Sunday, April 15, 2012

Pass the rolls, please?

I love rolls. I love eating them, tearing them apart and watching them steam, dipping them, nibbling on them, pretending I'm a ferocious beast and eating half at a time...(you know you've done it). Thankfully, I also love making them, because my fiance may possibly love them even more than I do.

Side note: I'M ENGAGED!!!!! He asked me (officially) February 5, 2012 and I said yes -OBVIOUSLY. It was after the Superbowl (sports for him) and while we were watching Tangled (we both love Disney). He sang along to the song "Now That I See You" then pulled the ring box out from behind a pillow.
I. Cried. My. Eyes. Out.
So when the man of your dreams, who is known for serenading at any given moment and making you cry like you just won the lottery AND found out you don't owe taxes on it, walks out of his kitchen holding, not one, but of his mom's rolls to go with his dinner, you file the -loves rolls- thought into the -how to keep winning him over- folder in your brain. File > SAVE.

It's a good thing one of the YuMmY recipes the school gave us was for rolls.  

Not gonna lie, I haven't taken a pic of my rolls, but this GOOGLE search image looks just like them.

Milk Bread
makes ~18 2oz. Rolls

18 oz. Bread flour (or AP all purpose)
9 oz. Milk
2 tsp Salt
.5 oz. Instant Yeast (pick me! pick me!) 
             OR 1.5 oz. Fresh Yeast OR .7 oz. Active Dry Yeast
1 Egg
1.8 oz. Sugar
2.7 oz. Butter cut in small chunks

If you use Fresh/Cake yeast or active dry, you must hydrate it first. Warm up some of the milk to body temp and add yeast till dissolved. Instant is my favorite. Just add it to your other dry ingredients, but not in direct contact with your salt. I like to put my yeast on the bottom of the pile and the salt on top. If the salt comes in direct contact immediately after you add the liquid if will Kill the yeast. If you have them spaced out, the salt and yeast mix with the flour and sugar first, and LIVE!

On table (be DARING!) dump dry ingredients & (form a well) (a hole) in the middle. Put the egg (cracked, out of shell, just to be specific) in the middle and some of the milk. Start mixing in circles with. Your. HAND! Wash them first. Please? Once it's not just straight liquid sitting on flour add more of the milk, and start mixing in the butter. When all the liquid, and butter (possible still little chunks here and there) is mixed in, push your dough to the side and Flour Your Counter. Also, the dough is sticky. (no way!). Yes. Way. If you wash your hands at this point, and get all the extra goop off of your fingers, kneading the dough will be so much easier.

Need the dough for 10 is minutes until it is nicely developed, smooth, and you can pull a window. WAIT! Baker's lingo! What the heck does a window have to do with kneading dough? Watch this video.

Once you've pulled your window, place your dough in a lightly greased bowl, or straight onto the pan you will used later (less dishes!). Cover it with a towel and rest until doubled. If you are one lucky dog and have an over with a proof setting and can be turned down to 90 degrees F, let it rise in the oven at 90 degrees with a small pan of water on the bottom rack to keep the air moist. I turned my oven on to 175 with the water pan, turned the oven off and let the dough rise in the oven with the door open. This takes about an hour to double, but check at half an hour, especially if you are doing the 175 degree way.

Once your heap of dough has doubled, push it down (or punch if you have anger management issues... Cut your dough into 2 oz. pieces (buy me!) and roll into rounds, keeping any seams on the bottom. Place on pan however you like. 

Pull apart rolls - Place on parchment papered pan ~.5 inche apart
Round rolls - Place on Parchment papered pan 2-3 inches apart

Let rise again, the same as before. 90 degrees with water, 175 turned off with door open and water, or counter. Until doubled. Brush rolls with 2 egg yolk/1/2 c. water wash. 

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. If you can't tell if they are done, a thermometer stuck in (the bottom of) a roll should read 190 to 200 degrees F.

TaDAa!

If you want the fancy points on top, like in the picture, snip an X in the top with scissors AFTER you brush on the egg wash.

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