This yeasted bread roll recipe comes from the Solid Cookbook. One simple dough makes 8 larger hamburger rolls or 16 sliders and dinner rolls. Bake them close together for tear-apart rolls or spaced apart for individual ones. A nöni™ stainless steel pan doubles as the water bath that gives the rolls their golden crust.
Prep: 30 mins active | Proving: 2.5–8 hrs (temperature dependent) | Cook: 15–20 mins | Makes: 8 hamburger rolls or 16 sliders/dinner rolls
Ingredients
- 310g lukewarm filtered water
- 6g dry yeast
- 6g sugar
- 6g salt
- 6g bread improver
- 500g bakers' flour
- 20g canola oil
Equipment
- nöni™ stainless steel pan – placed on a lower oven shelf as the water bath for steam
- Large mixing bowl, plus an oiled bowl for proving
- Stand mixer with dough hook (optional)
- Baking tray lined with baking paper
- Digital kitchen scales (for weighing ingredients and dividing the dough evenly)
- Sharp knife or razor blade (optional, for slashing)
- Wire rack
- Oven glove
Method
1. Activate the yeast
Pour the warm water into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the sugar and yeast over the surface. Whisk with a fork, then leave for 15 minutes for the yeast to activate. The surface should become covered in bubbles.
2. Mix and knead
Add the rest of the ingredients and either hand mix then knead on a lightly floured bench for 8–10 minutes, or machine mix with a dough hook for 1 minute on slow then 7–9 minutes on high. Develop the gluten until the dough passes the 'window test' (you can pinch it, pull it thin, and see through it without it tearing).
3. Shape the dough
Form the dough into a ball, using your fingertips to force the dough inside itself around the base, creating tension. Turn upside down and pinch together the edges to form a sealed seam.
4. Into a bowl
Place the ball seam-side down into an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel.
5. First prove
Leave in a warm place and allow to double in size — depending on temperature, this can take 1.5–4 hours.
6. Divide the dough
Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured bench and deflate by gently pressing down. Cut into the desired number of equal sized pieces: 8 for larger hamburger rolls, 16 for sliders or dinner rolls. Pieces should be within 10g of each other.
7. Shape the rolls
Form the pieces into individual rolls using either: (a) thumbs to force dough inside itself creating a ball, then pinching the base to seal; or (b) your hand like a claw cage, rolling the dough piece on the bench until the ball forms inside your fingers.
8. Second prove
Place rolls seam-side down onto a baking paper-lined tray lightly dusted with flour. Space them so they will just touch as they proof (for tear-apart rolls) or further apart (for individual rolls). Dust tops with flour, cover with a damp tea towel, and leave in a warm place until doubled in size and a gentle finger press leaves a permanent indentation. This takes 1–4 hours.
9. Pre-heat with a water bath
Preheat oven to 220°C with a stainless steel pan on a lower shelf as a water bath.
10. Add steam
Boil a kettle and pour approximately 1/2 cup of boiling water into the water bath pan. Use a glove to avoid flash steam burn!
11. Dust and slash
Lightly dust the tops of the rolls with flour and slash 2mm deep with a sharp knife or razor blade if desired.
12. Bake for 10 minutes
Then remove the water pan and rotate the tray. Bake for a further 5–10 minutes until golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.
Variations
Replace 1/5 of the bakers' flour with wholemeal flour for 'golden rolls'. Add spelt or rye flour for other variations. This recipe can also be baked as a bread loaf — give the dough an additional 3–5 minute knead before shaping, and increase total bake time to 25–30 minutes.
