Bath Buns

Caraway buns topped with glaze, sugar, and caraway, served with butter. Perfect for a Jane Austen inspired breakfast with some hot chocolate

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City/Region: England

Time Period: 1769

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that a person who has recently risen from bed must be in want of breakfast. In Jane Austen’s time, breakfast could be around 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning if you were a manual laborer or servant, or it could be as late as 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon if you were upper class.

Jane wrote a letter to her sister Cassandra saying that she wanted to join her on her trip to Bath, but didn’t want to inconvenience their hosts, so she would fill up on bath buns for breakfast. I can see why this would have been a sound strategy. The buns are denser than modern versions, but still soft and very good (they would certainly fill you up). The caraway is present but not overpowering, and they’re sweet but not as sweet as a dessert.

Caraway comfits were candy-coated caraway seeds (think M&Ms), but they don’t use caraway to make them anymore. I mimic them as best I can with caraway seeds and sugar.

“To make Bath Cakes.
Rub half a pound of butter into a pound of flour, and one spoonful of good barm, warm some cream, and make it into a light paste, set it to the fire to rise, when you make them up, take four ounces of carraway comfits work part of them in, and strew the rest on the top, make them into a round cake, the size of a French roll, bake them on sheet tins, and send them in hot for breakfast. ”

— The Experienced English Houskeeper by Elizabeth Raffald, 1769

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Ingredients:

Buns

• 3 1/2 teaspoons (10 g) active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) warm water
• 1 lb (450 g) bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 lb (226 g) butter
• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
• 1/3 cup (67 g) sugar
• 1 cup cream
• 1 egg plus 1 tablespoon water, optional

Topping

• Sugar cubes
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon cream
• Caraway seeds

Instructions:

1. To make the buns: Activate the yeast by stirring it into the warm water. Let it sit until foamy.
2. Whisk the flour and salt together.
3. Cut the butter into pieces and rub it into the flour until it’s well incorporated and no large pieces of butter remain (more of a crumbly texture). Add the yeast mixture, sugar, and caraway seeds and mix until it’s combined.
4. Heat the cream in a saucepan until it’s warm, but not over 110°F (43°C) or it can kill the yeast. Add the warm cream to the mixture and knead it until it comes together to form a dough. I used a stand mixer with a dough hook for this. After the cream is combined in the dough, knead it for 15 more minutes in the mixer. If after 15 minutes the dough is still not pulling away from the sides of the bowl, add a tablespoon of flour. If you’re kneading by hand, you’ll be using a floured surface and will be adding a bit more flour in that way. Once the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, cover it and let it rise for 2 to 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
5. Punch the risen dough down and turn it out. Divide it into 12 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball by stretching and gathering the dough into the center, then cupping it between your hands and rolling it on the counter to form a tight ball. Place the buns on lined baking sheets, cover, and let them rise again for 1 hour, or until puffy.
6. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
7. If you’re using an egg wash, beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush onto the risen buns. Bake for 20 minutes or until they’re golden brown on top and sound hollow when you tap the bottom of one.
8. Take the buns out of the oven and let them cool.
9. To decorate the buns: Lightly crush the sugar cubes so that they are in crunchable pieces. Mix the 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cream and heat it until the sugar dissolves. Brush this on the buns, then sprinkle with the pieces of sugar and the caraway seeds, then serve them forth with some butter, if desired.

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