I made bread rolls yesterday. Yes, I did. I felt all Martha Stewart like I even donned an apron. I made bread after I started out wanting to make something out of Rachel Khoo’s book for afternoon tea. I wanted to make Pain Brie, and it requires some fermented dough obviously I didn’t have it on hand, so I thought why not; let’s bake bread. You can seriously tell we are still in week one of swing because I have power and organisation. This baking shenanigans will not last along with the clean house, sanity or regular shaving of legs.
I used bake to once upon a long time ago when I was younger, and living with a fellow. I would make focaccia because well he liked it, and I was trying to make him happy and without blowing wind up by bum it was good. However bloke came and went and so did my need to make focaccia’s and raw steak as a face mask, things you learn.
So needing to make some fermented dough I made some bread rolls. I only had plain flour; the reciepe called for bread flour and tried to find a substitute, but didn’t have wheat gluten on hand {obviously}. Using the plain flour they turned out lovely. The difference in case you want to know is that bread flour has a higher protein content. Its just a fraction less something like 4% but this only causes it to rise little less; these rose just a wee less I was happy.
Now if I’m honest I don’t generally like home-made bread because what I have had I didn’t like; simple. For me, it turns out heavy which is why I can never be gluten free I like my bread and home made bread they go stale so quick obviously I like my preservatives too. However this morning the rolls are still good and they aren’t too heavy to eat but in between. And because I’m finicky about bread and its been awhile I researched some techniques to refresh my memory and learnt a couple of extra things so not to suck more but baking is like riding a bike. And this is a super easy recipe.
1. The recipe here calls for 4cups of flour, but I needed a little more. Add your flour half a cup at a time until the dough is right {pulling away from the side and not sticky – like play dough}. I have always been a stickler for amounts, but I added some more, so the dough didn’t stick to the bowl when mixing. The dough was perfect. It wasn’t a sticky mess something that had always put me off making bread.
2. To determine if the dough has been kneaded enough, break off a small, walnut-sized ball of dough. Stretch the dough, much like stretching a balloon or a piece of bubble gum. If the dough has been kneaded enough, it will not tear easily and a translucent membrane will be visible. This is known as a gluten window in case you’re ever on Millionaire Hot Seat facing Eddy risking half a mill over a question on gluten windows; now you know you can thank me later.
3. Don’t use the fan in the oven it dries it out.
4. Have an oven pan on the bottom and when putting the bread in to add a cup of water.
5. The rolls are ready when they sound hollow when you tap the bottoms.
6. When pulled out to cool place a tea towel over the top to absorb the moisture
Bread Rolls
What you will need:
1 1/2 cups warm water {to hot and you will kill the yeast so around 40C}
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups bread flour
How to:
In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.
Enjoy with as much butter as you can slather..
XD
{image with thanks to here}
