This Ballywindland Roll Recipe I am sharing with you today is an old Irish Recipe, which I adapted from a tiny book I have entitled Irish Teatime Recipes, traditional cakes from the Emerald Isles. I picked up my copy at Thrift Books.
I used to have all sorts of these little books when I lived in the U.K. They were sold all over the place. I had quite a collection which sadly I had to leave when I came back to Canada to live. I am slowly re-collecting them as and when I can. They are filled with the length and breadth of traditional British cookery and baking recipes. I love them.
This recipe is for a traditional non-yeasted roll, that is a bit of a cross between flaky pastry and a scone/biscuit. I did try to find out where Ballywindland was in Ireland, but the closest thing I could come up with was that it is a civil parish in the Londonderry area of Northern Ireland.
Sadly Ireland was one of the places I never did get to visit when I was living in the U.K. although it was long on my bucket list. It was the next place we had planned to go but then Covid happened and then I ended up coming back to Canada.
I love the Irish people. I had and have some very good friends in the U.K. that are Irish. Our Landlord was Irish. A nicer people you could never find. Humble and generous, from the moment you say hello, they are your friend! And yes, they do possess the wonderful gift of gab!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BALLYWINDLAND ROLLS
Simple every day baking cupboard ingredients. Simple ingredients put together in the most delicious way.
- 3 1/2 cups (437g) plain all purpose flour, unsifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 10 TBS (142g) butter at room temperature (5 ounces)
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 3 tsp sugar
- Milk to glaze
You don't need any special kind of flour for these. I just used regular all purpose unbleached flour. It worked beautifully.
I used salted butter because that is all I have in the house. I did add a pinch of salt to the dough as well, and they were not oversalted at all. Just perfect.
I used whole milk because that is all I have in my house. I would not use skim milk, but 2% (semi-skimmed) would probably work fine.
I chose to glaze mine only with milk, rather than an egg wash. They came out lovely and golden brown with a nice crust.
HOW TO MAKE BALLYWINDLAND ROLLS
These take a bit of time, but are very simple and easy to make. Just rub in the butter, stir together and roll, fold, roll, fold, roll. Cut, shape and bake. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Whisk the milk and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved.Measure the flour into a bowl. Whisk in the baking powder and salt. Drop in the butter in small bits.
Rub the butter well into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
Stir the sweetened milk mixture into the flour mixture to make a soft elastic dough. (Knead gently to bring together if need be, without overworking the dough.)Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a square. Gently roll out to a rectangle.Fold into three by folding the top down over the center third and the bottom up over both to cover. Seal shut, give a quarter turn and roll out to a rectangle.Cover with a cloth and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Repeat two more times. Rolling and resting.Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6.Roll out to a rectangle about 16 inches in length and 8 inches wide, roughly 1/3 of an inch thick.
Using a 4 inch round cutter, stamp out 8 rounds. Take care not to twist the dough. (You should be able to see the layers.)Brush each round lightly with some milk and fold it over on itself to shape a half moon, milk side inside. Press gently around the edges to seal well together.Place onto the baking sheet leaving plenty of space between. Brush the tops with a bit of milk or an egg wash.Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown. Scoop off onto a wire rack to cool. Serve with butter and honey.
These were really, REALLY good! They are not really all that labor intensive, although they do require a bit of time in the making. They were light and flaky, with lots of buttery layers. They reminded me very much of the pastry rolls my mother used to make with the leftover pie dough.
But then again, they also reminded me of a scone or a baking powder biscuit.
Perhaps the best way to describe them is a combination of the three . . . pastry, scone and biscuit. All rolled into one delicious bread! Enjoy with butter, honey and a nice hot cuppa for a real taste treat!
I will always regret that I did not get to visit Ireland in all of the 20+ years that I lived in the U.K. Perhaps one day I will have another opportunity. That doesn't stop me from enjoying their foods however, or at least versions of them that I can prepare here in my home. Yes, I have always been a culinary tourist. Here are some of my favorite Irish Recipes that you might also enjoy!
TRADITIONAL IRISH SODA BREAD - This is one very delicious non-yeasted bread. Easy to make and bake. This is a simple classic bread in many Irish households. Perfect for mopping up gravies and stews and for serving alongside of hearty broths and soups! It is also pretty wonderful served warm, buttered, and spread with jam or honey, meant to be washed down with copious cups of hot tea!
TRADITIONAL IRISH CHAMP - I have seen Champ done with sauteed leeks and spring onions, but this version of Champ uses only spring onions (scallions.) It is delicious either way. Mashed potatoes with warm milk, spring onions and butter beaten into them. It's so tasty. The Irish know how to do potatoes and do them very well! Pile into a bowl, make a dip in the middle, fill with more melting butter and enjoy!
Yield: 8 rollsAuthor: Marie Rayner
Ballywindland Rolls
Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 1 H & 20 MThese sweet, teatime rolls, are more like a pastry than a yeasted roll or scone. They fall somewhere in between and are prepared much in the way rough puff pastry is prepared.Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups (437g) plain all purpose flour, unsifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 10 TBS (142g) butter at room temperature (5 ounces)
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 3 tsp sugar
- Milk to glaze
Instructions
- Whisk the milk and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved.
- Measure the flour into a bowl. Whisk in the baking powder and salt. Drop in the butter in small bits.
- Rub the butter well into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
- Stir the sweetened milk mixture into the flour mixture to make a soft elastic dough. (Knead gently to bring together if need be, without overworking the dough.)
- Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a square. Gently roll out to a rectangle.
- Fold into three by folding the top down over the center third and the bottom up over both to cover. Seal shut, give a quarter turn and roll out to a rectangle.
- Cover with a cloth and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Repeat two more times. Rolling and resting.
- Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6.
- Roll out to a rectangle about 16 inches in length and 8 inches wide, roughly 1/3 of an inch thick.
- Using a 4 inch round cutter, stamp out 8 rounds. Take care not to twist the dough. (You should be able to see the layers.)
- Brush each round lightly with some milk and fold it over on itself to shape a half moon, milk side inside. Press gently around the edges to seal well together.
- Place onto the baking sheet leaving plenty of space between. Brush the tops with a bit of milk or an egg wash.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown. Scoop off onto a wire rack to cool.
- Serve with butter and honey.
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