Bath
Bun
The Bath bun is
possibly descended from the 18th century 'Bath cake'.
References to Bath buns date from 1763, and they are still
produced in the Bath area of England.
The original 18th century
recipe used a brioche or rich egg and butter dough and
then covered with caraway
seeds coated in several layers of sugar
similar to French
dragée. It is said to have been devised by a Dr W
Olivier who was a doctor treating visitors who came to
Bath for the spa
waters. He later invented the Bath
Oliver biscuit, when Bath buns proved to be too
fattening for his patients with rheumatism.
The present day version of
this bun uses a rich, sweet yeast
dough shaped round that has a lump of sugar baked in the
bottom and more crushed sugar sprinkled on top after
baking. Variations in ingredients include candied fruit
peel, currants
or larger raisins
or sultanas.
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