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Have you heard of Sally Lunn bread? My Mom mastered it when I was a kid and included her recipe in the cookbook I’ve written about here before, Great Tastes from the Texas Coast.
I’ve been on a “nostalgia for Mom’s cooking” journey lately (I’m sure you know the feeling if you’ve lost your Mom) and dug up this recipe recently to revisit it. The handwritten notes are mine, circa 2024.
With my alterations, it’s a great recipe – I’ve made it four times in two months!
But I had to smile the first time I made it, because … Mom forgot about the flour!
That kind of thing can happen when you publish an amateur cookbook – no matter what a great cook you are, if the recipes aren’t tested, you might have inadvertently left something out.
No worries! Google to the rescue.
I did some research on Sally Lunn bread, figured out how much flour to use, and have tested this recipe extensively. I made a few changes and know that while Mom’s spirit is in the dough, my cooking wisdom—which I gained from her in the first place—has also made it a wee bit better. Let’s call it a two-generation partnership, in the way that most cooks inherit recipes from their parents, and then make it their own.
I decided not to call this Sally Lunn bread, because apparently, Sally didn’t exist. Wikipedia gives a little background, here, and it’s clear that there are numerous origin stories for this delightful style of bread, and hundreds of recipes. My version is named after my Mom, Nancy Harvell, an indomitable spirit who left us too soon. I used the term “batter bread” because I found it used in many similar recipes online.
Before we get to the real deal, the recipe, let’s talk about why this bread is AWESOME.
- It’s easy and fast: homemade bread in less than 4 hours, total.
- You don’t have to knead it.
- It’s rich, with a golden, crunchy crust on the outside.
- But it’s also soft, with a very light, airy, tender and rich crumb on the inside.
- It makes AMAZING toast.
- It makes AMAZING French toast.
- It makes an AMAZING base for crostini.
- It is AWESOME just served hot with butter. And ohhhh, perhaps some honey!
- It freezes well.
- It impresses people!
In other words, my friends, I love love love this bread and make it spontaneously, just because.
Because it will be great with our Sunday dinner. Or Friday dinner. Or Tuesday lunch.
Because I can freeze 4 or 5 of the six mini-loves and then pop them out when guests come, planned or unplanned.
Because it feels really, really good to have homemade bread in the freezer for a throwdown ANYTHING. I am prepared for life when I have food like this on hand, ready to serve at a moment’s notice.
So, here’s my Mom’s recipe, tested, enhanced, tested again, and now including the flour. 😎
Nancy’s Homemade Batter Bread
Ingredients
- 2 pkg. active dry yeast or 2 tablespoons fresh yeast
- ½ cup warm water
- 1 cup warm milk (you can substitute oat milk or half ‘n’ half)
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil or melted butter, cooled
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 4-5 cups flour, divided
- 3 eggs
Cooking Instructions
Sprinkle yeast into warm water (105-115℉) in large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Let stand until dissolved. Add milk, butter, sugar, salt and 1 cup of the flour. Beat until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each addition. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft but sticky dough. (It will be too soft to knead.) Stir. Place in a large greased bowl. Cover with greased wax paper, and let rise until double, about 1½ hours. While the dough is rising, grease baking pans with butter or cooking spray; your choice of:
- Six small loaf pans
- 2 regular loaf pans
- 1 large Bundt pan
Stir down. Place in greased bread pans. Cover and let rise until double, about 45 minutes. Optional: while the dough is rising for the second time, create an egg wash in a small dish by whisking one egg with 1 tablespoon of water. If using, brush gently across the tops of the loaves before baking.
Bake in a 375° oven 30 to 45 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when thumped. The smaller pans will require less baking times than the large one.
Join Me in the Kitchen
Why This Works
The success of this type of bread rests on the eggs. It is a relatively high ratio of eggs to flour, and the extra fat from the eggs renders the crust more deep and golden brown, bringing a sunshine-yellow softness to the crumb. Eggs also inhibit some of the gluten formation, making the dough rise a bit more. Eggs impact the texture in opposing ways: the crust is golden brown and crunchy, while the inside of the loaf has a softness that is similar to brioche.
The sugar also plays a part. The bread is just a teensy bit sweet, like a quick hug, but not overpoweringly so, like when Aunt Bertha hugs you too hard and for too long.
Let Me Know How It Goes
When you make this recipe of Mom’s, please come back and tell me how it went. You’ll be a part of Mom’s legacy – and you won’t forget the flour!
© Glover Gardens, 2024
We love homemade bread and yours looks so good! It is so easy to write up a recipe and leave something out.