What Is A Bap And How Is It Different From A Burger Bun?

Foster's Bakery shares that there are over 18 different terms for a bread roll in Great Britain. They include everything from "bin lid," which is used in Liverpool; to "batch," which is used in Coventry; to "barm cake," which is used in Manchester, and the list goes on. One of the most notable bread rolls is the bap. Baps hail from Scotland and are a staple of the region, a favored morning bun among the Scottish.

The first recorded history of the use of the word bap is believed to be in the 1500s, so baps have certainly been a part of the culinary lexicon for some time. Per Wise Geek, these delightful carbs are the equivalent to the American version of the dinner roll, but smaller and with a petite dimpled hole in the middle that serves to ensure the bap doesn't rise too quickly or expand too high, and they're dusted with powder. Serious Eats notes that these delicious, doughy buns are frequently made with flour, yeast, salt, butter, milk, and everyone's favorite, lard.

You may have noticed that they look a bit like hamburger buns. In fact, how you use a bap is very similar to how you might use a burger bun. So, are baps actually burger buns with a different name? The answer is: "kind of."

The difference between a bap and a burger bun is subtle and really centers around the traditional use of lard. Decider consulted the King Arthur Flour website and found that people's favorite burger bun recipes mostly use eggs in lieu of lard, or incorporated potato flour. 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. To top it off, you can use tart sauces on your sausages, like ketchup or HP. Similarly, Kroger suggests baps taste best when buttered or topped with meat. Key Ingredient says you'll get the best experience with oven-fresh baps. According to Wise Geek, if you happen to visit a Scottish pub, you are bound to see these doughy soft buns served with Lincolnshire sausages and caramelized onions, or sometimes potato fritters will be smashed between the two pieces of bread.