Baking Essentials Yummy Rustic Rolls Recipes

BAKING ESSENTIALS: RUSTIC ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• PREP/PREPARE
• There are several ways to make this bread, here are three possible methods:
• The Classic Fontana: This is the method my Aunt Josephine used, and the one that she taught me. It takes a bit of practice to master, but I find it relaxing, as well as a bit of a challenge. To use this method, pile up your dough on a clean, dry surface, and use your fist to punch a hole in the center... Think volcano, and you have a pretty good picture of what you have. Make sure to keep the walls of the flour thick. Now, add all your liquid ingredients into the hole (eggs, water, milk, proofed yeast, the lot), and use a fork to mix them all together. Then, use that fork to carefully pull flower from the walls into the liquid and mix... Just a bit at a time. I love making things like bread, and other baked goods using this method; however, it does take a bit of practice, because if you break through the wall, all of that liquid is going to spill out, and wind up on your work surface, and on the floor. And, I HATE it when that happens.
• The Cheating Fontana: Everything I mentioned for the Classic Fontana, works here except instead of placing the flour on a flat surface, you put it into a big bowl. So, if the flour wall breaks, the bowl will hold everything in. Cheating... Maybe. But it is a brilliant way to practice the Classic Fontana technique without making a mess of things.
• To my knowledge Aunt Josephine never used a stand mixer; however, that does not mean that you cannot. This is the method that we will be using.
• My Aunt always called the Classic Fontana method: Vesuvius, because she said that pile of flour always reminded her of Mount Vesuvius in Italy; the country where she was born.
• If you want to give the bread some added depth of flavor, try substituting part or all of the grapeseed oil with a good Italian extra virgin variety.
• Variation on a Theme If you want to have some fun, try this... Before adding the oil, place it into a saucepan over low heat. Then add some spices or herbs. For example, add some crushed garlic and let it sit in the warm oil for about 30 minutes, or some other spices... your favorite combination. Then, strain and allow to cool before using. It is great for infusing awesome flavors into your rustic breads. FYI: If you are using herbs, fresh are best.
• Gather your ingredients (mise en place).
• PROOF THE YEAST
• Add the sugar to the warm water, dissolve, then sprinkle the yeast over the top. In 5 - 10 minutes it should have a nice foam on the surface. If you do not see any foam, your yeast is dead. Give it a "proper" burial and get some fresher yeast.
• MAKE THE BREAD
• Add the hot water, sugar, salt, oil, and three cups of flour to a stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook.
• Turn on slow and begin mixing, stopping once or twice, to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Add the proofed yeast, and another cup of the flour, set the mixer to low.
• Continue to mix and scrape, adding a bit of flour at a time, until the dough begins crawling up the hook.
• Place on a lightly floured surface, and knead, while adding a bit more flour, until it is still a bit sticky, but does not easily stick to your hands.
• Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover.
• Allow to rise till it doubles in size, about an hour.
• Remove from the bowl and knead for about a minute.
• Cut the dough in half.
• Roll out into logs about 12 inches (30.5cm) in length, or whatever shape you desire.
• Then put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a tea towel, and let rise for about 30 - 40 minutes.
• I am using a baking rack designed for baking loaves of bread.
• While the dough is rising, place a rack in the middle position, and preheat the oven to 400f (205c).
• You can use a sharp knife or lame to cut across the tops of the loaves, being careful not to deflate the dough.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 25 - 30 minutes.
• If you want a really crispy crust, use a spray bottle with water, and spray the sides of the hot oven 2 - 3 times during the baking process. The steam helps to crisp the bread.
• Allow the bread to cool before slicing.
• PLATE/PRESENT
• Slice and serve with butter and preserves, or use to make your favorite sandwich. These work great for a meatball hoagie. Enjoy.
• Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

CLASSIC DINNER ROLLS

Steps:

• Combine 3/4 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Heat milk, water and butter until very warm (120 degrees to 130 degrees F). Add to flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add 1/4 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed. Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
• Divide dough into 12 equal pieces; shape into balls. Place in greased 8-inch round pan. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• Bake in preheated 375 degrees F oven for 20 minutes or until done. Remove from pan; brush with additional melted butter, if desired. Serve warm.

UNBELIEVABLE ROLLS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm milk, water, sugar and salt. Remove from heat, and mix in the eggs and yeast.
• Measure flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the flour, and pour milk mixture into it. Do not stir. Cover with a lid, and let stand for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Pour melted margarine into flour, and mix well. Add more flour if too sticky. Knead lightly. Cover, and let rise for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Shape the dough into rolls, and place on a baking sheet. Let rise again for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Bake rolls in a preheated 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) oven for 15 minutes, or until done.

