Batch, barm, cob or bap: what do you call a bread roll? (2024)

The great British bread debate

When is a bread roll not a bread roll? When it's a bap, a batch, a buttery, a roll or a rowie. Across the British Isles there's a great variety of names for this staple many eat daily. We reveal theregional specialitiesvying to be Britain’s favourite.

Morning roll

You may hear talk of morning rolls across the UK – from the tip of Northern Ireland to Sussex, mid-Wales, Somerset, Devon, Shropshire, the West Midlands and central Scotland. Also known as a Scotch morning roll, they tend to be chewy and have fired or crisp lids. In Glasgow, find them filled with square sausage, black pudding, a fried egg or potato scone.

Stotty cake

Ask for a bread roll in the northeast and Newcastle and you may well be served a stotty, or stottie cake. A traditional flat bread originally made using dough off-cuts, it doesn’t get a second rise or second kneadand was once cooked in the bottom of the oven as it cooled. The result is a limited rise and more densefilling.

Cob

All around the UK, from North Wales, north Norfolk and the northwest to northern Scotland and the East Midlands, you'll often hear a bread roll called a cob. Locals claim it's the original word to describe a roll, used for hundreds of years in farming and by the nation’s unofficial bread expert Paul Hollywood.

Bap

Vying with cob as the main alternative, bapis used in London, the northeast, Northern Ireland and much of south Wales. Die-hard bap-lovers distinguish a bap as a softer bread roll with minimal crust and fill them with crispy bacon and sauce for breakfast. More decadentvariants such as burger baps, with added butter or lard, start to resemble French brioche.

Bin lid

In Liverpool and the surrounding area a request for a bin lid should, in all likelihood,net you a white or brown bread roll. Apparently, there’s nothing humorous about walking into a fish and chipshop and ordering a chip bin lid in these parts.

Vienna

A Vienna – a term sparingly used in parts of Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk – refers to any bread roll, but often with atwist. Theymightbe plain or topped with poppy or sesame seeds and have a fairly substantial crust. In other parts of England, a Vienna roll refers exclusively to twisted rolls. Meanwhile, some supermarkets sell it asan oblong crusty bread.

Teacake, oggie or lardy cake

Bread cakes

In Leeds, a bread roll may simply be called a bread cake and resemble a typical British soft bun,or more traditional versions may resemble a flatbread. In Lancashire this style is known as an oven bottom.

Aberdeen rowie

The Aberdeen rowie (also known simply as a rollie, an Aberdeen roll or even a buttery) is a butter-rich bread roll, slightly similar to a French croissant. Originally made for fishermen going out to sea for days at a time, the beauty of the rowie is it stays fresher for longer, mainly due to the high butter content. They're popular throughout southwest Scotland.

Muffin

Barm

Batch