Boiled puddings there are aplenty on both shores of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as cakes like our fruit and pound cakes.   Mrs. Isabella Beeton That type of dessert didn't strike me as...
Read more

A Mid-Nineteenth Century Lady's Nightcap

Image
I decided I needed a lady's nightcap.  Not a fancy ornamental day cap, but a practical one that could stand washing, ironing, and wearing.  My criteria were that it be historically accurate,  that it would cover my ears and keep me warm, and that it not twist around or fall off while I was sleeping.  I sleep cold; when we camp out at a reenactment, I will wear a knit cap to sleep during the cold weather.  At the end of March we are going to participate in an immersion event, which is where everything must be as accurate as possible at all times, 24/7 (or in this case, 24/3).  We will be staying in an antique log cabin, so there is no heating other than the fireplace.  It's been a cold, windy winter with an over abundance of snow, so I wanted to make sure I stayed warm at night. In July 1859, Peterson's Magazine  (akin to Good Housekeeping or Better Homes and Gardens ) published a pattern for a lady's nightcap.  A number of reenactor...
Read more

Bread

Image
Baking Bread (in which we experience a failure.  You might want to grab some hankies) It's time for another Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge : Pretty As A Picture  Challenge 7:    If you're a fan of cooking competition shows (like I am!), you know how the saying goes:  we eat first with our eyes.  Make a dish that looks just as spectacular as it tastes.  Extra points for historically accurate plating - and don't forget to post pictures! This is a tale of dashed expectations and hopes.  Sorrow and woe!  I had debated long and hard over what to make that would be pretty and realized that prettiness would be complex to achieve.  Some Victorian food sounds rather amazing, using complex pudding or ice cream molds, which I do not own.  Looking at a simpler food, such as a roast, I realized that the various accompanying sides are what brings color to a table.  Wanting to limit my challenge food to one item, I kne...
Read more