(The Best) White Bread Rolls

“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.” --Robert Browning

There is nothing better than the smell of fresh bread to make you feel like you’re ‘home’, this is a recipe for very simple white bread rolls but trust me, although I would quite happily make them for the smell alone they taste amazing too!

Ingredients

Makes 8-10 rolls

270g Strong white flour

30g unsalted butter

5g milk powder

15g fresh yeast or 1 sachet of EasyBlend yeast

150ml tepid water

7g caster sugar

1 egg (for egg washing)

Seeds of your choice, e.g. sesame, poppy

Therapy Method

1.       Sieve the flour into a suitable basin, add the salt

2.      Rub the butter through the flour, don’t leave any big lumps!

3.      Mix in the milk powder

4.      Mix the sugar, yeast, and water together.

5.      Make a well in the flour and pour the yeast water in, incorporate into the flour using your hand.

6.      Once the dough is formed, removed from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface (you might require a little more water or some more sieved flour at this stage, the consistency of the dough should be soft, but not sticky.

7.      Knead firmly until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 5 mins in an electric mixer with a dough hook or 10 mins the old fashioned way!)

8.      Wipe out the bowl and oil lightly, place the dough in the bowl and cover with (oiled) Clingfilm and put somewhere nice and warm to prove – the dough should double in size.

9.      Once doubled in size, knock back the dough (bash it and squash it for about 30 seconds) to expel the air and carbon dioxide.

10.   Roll into a tube shape and divide into 8 -10 pieces.

11.    Shape into designs of your choice, basic round rolls, plaits, knots.

12.   Place onto a baking tray lined with silicone paper.

13.   Egg wash and decorate with seeds if using.

14.   Leave to prove once again until doubled in size (this rise is the air that will be cooked in your bread, so try not to fiddle around with it – let it rise in peace!

15.   Bake in a hot oven, 200°c until golden brown. Try not to knock your tray when putting it in the oven otherwise the rolls will lose their air and collapse.

( DON’T slam the oven door otherwise you’ll lose all the heat that’s in there!)

17.   Once cooked (you know how to check, if you tap the bottoms they should sound hollow) move to a wire rack to cool (this allows the air to circulate, if you leave them on the tray they’ll get soggy bottoms!).

18.   Enjoy!!!!!