I serve these rolls with homemade soup (I'll post up the recipe if you ask me nicely!) They are remarkably easy to produce whilst also having morning coffee and catch-up chats. (The soup looks after itself pretty much too.)
Soft Rolls
200g/7 oz/1⅓ cups strong plain flour
100g/3 oz/⅔ cup wholemeal flour
1 tsp instant dried yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
190ml/6 fl oz/¾ cup water
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.
Reserve some of the water in case you don’t need it all. The dough should be sticky but not sloppy. If it becomes too slack, add more flour. If it seems too stiff, add more water.
Leave the dough to rise until it has doubled in size.
Knead the dough on a floured surface then cut it into eight pieces.
Knead each piece separately, forming them into round shapes.
Place the rolls onto a greased baking tray and allow them to rise again. You will be able to tell when then have risen enough because they will appear plumper. They will also be springy to touch.
For bread rolls, the rising time on the tray is not critical. If you are in a particular hurry you can get away with baking them almost straight away. Even less-risen bread rolls taste nice when eaten fresh.
Bake at 200oC for 15 minutes, until the rolls are nicely browned and lift easily off the tray. Properly cooked rolls will have the characteristic hollow sound when you tap them.
Leave the rolls to cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before eating.
This recipe is now available as a convenient recipe-card so you don't have to scroll with doughy fingers.
Could I use strong flour (plain or wholemeal) in these recipes?
ReplyDeleteCan these breads be made with strong flour (either plain or wholemeal) instead of the simple plain flour stated??
ReplyDeleteYes, absolutely. In fact, these days, I recommend always using strong flour for baking bread, although you can get away with plain (the results tend to be reliably better with strong). Hope you have success!
DeleteStrong flour is it bread flour instead of whole meal can I use whole wheat flour
ReplyDeleteYes, that's correct, strong flour is higher in protein, giving the bread a better structure. You can certainly use wholemeal/whole wheat flour, or, indeed, any wheat flour for this recipe. I'll be interested to know how you get on. Enjoy!
DeleteHi i am new to bread making how do you adapt the recipe to make individual "crusty cobs " as we like in the Black Country
ReplyDeletemany thanks
Steve
Hi Steve! You could use the dough from this recipe and shape it into one large 'bread roll' and that would make a nice crusty cob. Bake in a very hot oven for 5 minutes and then probably another 30 mins at a slightly lower temperature to cook it through fully and brown it nicely.
Delete