RUSTIC DINNER ROLLS

Steps:

• Whisk water, yeast, and honey in bowl of stand mixer until well combined, making sure no honey sticks to bottom of bowl.
• Add flours and mix on low speed with dough hook until chohesive dough is formed, about 3 minutes.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature 30 minutes.
• Remove plastic wrap and eveny sprinkle salf over dough.
• Knead on low speed 5 minutes. (If dough creeps up attachment, stop mixer and scrape down using well floured hands or greased spatula.).
• Increase speed to medium and continue to knead until dough is smooth and slightly tacky, about 1 minute.
• If dough is very sticky, add 1-2 tablespoon flour and continue mixing 1 minute.
• Lightly spray 2 quart bowl and with nonstick cooking spray; transfer dough to bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
• Let dough rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Fold dough over itself; rotated bowl quarter turn and fold again. Rotate bowl again and fold once more.
• repeat the entire "fold three times and rest for 30 minutes" step a second time.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes.
• Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• Transfer dough to floured work surface, sprinkle top with more flour.
• Using bench scraper cut dough in half and gently stretch each half into 16-inch cylinders.
• Divide each cylinder into quarters, then each quarter into 2 pieces (you should have 16 pieces total), and dust top of each piece with more flour.
• With floured hands, gently pick up each piece and roll in palms to coat with flour, shaking off excess and place in prepared cake pan.
• Arrange 8 dough pieces in each cake pan, placing 1 piece in middle and others around it making sure cut side faces up.
• Loosely cover pans with plastic wrap and let rolls rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes (dough is ready when it springs back slowly when pressed lightly with finger).
• Thirty minutes before baking, adjust rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees.
• Remove plastic wrap from pans, spray rolls lightly with water, place in oven.
• Bake 10 minutes until tops of rolls are brown; remove from oven.
• Reduce oven temperture to 400 degrees; using kitchen towels or mitts, invert rolls from both pans onto rimmed baking sheet. When cool enough to handle, turn right side up, pull apart, and space evenly on a baking sheet.
• Continue to bake until rolls evelop deep golden brown crust and sound hollow when tapped on bottom, 10 to 15 minutes; rotate baking sheet halfway through baking time. (partially baking in pans first helps to set their shape during rising but leave soft spots where they touch - transfering to baking sheet ensures finished rolls are golden and crisp all around).
• Transfer rolls to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

BAKING ESSENTIALS: AWESOME YEAST ROLLS

Steps:

• 1. PREP/PREPARE
• 2. Warm the buttermilk and whole milk to about 105f (40c), this will help to activate the yeast while you are mixing the ingredients. If you go much higher, you can kill the yeast, and we do not want that to happen.
• 3. You can knead the dough by hand, but we will be using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
• 4. Bake them... Or Freeze for Later If you want to make these ahead of time, you can get them to the step where you form them into the rolls (step 19), and instead of baking them... freeze them. Take them out of the freezer about 2 hours before you want to bake them and allow to thaw and rise. Then, pop them into the preheated oven, and there you go.
• 5. Instant versus Active Yeast The main difference between the two is that instant yeast does not require proofing, while active yeast does. So, if all you have is active yeast, you will need to take some of the warm milk, add the sugar, and stir in the yeast. Then wait about 15 minutes to make sure it starts foaming. With instant yeast just toss it in the recipe and keep going. If you are using active yeast and it does not foam, it is dead. Give it a proper burial and get some fresh yeast. Freezing yeast will put it on pause and extend its active lifespan long past the expiry date. Seal the yeast in an airtight container before freezing.
• 6. Temperature and Rise Time Yeast rises ideally at temperatures between 70f (21c) and 80f (26c). If your house is cool in the winter, then place the rolls somewhere a bit warmer; for example, the top of a fridge or in a warm (but turned off!) oven. If you put the dough on a heater to rise, insulate the bottom of the bowl with a few towels. If your house is very warm, the dough may rise quicker than expected. What I usually do is turn one of the ovens on for one minute, and then turn it off, and throw in the rolls to rise. That one minute gets the oven into the ideal temperature to get a maximum rise, in a minimum amount of time.
• 7. Can I raise the temp higher to get a faster rise? Actually, you can; however, you should not do this. Pumping up the temp will cause the rolls to rise faster but will weaken the structure to the point that they might collapse when baked. Stick to the ideal time and wait it out. Remember, baking is a lot about science. Follow the science and everything works out splendidly; do not follow the science at your own peril.
• 8. Gather your ingredients (mise en place).
• 9. Add the warm milk and buttermilk, the egg, yeast, salt, butter and sugar to the bowl of your food processer.
• 10. Use a whisk to combine all the ingredients.
• 11. Add 5 cups of the flour to the mixer (reserving the remaining cup).
• 12. Fit on the dough hook and begin on slow speed.
• 13. As the ingredients begin to come together, click up the speed by a notch.
• 14. Add a tablespoon or two of the reserved flour at a time, until the dough becomes smooth, and begins climbing up the dough hook. You will probably need to occasionally stop the mixer and scrape down the sides.
• 15. Chef's Note: The amount of flour needed is determined by many factors; just add a bit at a time, until the dough climbs the hook.
• 16. Remove from the stand mixer, place on a lightly floured surface, and knead a few times until smooth, then cut in half and form into 2 balls.
• 17. The dough should be slightly sticky, but not overly so. If it is really sticky, then work in a bit more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until it is smooth and elastic.
• 18. Rub the dough balls with a bit of non-flavored oil (grapeseed, vegetable), then tightly double wrap in cling wrap.
• 19. Stick in the refrigerator and allow them to rest from 24 to 48 hours.
• 20. Remove one of the half balls from the fridge, and roll portions into round 2 - 3-ounce balls. You should get from 12 - 14 rolls from each half.
• 21. Place them close together in a lightly buttered baking dish.
• 22. Place in a non-drafty corner of the kitchen, cover with a tea towel, and allow them to rise for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until they rise, and begin pushing together.
• 23. Place a rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 375f (190c).
• 24. When the rolls have properly risen, place them into the preheated oven, and bake until nice and brown, about 15 - 18 minutes.
• 25. PLATE/PRESENT
• 26. Brush some butter on the hot rolls and serve immediately. Enjoy.
• 27. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.