Crusty Rolls Recipes

CRUSTY ROLLS

Steps:

• In large bowl, combine 1 cup warm water (about 110°F), sugar, salt and yeast.
• Let stand until yeast is soft, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in 2 egg whites, 1 cup flour and 2 tablespoons oil.
• Add 2 1/2 cups more flour and stir until incorporated.
• Scrape dough (it will be soft) onto a well-floured board and dust with more flour.
• Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding flour as required to prevent sticking.
• Place dough in an oiled bowl and turn over to coat.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down, then knead briefly on a lightly floured board to expel air.
• Divide dough into 20 equal pieces and shape each into a ball that is smooth on top.
• As you shape balls, dip bottoms in cornmeal.
• Set about 1 1/2 inches apart on an oiled 12x15-inch baking sheet.
• Rub tops lightly with oil, drape with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy, about 30 minutes.
• In a small bowl, beat 1 egg yolk (discard remaining yolk or reserve for another use) with 1 tablespoon water to blend.
• Brush rolls lightly with egg yolk mixture.
• Move 2 oven racks to the lowest positions in oven.
• When rolls are ready to bake, preheat oven to 400°F, put another large pan on lowest rack and add at least 1/4 inch of boiling water.
• Bake rolls on second rack (above rack containing pan of water).
• Bake until richly browned, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Transfer rolls to a rack to cool.
• Serve warm or cool.

CRUSTY ROLLS

Steps:

• In a bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add shortening, sugar, salt and 1 cup flour; beat until smooth. Add egg whites; mix well. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes (dough will be stiff). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours., Punch dough down; divide into 24 pieces and shape into balls. Sprinkle greased baking sheets with cornmeal. Place rolls 2 in. apart on baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Place a large shallow pan filled with boiling water on lowest rack in oven. Bake rolls on middle rack at 425° for 10-11 minutes or until golden brown.

NO KNEAD CRUSTY ROLLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Stir in water. Mixture will be thick and sticky.
• Cover with plastic wrap & let stand on counter top for 3 hours.
• After 3 hours (mixture will be puffy and bubbly on top) place dough on a well-floured surface. Using a scraper fold over about 12 times, adding enough flour so it doesn't stick (about 2 Tbsp).
• Using a scraper cut dough into 8 pieces. With floured hands, shape each into a ball by folding and tucking, like making a drawstring bag.
• Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet (not wax paper) & cover with a dish towel. Let stand at room temperature for 35 minutes. They will puff up but will not double in size.
• As soon as rolls are covered, start preheating oven to 450° F. Oven must be 450° so use an oven thermometer if possible.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. To re-crisp the next day, preheat the oven to 325° F and place the rolls directly on the oven rack for 10-12 minutes.

FRENCH BREAD ROLLS TO DIE FOR

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

CRUSTY HARD ROLLS

Steps:

• The Starter:
• Mix the starter ingredients together until smooth, cover, and let rest at room temperature overnight.
• Combine all of the dough ingredients and mix and knead them together -- by hand, mixer or bread machine, until you've made a soft, somewhat smooth dough; it should be cohesive, but the surface should still be a bit rough. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 3 hours, gently deflating it and turning it over after 1 hour, and again after 2 hours.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased or floured work surface. Divide it into 12 pieces, shape the pieces into balls, and firm them up by rolling them under your lightly cupped fingers on an unfloured work surface. Place the rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover them, and let them rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until they've doubled in size. Refrigerate them for several hours, or overnight.
• Remove the rolls from the refrigerator, and brush them with a wash made of 1/2 cup water mixed with 1 tablespoon egg white (you won't use up all the wash). Slash a 1/4-inch deep cut across the top of each roll, and bake them in a preheated 425°F (220°C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until they're a deep golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a wire rack. For an extra-crisp crust, allow them to cool in the turned-off, door-propped-open oven.
• Yield: 12 rolls.

SANDWICH ROLLS

Steps:

