Our trip to London was great for many reasons. It was fun to explore all the streets and places we'd heard about on History Channel specials or read about in classic literature. (*ahem* Sherlock Holmes . . .) It was also great for the exposure to the bread. Sausages on nice, chewy rolls, Danish-style pancakes (basically a giant crepe), so many lovely artisan breads at the bakery--it all seemed a bit like Heaven.
In the middle of it all, I learned I've actually been using Baps properly . . . sort of. Baps are a recipe I found in a Scottish cookbook some years back, when I was still trying to re-create the Middle Ages and figured many traditional recipes from Scotland would probably be similar to what they ate then.
The note by the recipe states they are usually found on the breakfast table.
They take too long to rise for me to try to make them before breakfast, but I discovered fairly early on that the consistency is firm enough and the size large enough to make absolutely lovely hamburger buns. (No more soggy, squishy buns! The biggest problem might be opening your mouth wide enough after you dress up your burger with all the goodies, especially if you've loaded it with two hamburger patties.) I had no idea how the Scots used them, but I figured as a citizen of the melting pot of cultures which is America, I was justified in adapting them to my need.
Well, I didn't see any Baps being used as hamburger buns in London, but they were used in breakfast or lunch sandwiches. They came out of the kitchen sliced in half and filled with sausage or bacon. (By the way, the bacon there is nothing like the fatty American bacon with which we're generally stuck when we go to the grocery store. Americans would recognize it as closer to "Canadian-style" bacon.)
Ingredients:
1 lb strong plain white flour (3.5-4 cups--I use all-purpose flour, sometimes adding some whole wheat.)
a pinch of salt
1 oz fresh yeast (1 cake compressed yeast--I used a little less than a Tablespoon of yeast.)
1 level teaspoon caster sugar (this is regular sugar for Americans)
1/2 pint milk and water mixed (1 1/4 cups)
2 oz lard (1/4 cup--by the way, shortening works here)
a little extra flour
The first thing you might notice, if you are paying attention, is that the size of British cups and American cups seems to be different, as in America, 1/2 pint of liquid is 1 cup, while the recipe translates it to 1 1/4 cups. I decided to just go ahead and pretend that the British cups were American cups. (Bread isn't usually "rocket science", so some of the measurements don't have to be too exacting. The amount of flour added always varies with atmospheric conditions, anyway. What this means, of course, is that my Baps may be a bit bigger than the recipe intends them to be, as I am adding more liquid.)
First, warm the milk and water mixture to lukewarm, then stir in the yeast and sugar so they dissolve. Set aside for a few minutes. (Note: if you do this with powdered milk, it is a lot simpler. Just use water for this step and add some powdered milk in the mixing bowl with the flour.)
Put about half the flour, along with the salt, into the bowl of a stand mixer. The directions say to "rub" the lard into the mixture of flour and salt, a process which involves, basically, putting your fingers into the mixture and, well, rubbing the lard into the mixture until it resembles a bowl full of crumbs. I decided to try this with the wire attachment to the mixer.
Seemed to work well enough, to me!
Change the wire attachment to the dough hook, then add the yeast liquid and continue mixing in stand mixer, adding flour until the dough has formed around the hook well. Allow the stand mixer to continue mixing at a slow speed, adding just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl, for about five minutes.
Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with oiled plastic wrap and leave the dough in a warm place to rise. It should double in size in about 30 minutes. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and punch down, then cut it into eight pieces. (If you are really picky, like me, you can use a kitchen scale to make sure the pieces are of similar weights.)
Shape each piece into a roll. I do this by slightly flattening each piece in my hand, then pulling up the sides to pinch together in the middle. This seam goes on the underside when it is placed on the baking sheet.
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| Senior Master Kitchen Helper demonstrating the technique . . . |
Flatten the rolls with a rolling pin and place them on greased or floured baking trays. (I confess to flattening them only a little.)
Allow the baps to rise on the trays in a warm place for about 15 minutes. (In my experience, it usually takes a bit longer than this; it's a good time to preheat the oven to 425 Fahrenheit or 220 Celsius.)
Brush the surface of each bap with water and dust with flour. Bake the baps for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
Who wants squishy hamburger buns, anyway?
The Baps I saw in England were a little flatter than mine, so I may be too timid when I flatten my rounds. Perhaps I'll do so a little more aggressively the next time we're feeling like a good burger . . . or not. There's something satisfying about opening your mouth to its limit to accommodate a giant stack of meat, vegetables, and very tasty bread.
Note: I've also used this recipe in a pinch for bratwurst buns, too, rather than hot dog buns; I just shaped them differently. Granted, I'd rather have German bread, but this will do until I learn how to make it.
