These little bread rolls remind me of Europe. They have a slightly sweet crumb and go with almost everything sweet or savoury. They are really easy to make and freeze well. Makes 12 rolls.
Ingredients:
- 450 gr strong (High Grade) flour
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 Tbsp caster sugar
- 50 gr soft butter (not melted)
- 280 ml milk, lukewarm
- extra milk for glazing
- plain flour
Preparation:
Mix flour, salt and sugar in a big mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until incorporated. Make a well in the centre. Dissolve the yeast in the milk and pour into the well. Start mixing with your fingers until combined. Then tip out onto a lightly dusted bench top and start kneading for approximately 8-10 minutes., adding more flour if needed. You know the dough is ready when it bounces back after lightly pressing with a finger and the dough is smooth and silky to the touch. Form into a ball.
Rub 1 tsp of olive oil in the bowl (optional; this prevents the dough from sticking to the bowl after proving) and put the dough ball in the bowl. Cover with a tea towel or cling film. Leave to rise in a warm place (20º-25ºC) for about an hour or until doubled in size.
Grease and dust two baking trays. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll in to balls. Put each ball seam side down on a baking tray. Make sure you leave quite some space between each ball as they will increase in size and you don't want them sticking together. Slice a cross over the top of each ball with a sharp knife and cover with cling film or a tea towel. Leave to rise for 30-40 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Brush the rolls with milk and bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and the rolls have a nice golden colour. Let cool for about 10 minutes before attempting to remove from the baking tray.
Because of the milk the rolls will tend to stick to the tray and you almost need to scrape the rolls of the tray. I noticed a spatula really helps. Maybe it's an idea to use baking paper instead...
After freezing the rolls, make sure they're defrosted completely and put them in a 190º-200ºC oven for about 6-8 minutes. This will crisp up the crust and they taste like freshly baked rolls.
