A Sally Lunn is a type of yeast bread originating from Bath in the West Country of England, the recipe for which is said to have arrived with a French émigrée in the 17th century. It is often lightly scented with lemon, and is traditionally served sliced horizontally, spread with butter or whipped or clotted cream and reassembled.[1][2] It is still produced commercially in Bath.
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Locals would have you believe that the bakery now known as Sally Lunn's House is where Mrs Lunn baked her original buns. The truth is that the story about Sally Lunn's association with 4 North Parade Passage was invented between 1934 and 1937 by an artist called Marie Byng-Johnson. Ms Johnson had arrived in Bath a few years earlier with her daughter, a violin teacher, and for a while they traded from premises in the Abbey Court Yard. At that time 4 North Parade Passage was a grocer's, having previously been a lodging house and cab hire office.[3] The grocer's closed in about 1934 and the building fell into a derelict state. This claim can be contested though by the finding of the various kilns used to bake buns found in the basement of the house which also acts as a museum now.
2 or 3 years later Ms Byng-Johnson took a lease on the premises and dreamed up the story of Sally Lunn. She published a little pamphlet [4] in which she describes finding, in a hidden void naturally, the story of Sally Lunn and the secret of the bun. Despite chancing upon this absolute treasure of historical record, she contrived to lose it, so there is no proof that it ever existed.
The recipe for this bun is said (by the Byng-Johnsons) to have originated in Bath with the arrival in 1680 of a Huguenot immigrant called Solange (Sollie) Luyon[5] who (according to the Byng-Johnsons) brought her native skill and worked at a Bath bakery
Since 1990 the building has been known as Sally Lunn's House [6] and can be visited today with the original (1937) recipe buns available for sale or consumption in the dining rooms.
Sally Lunn buns were certainly consumed in Georgian England but whether the name "Sally Lunn" refers to an individual is questioned by many. A widely believed alternative version is that the name is derived from "soleil lune" or "Sol et Lune" due to the shape and colour of the buns; but it may simply be rhyming slang for the word "bun". There is a reference in Charles Dickens (1812–1879) short novel The Chimes, about a drear evening as "the sort of night that's meant for muffins. . . Likewise crumpets. Also Sally Lunns[7]
This bun or bread recipe also became a favorite in the American Southern colonies.[8]
It remains a locally produced speciality in the 21st century with imitations throughout the English speaking world. It is often confused with the Bath bun.
There are various types of Sally Lunn worldwide. In New Zealand it usually has a layer of pink icing on top of it. Many children remember this delicious treat as a fond memory.
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