Friday, March 2, 2012

Crispy White Rolls

I wanted to try a different kind of roll for dinner last night (and therefore, for lunches today). This recipe is adapted from my Bread Cookbook written by Farmer's Wives, purchased at a used book store quite some years ago. The rolls had a nice, crunchy crust, despite the fact that I blatantly disregarded the instruction to brush the tops of them with egg white, and the insides were soft and tasty.

CRISPY WHITE ROLLS

1-1/4 cups warm water (approx 100F)
1 tbsp or 2 tbsp yeast
4 cups flour
4 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp margarine, softened and cut into small pieces
2 egg whites, beaten stiff

Pour the water into your bread machine container or mixing bowl, and sprinkle the yeast over it (use 2 tbsp if you need the rolls to be done very quickly, or 1 tbsp if you have more time to let them rise). Add the flour, sugar, salt and margarine, and begin mixing together. When th
e ingredients are just combined, add the egg whites; let the bread machine go through its mixing cycle, or knead by hand or using a Kitchenaid for about 10 minutes. Let rise 10 to 20 minutes, punch down and turn onto a floured surface. Divide into 16 pieces, form into balls, place on greased baking sheets, and flatten each with your palm. Brush the surfaces with water or egg white, if desired, and let rise until approximately doubled in size. Bake at 375F or 350F in a convection oven for 14 to 18 minutes, until the desired degree of brownness is achieved. Serve warm.

They make great sandwiches, too, and are good toasted under the broiler. These rolls are a little salty, because they contain relatively little sugar, but not overly so. Note that the recipe calls for shortening, but I used margarine. You need fat to make the rolls tender, but milk products, including butter, would make the crust softer. Ah, the chemistry of bread!

Happy Weekending, everyone!

8 comments:

Diane said...

You are the queen of making bread. I really must try some rolls I only ever make bread in my machine. Diane

Big Dude said...

Your rolls look mouth watering. Pulled apart while still warm, slathered with butter, and I'm a happy camper.

SissySees said...

They look perfect! Good thing dinner is over here...

Linda said...

It's SO true that bread is all about chemistry! I quite like my rolls a little salty.

Mickle in NZ said...

These look good - and you supplied another recipe that I can easily halve. I'd most likely use a veg oil as it is an easy substitution for me - we only have nasty veg shortening available here.

I love rolls that are crunchy on baking day and still brilliant for lunch the next!

(And I wont have to share them with Zebby, bless the elderly lad)

XXX Michelle

The Blonde Duck said...

It's white roll week over here!

Lynn said...

I came over from Months of Edible Celebrations. Your rolls look yummy! I love making bread of all kinds. Have you ever made hamburger buns? A friend was telling me the other day that once she made her own she has never been able to go back to store-bought. That's next on my list to try :) Happy baking!

Lapdog Creations said...

There's nothing like fresh baked yummy bread!