• Place yeast and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer; whisk to mix. Add flour and salt.
• Knead with dough hook until mixture forms a soft, sticky dough ball and easily pulls away from the sides and the hook, about 5 minutes. (If still too sticky, add a bit more flour and knead a few more seconds.) Transfer dough to a work surface and form into a smooth ball. Place dough back in the mixing bowl. Drizzle the dough and sides of bowl a few drops of vegetable oil. Spread a film of oil over the surface of the dough.
• Cover the bowl and transfer to a warm, draft-free place until dough is doubled in size, 60 to 90 minutes.
• Transfer dough to a floured work surface. Form into a rectangle shape and cut into 6 equal pieces. Using your cupped hand and the work surface, roll each section of dough into a smooth round ball. Cover with a clean, dry cloth and let rest 15 minutes.
• Flatten dough balls into 6- or 7-inch long ovals. Starting with a long edge, roll the dough into a cylinder, applying extra pressure to the ends to form pointy tips for a classic French roll shape. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets (do not crowd them) and cover with clean dry towels until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place a pan of water on the bottom rack.
• With a very sharp knife, score each roll about 1/4 inch deep along one side somewhere between the side and the top. Spritz loaves lightly with water from a spray bottle.
• Bake in preheated oven about 20 minutes. Spritz loaves again and rotate pans for a more even bake. Bake until loaves are golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack; cool completely before cutting.

EASY BREAD ROLLS

Steps:

• Tip the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and oil into a bowl. Pour over 325ml warm water, then mix (with a spatula or your hand), until it comes together as a shaggy dough. Make sure all the flour has been incorporated. Cover and leave for 10 mins.
• Lightly oil your work surface and tip the dough onto it. Knead the dough for at least 10 mins until it becomes tighter and springy - if you have a stand mixer you can do this with a dough hook for 5 mins. Pull the dough into a ball and put in a clean, oiled bowl. Leave for 1 hr, or until doubled in size.
• Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a long sausage shape. Halve the dough, then divide each half into four pieces, so you have eight equal-sized portions. Roll each into a tight ball and put on a dusted baking tray, leaving some room between each ball for rising. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place to prove for 40 mins-1 hr or until almost doubled in size.
• Heat the oven to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. When the dough is ready, dust each ball with a bit more flour. (If you like, you can glaze the rolls with milk or beaten egg, and top with seeds.) Bake for 25-30mins, until light brown and hollow sounding when tapped on the base. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

CRUSTY CORNSTALK ROLLS

Steps:

• Stir together yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, and honey in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, start over with new yeast.)
• Mix flour, salt, 1/2 cup cornmeal, and remaining cup warm water into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a soft dough forms.
• Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and knead, dusting surface and your hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth, 6 to 8 minutes. Form dough into a ball.
• Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Punch down dough (do not knead) and fold into thirds like a letter (dough will be soft), then gently roll into a 12-inch-long log with lightly floured hands.
• Sprinkle a large baking sheet evenly with remaining 2 tablespoon cornmeal and put dough diagonally in center. Alternating sides, make 3-inch-long diagonal cuts, about 1 1/2 inches apart, into sides of log using kitchen shears (ends of cuts should not touch; maintain a center "stalk"). Gently pull apart cuts to stretch dough, forming rolls that are separate (about 1 1/2 inches apart) but connected to center stalk. Cover with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.
• Spray rolls with water, then bake, spraying into oven 3 times in first 5 minutes of baking (to help form a crust), until golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer rolls to a rack and cool at least 20 minutes.

SIMPLE WHITE CRUSTY BREAD

Steps:

• Begin by warming the flour in the oven for about 10 minutes, then turn the oven off. Sift the flour, salt, yeast and sugar into a bowl, make a well in the centre of the mixture, then add the water. Now mix to a dough, starting off with a wooden spoon and using your hands in the final stages of mixing, adding a spot more water if there are any dry bits. Wipe the bowl clean with the dough and transfer it to a flat work surface (you may need to flour this).
• Knead the dough for 3 minutes or until it develops a sheen and blisters under the surface (it should also be springy and elastic). You can now either return the dough to the mixing bowl or transfer it to a clean bowl; either way, cover it with clingfilm that has been lightly oiled on the side that is facing the dough. Leave it until it looks as though it has doubled in bulk, which will be about 2 hours at room temperature.
• After that, knock the air out, then knead again for 2 minutes. Now divide the dough in half, pat each piece out to an oblong, then fold one end into the centre and the other in on top. Put each one into a buttered tin, sprinkle each with a dusting of flour, then place them side by side in an oiled polythene bag until the dough rises above the tops of the tins – this time about an hour at room temperature. Alternatively, place all the dough in the one tin. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 8, 450F (230C).
• Bake the loaves on the centre shelf for 30-40 minutes, or 35-45 minutes for the large loaf, until they sound hollow when their bases are tapped. Now return them, out of their tins, upside-down to the oven to crisp the base and side crust for about 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.

CRUSTY FRENCH ROLLS

Steps:

• In bread machine pan, place the first five ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed). When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 18 portions; shape each into a round ball. , Place on a lightly greased baking sheets; sprinkle with cornmeal. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Beat egg white and water; brush over dough. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes; brush again with glaze. Bake 10 minutes longer or until golden brown.