One thing I hate is going to the shops just for bread, and as I have one kid left at school, I had to go every second day at least, just to buy bread. So after trying a few loaves, which I would slice and make sandwiches with, I still wanted to get a few bread rolls happening. Then I came across this recipe.
Firstly, I had to buy the containers I needed. Now luckily my supermarket had a sale on these containers, I got a 3 pack for $8. Bargain. Why you need this size is when the dough proves in the fridge overnight, it expands and nearly fills up this container. The rectangle shape and the size of the container makes it easier to shape once it comes out.
Once you have mixed your ingredients, you need 2 hours to tend to this bread, now you will only do about 2 minutes of work on the dough in those two hours, but you need to be around. This is when I clean the house. I set my timer for 30 minute intervals, clean the house, stretch and fold the dough, clean the house, stretch the dough. In those two hours, I have decluttered my house. It's brilliant.
These rolls are amazing. The crust is slightly crisp and thin and the inside is light and fluffy. They have a great bread flavour.
Buy yourself kitchen scales they work best in recipes like these. I can't tell you how many different measures I get for 1 cup flour. Scales make things easier and more accurate.
When I double the recipe, I use two containers.
This is so easy to make, I've made it a few times now, and the results are always amazing. Give this a try, it won't disappoint.
Recipe
Makes 3 rolls
2g instant dry yeast
6g sugar
4g sea salt
6g olive oil
175g warm water
225g bread flour
you need:
1 rectangle container 22.5cm x 16cm
(if doubling the recipe make it in two containers)
1 x Pastry scraper
6 ice cubes
In your container add the yeast, sugar, salt, olive oil and warm water. Give it a stir with a fork. Add in your flour, stir the flour in until you have no dry flour left. It will be wet and sticky and will not look like bread, yet.
Get a kitchen timer, you are about to start the stretch and fold phase, this takes 2 hours. Set your timer to 30 minutes.
Cover your container and leave on your bench. On a piece of paper, note the time, say it's 9am. Start your timer. Go do something else for 30 minutes. I use this time to clean my house. An timer makes sure you don't get distracted.
Place one oven rack on your bottom level in your oven. Place a 20cm x 30cm baking pan on this rack, in this pan you will place ice cubes later on to create steam in your oven.
Using an oven tray that comes with your oven, turn it upside down and place it on the second from the bottom level in you oven, you will bake your bread on this tray, putting it in upside down makes it easier to slide the rolls onto it.
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Preheat your oven for 40 minutes. This is the time you need to shape and prove your bread once more.
Now take the dough out of the fridge, it will be plump, fluffy and full of air pockets.
On a clean bench, dust a rectangle of flour about 4cm wider than your container onto your bench. This dough is sticky, you need flour here now to help you work with it.
Dust the top of the dough in the container with flour also.
Now you need to shape the dough and make it into a rough rectangle, evenly thick. You need to be gentle here as you don't want to lose all of your air bubbles. If the middle is puffy, just flour your hands and place them underneath the dough and stretch it out from underneath. This does not need to be perfect, it gets easier every time you make it.
Now place a sheet of baking paper on a flat baking tray, one that is large enough to fit the rolls on it, side by side, with gaps in between, if you don't have a flat tray, just turn a baking tray over.
Using your floured scraper, slide the scraper under one roll and flip the roll onto the baking paper, be careful to place it nicely so all the rolls fit on the tray. Repeat with the other 2 rolls. Gently brush off excess flour. You can use your scraper to fix up your shapes, I don't as I like the rustic look.
Now it's time to bake. Place 6 ice cubes in a bowl.
Grab your tray with your rolls and take it to the oven. Pull out the tray that is in your oven slightly and slide the baking paper with your rolls off the cold tray and onto the hot tray, push the tray back in and now quickly put the ice cubes into the baking pan on the shelf below. Close the oven and bake for about 18 minutes, until your rolls have puffed up and have browned to your liking.
Once done, slide the rolls on the baking paper back onto the cold tray, then place on a cooling rack to cool. Leave for 10 minutes, then they are ready to eat.
Enjoy!
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