Traditional British Baps Recipe (2024)

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Baps are soft white buns that are excellent for sandwiches, well worth making from scratch.

By

Sydney Oland

Traditional British Baps Recipe (1)

Sydney Oland

Sydney Oland lives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, where she develops recipes and owns and operates three businesses: a bean-to-bar chocolate company, an ice cream company, and a collective food production space. Previously, she wrote brunch and British food recipe columns for Serious Eats.

Learn about Serious Eats'Editorial Process

Updated August 30, 2018

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Traditional British Baps Recipe (2)

Why It Works

  • Using plain pork sausage with just a few spices allows a bap to shine in a good breakfast sandwich.
  • The tartness from HP sauce and ketchup complements the elegance of the sausage bap.

A bap is, at its simplest, a bread roll. At its more complicated, it is a tender pillow of dough, often made with milk, lard, and butter. A more humble, Scottish version of the brioche. The bap is the ideal bread for a simple meat sandwich. Whether that meat is leftover boiled beef, mutton, bacon, or sausages, the bap takes a simple meat and elevates it to one of the most steadying sandwiches a person could crave. And it's especially good for those mornings when soaking up all of last night's bad decisions is a top priority.

While the bap makes an ideal bread for many sandwiches, I've found them particularly good for breakfast, especially if used to create a sausage bap, which is simply a sliced sausage stuffed inside a bap. What you should look for is a plain pork sausage, nothing too flashy—just some good quality pork well seasoned with a few spices so that the bap itself can shine. When serving sausage baps you should give your guests the option of topping or dipping their baps into HP sauce as well as ketchup. Both of these tart sauces make an ideal partner to the simple elegance of the sausage bap. Those sauces and a pint or two of some sort of dark ale, and whatever regrets you may be feeling will be replaced with the simple pleasure of an excellent sandwich.

October 2012

Recipe Details

Traditional British Baps Recipe

Active20 mins

Total2 hrs

Serves8 baps

  • 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk, divided

  • 2/3 cup water

  • 2 teaspoons activedry yeast

  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar

  • 2 teaspoons salt

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting

  • Vegetable oil

  • 1 1/2 pounds breakfast sausage links

Directions

  1. Place 2/3 cup milk and water in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds; the mixture should be lukewarm. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over the warmed milk mixture and let sit until frothy, about 3 minutes.

  2. Sift salt with flour into a large bowl. Gently mix the yeast mixture with a fork, then pour over flour; mix with a wooden spoon until dough forms, then knead the dough lightly with your hands. Form the dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl. Cover with a tea towel and let dough double in size, about 90 minutes.

  3. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 425°F (220°C). Punch down the dough and divide it into 8 portions. Form these into ovals, and set them on the baking sheet, leaving as much room as possible between them. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure that the wrap is touching the dough to prevent a skin from forming. Let rise for an additional 15 minutes.

  4. Remove plastic wrap, then brush tops and sides of baps with remaining tablespoon milk, and sprinkle with flour. Bake until baps are puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack. Baps are best the day they are made but can be stored in a plastic bag or covered container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Reheat in a 350°F (180°C) oven for 5 minutes to refresh. Use baps for sandwiches.

Special Equipment

Baking sheet

  • Sandwiches
  • British
  • Sausages
  • Breakfast Sandwich
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
194Calories
2g Fat
38g Carbs
6g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories194
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g2%
Saturated Fat 0g2%
Cholesterol 2mg1%
Sodium 541mg24%
Total Carbohydrate 38g14%
Dietary Fiber 2g6%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 0mg0%
Calcium 35mg3%
Iron 2mg12%
Potassium 92mg2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Traditional British Baps Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is a bap in the UK? ›

A bap is, at its simplest, a bread roll. At its more complicated, it is a tender pillow of dough, often made with milk, lard, and butter. A more humble, Scottish version of the brioche.

What is the difference between a bap and a bun? ›

The lack of lard (and maybe the inclusion of potato flour) appears to be the tipping point that turns a bap into a burger bun. Serious Eats says the bap is more of a Scottish brioche and says it's perfect for basic meat sandwiches with fillings such as bacon, mutton, sausage, or boiled beef.

What are bread rolls called in Scotland? ›

GlobeHunters has unveiled a map to put an end to The Great British Bread debate, revealing the regional names for a bread roll. The map reveals teacakes are the term of choice in the West Country, while those in Newcastle favour stotty. Across the border, Glaswegians favour rowies, while those in the Highlands say cob.

What is a white bap? ›

A simple bread made free of preservatives, dairy, colour and added sugar. This family favourite White Bap Roll, what's not to love? With a soft texture and light dusting of flour, it's a twist to the standard White Roll.

What is English slang for BAPS? ›

Likely to cause a few giggles given that 'baps' is a slang term for breasts in the UK, baps on GBBO can be floury, fluffy, or akin to chewing rubber. Baps are small bread rolls, usually filled with savoury ingredients such as cheese, bacon, or burgers.

What do southerners call baps? ›

Bread roll is a term used widely in England, southern Wales and Scotland, whereas bap was the favourite of North Wales, the West Midlands and Staffordshire.

What do Londoners call a bread roll? ›

a bread roll may also be called a bap. a barm a batch a bun. a cob a muffin and a tea cake. as a Londoner.

What is a sandwich called in Scotland? ›

Piece: a piece of bread and butter, jam, or the like, a snack, usually of bread, scone or oatcake, a sandwich. Jeelie piece: bread and jam; the most common kind of piece in Scotland, often provided as a snack between meals. By extension, a piece came to mean the sandwich lunch carried to work by the working man.

What's a full Scottish breakfast? ›

So, what is a full Scottish breakfast? Usually made up of bacon, link sausages, Lorne sausage (also known as square sausage or slice), black pudding, haggis, baked beans, fried mushrooms and tomatoes, toast, tattie scones and fried eggs, the full Scottish breakfast is a sight to behold.

What is a bap in Ireland? ›

A Belfast bap is a large crusty white bread roll that originates from Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is best known today as the bread in a breakfast sandwich, but can be eaten as a regular sandwich bap.

Can you use BAPS for burgers? ›

To serve, slice 4 baps in half horizontally. Place a slice of cheese on top of each burger and grill for 1–2 minutes, until melted. Spread a spoonful of burger relish over the base of each bap. Top each with 2 lettuce leaves and a slice of tomato.

What is the difference between bap and BLAA? ›

Blaas are sometimes confused with a similar bun known as a bap; however, blaas are square in shape, softer, and doughier, and are most notably identified by the white flour shaken over them before the baking process.

What is bap slang for in England? ›

A bread roll. It varies from region to region if the word is used and whether it refers to a specific kind of bread roll. Also a ladies bosom may be referred to as her baps. Particularly if she partially undresses and is said to get her baps out.

What is the difference between a bap and a butty? ›

A Butty Is a Sandwich

A filled roll or bap can be a butty, as can two pieces of bread with filling. The main kinds of butties are bacon butties and chip butties.

What is the meaning of bap? ›

Definitions of bap. noun. a small loaf or roll of soft bread. type of: bread, breadstuff, staff of life.

What is a bap in Scottish slang? ›

Bap, sometimes applied as a term of contempt to a stupid person. Comb.: bap-heid, A stupid person.

References

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