Homemade bread rolls, crunchy and steaming, full of flavoursome olives and parmesan – need I say more?
The same hot baker who taught me to make scones taught me to make bread. His attitude was great: bread is not tricky, and this whole thing of knead your dough for 15 minutes, stir it clockwise four times then blow on it until it rises is just not needed. Pffft.
Here’s how to make bread. Simple and good. I’m going to do a few bread posts soon, including sour dough. The first four steps for bread making are labelled below as most recipes use the same methodology, and future-Aimee will be referring back to this post.
Step one: Combine the flour, yeast, salt, parmesan, olives, garlic and optional sage/basil in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Make a well in the centre and add the water.
Step two: Use a wooden spoon to combine ingredients and then your hands to bring the mixture together to a soft dough. Give it a good pounding until well combined.
It helps to think of something that makes you angry, like my new neighbour the DJ who won’t turn his music down no matter how nice I ask. *thump* *thump* *thump*
Step three: Make the dough into a ball and leave it in the bowl, spray with olive oil, or drizzle it with olive oil to ensure it doesn’t dry out and stick to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and stand in a warm, draught-free place for 45-50 minutes, or until the dough has risen and doubled in size. Watch the magic begin…
You can see the dough below is about double the one I’m pounding above.
Step four: Lightly grease a baking tray with spray olive oil and sprinkle with flour. Turn dough out onto your lightly floured bench and use your fist to punch the dough down again.
If you were making a loaf you’d stop at this point and make it into a round loaf, oval loaf or put into a lightly floured and greased bread tin. But for the rest of us, let’s get ready to roll (as in bread roll, do you get it? ah, forget it, my talents are wasted).
Use your fingers to make it into a rectangle about 1.5cm thick. Fold into a roll, making sure the seam is at the bottom, and cut into eight portions, or just roughly make eight portions from your original rectangle.
Place onto the greased tray.
Brush each portion lightly with water, press optional sunflower seeds on top and leave in a warm, draught- free place for 45 minutes, or until the dough portions double in size.
preheat oven to 220°C.
See how they grow? The ones below are still not cooked, this is just them doubling.
Bake the rolls in preheated oven for 18 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through, and the base sounds hollow when tapped.
Get it while it’s hot!
Lovely with pumpkin soup. Nom Nom.
I’ve been wanting to do a bread post for awhile, but my camera is too crappy to take photos inside. It’s a second hand digital camera we bought in London. Confession time: most of the photos here have been painstakingly taken outside, only in good sunlight. Not even by me, my boyfriend takes them as I have no patience or passion for photography. Just eating.
This week, my best friend was over from Canada with her very fancy camera fresh from doing a photography course. She actually likes taking photos and doesn’t think it’s a chore! Hoorah! So thanks to Pam for her help with this. We drank champagne while I baked, she snapped and we chatted. It was lovely.
Also, while I have your attention, Erin from the Spiffy Cookie is having a bake sale at the moment to raise money for her friend Dave. Funds will help buy him a prosthetic leg after a recent motorcycle accident. You can bid on items, then they are mailed to you. It’s for American readers only though, as international shipping of baked goods was a bit of an unknown factor. Please go across and have a look.
Ingredients (makes eight bread rolls)
450 grams (3 cups) plain flour, sifted
1 x 7 gram sachet dried yeast (or 2 ¼ teaspoons)
1 teaspoon Salt
20 grams (1/4 cup) finely shredded Parmesan
40 grams (about eight) black olives, pitted, chopped (feel free to add more if you’re an olive fan)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
300mls lukewarm water
2 teaspoon of olive oil or spray oil
Water, for brushing
Optional:
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or basil
Pumpkin seeds, to top
Method
- Combine the flour, yeast, salt, parmesan, olives, garlic and optional sage/basil in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Make a well in the centre and add the water.
- Use a wooden spoon to combine ingredients and then your hands to bring the mixture together to a soft dough. Give it a good pounding until well combined.
- Make the dough into a ball and leave it in the bowl and spray with olive oil, or drizzle it with olive oil to ensure it doesn’t dry out and stick to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and stand in a warm, draught-free place for 45-50 minutes, or until the dough has risen and doubled in size.
- Lightly grease a baking tray with spray olive oil and sprinkle with flour. Turn dough out onto your lightly floured bench and use your fist to punch the dough down.
- If you were making a loaf you’d stop at this point and make it into a round loaf, oval loaf or put into a lightly floured and greased bread tin.
- Use your fingers to make it into a rectangle about 1.5cm thick. Fold into a role, making sure the seam is at the bottom, and cut into eight portions, or just roughly make eight portions from your original rectangle.
- Place onto the greased tray.
- Brush each portion lightly with water, press optional sunflower seeds on top and leave in a warm, draught- free place for 45 minutes, or until the dough portions double in size.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 220°C.
- Bake the rolls in preheated oven for 18 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through, and the base sounds hollow when tapped.
Healthy? Depends if you’re one of those no-carby people. Whom I do not understand. These are 200 calories a roll.
Storage: They freeze well, otherwise best eaten within a couple of days. Store in airtight container.
Source: Modified from taste.com.
