Mary Grace Taylor --- Sally Lunn Bread
Mary Grace was the closest friend of Libby's maternal grandmother. Some years ago Mary Grace commented, “Libby is a precious little girl! She’s a real delight!” (All who know Libby heartily agree with that opinion to this day.) We include here Mary Grace’s recipe for Sally Lunn Bread which her son Bruce requested that his mother make each Christmas. Its enjoyment need not be limited to Christmas; indeed, Sally Lunn has been enjoyed frequently since America’s colonial days.
Ingredients:
© 1 cup milk
© 1 (0.25-ounce) package active dry yeast
© 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
© 1/3 cup granulated sugar
© 1 teaspoon salt
© 3 large eggs
© 4 cups all-purpose flour
Directions:
Heat milk in a saucepan over low heat until hot. Cool to 105° to 115°.
Dissolve yeast in warm milk; let stand 5 minutes.
Beat butter at medium speed of an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add sugar and salt, beating well. Add eggs and beat well.
Add flour alternately with milk/yeast mixture, beginning and ending with flour, mixing well after each addition.
Cover, let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Beat at medium speed until smooth.
Cover and let rise an additional 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
Spoon batter into a lightly greased and floured 9-inch tube pan.
Bake at 350° 35 to 40 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan, cool on a rack.
Literary Note:
In his 1845 Christmas story The Chimes, Charles Dickens describes a dreary evening:
“What sort of a night is it, Anne?” inquired the former porter of Sir Joseph Bowley, stretching
out his legs before the fire, and rubbing as much of them as his short arms could reach; with an
air that added, “Here I am if it's bad, and I don't want to go out if it's good.”
“Blowing and sleeting hard,” returned his wife; “and threatening snow. Dark. And very cold.”
“I'm glad to think we had muffins,” said the former porter, in the tone of one who had set his
conscience at rest. “It's a sort of night that's meant for muffins. Likewise crumpets. Also
Sally Lunns.”
.
Ingredients:
© 1 cup milk
© 1 (0.25-ounce) package active dry yeast
© 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
© 1/3 cup granulated sugar
© 1 teaspoon salt
© 3 large eggs
© 4 cups all-purpose flour
Directions:
Heat milk in a saucepan over low heat until hot. Cool to 105° to 115°.
Dissolve yeast in warm milk; let stand 5 minutes.
Beat butter at medium speed of an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add sugar and salt, beating well. Add eggs and beat well.
Add flour alternately with milk/yeast mixture, beginning and ending with flour, mixing well after each addition.
Cover, let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Beat at medium speed until smooth.
Cover and let rise an additional 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
Spoon batter into a lightly greased and floured 9-inch tube pan.
Bake at 350° 35 to 40 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan, cool on a rack.
Literary Note:
In his 1845 Christmas story The Chimes, Charles Dickens describes a dreary evening:
“What sort of a night is it, Anne?” inquired the former porter of Sir Joseph Bowley, stretching
out his legs before the fire, and rubbing as much of them as his short arms could reach; with an
air that added, “Here I am if it's bad, and I don't want to go out if it's good.”
“Blowing and sleeting hard,” returned his wife; “and threatening snow. Dark. And very cold.”
“I'm glad to think we had muffins,” said the former porter, in the tone of one who had set his
conscience at rest. “It's a sort of night that's meant for muffins. Likewise crumpets. Also
Sally Lunns.”
.