Corn Flour Rolls (bbd #12: Small Breads)

Soft dinner rolls made with corn flour and flavored with lemon zest

Roundup part 1—Roundup part 2

Bread Baking Day is a monthly blog event initiated by Zorra and hosted this time by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen.This month’s theme is “small breads”.

These corn flour rolls are soft and light, slightly sweet and wonderfully flavored by a good amount of lemon zest and a touch of butter which combine perfectly with the taste of corn.  Corn flour is finer than cornmeal and provides a nice chewiness without making the texture gritty.

The recipe comes from an American collection of recipes published in 1918 and meant to provide people with ways to conserve precious resources such as wheat flour and sugar. Despite the economy of ingredients these rolls truly taste rich and wholesome, and are well worth trying.

From the original recipe by Amelia Doddridge

In: “Liberty Recipes”, 1918—USA

Ingredients

1/2 cup scalded  milk

1 egg, well beaten

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp melted butter

1/4 tsp fine sea salt

zest of 1 (organic) lemon

1/2 cup (60 g)  corn flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill brand)

1 tsp active dry yeast dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water

3/4 cup to 1-1/2  (105g to 210 g) cups bread flour (or as needed) (I used King Arthur bread flour)

Pour the scalded milk over the sugar and salt, mix well and set aside to cool. Once the milk mixture is lukewarm add 3/4 cup of bread flour and the dissolved yeast. Mix vigorously and let the sponge ferment,covered, until doubled.

When the sponge is light add the melted butter, egg, grated lemon rind and corn flour. Mix well at low speed then add just enough bread flour to make a dough that is very soft but well developed and just slightly tacky.  Do not add too much flour or the rolls will turn out dry and heavy.

Lightly grease a bowl and place the dough to rise, covered, until doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Gently transfer the risen dough onto a lightly greased surface and divide it in 12 equal pieces. Shape each into small round rolls (the dough is too soft to keep well any other shape more complex than rounds or ovals). Place each roll onto a rimless baking sheet and lightly brush with milk.

Let the rolls rise, covered, until doubled. Brush again with milk then with sharp kitchen scissors cut a decorative pattern on each roll.

Bake for about 20 minutes until nice and golden.

These rolls are great to eat either warm or cold. They can also be split and toasted to have with jam or marmalade, and can be frozen once cooled.

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Vienna Rolls (bbd #06)

Three dainty shapes for buttery and crispy Vienna rolls

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Roundup PART I

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 Roundup PART II

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Eva from Sweet Sins is the host of bread baking day #06, for which she chose “bread shapes” as a theme.

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I found three interesting ways to shape Vienna rolls in an old professional bakers’ manual published in London in 1909. I scaled down the recipe given in the book—which originally called for 17 lb of flour—but I left it otherwise unchanged. The rolls bake beautifully crispy on the outside and have a nice layered interior.

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Clockwise from the bottom in the picture are shown the cannon roll, the horseshoe, and the twin or double roll.

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Thanks Eva for choosing a great theme and thanks to Zorra for initiating bbd!

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From the original recipe by Charles & James Scott

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In: “Vienna Bread: Instructions and Recipes”, 1909—UK

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Ingredients

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1 cup (228 ml) warm water

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1 cup (228 ml) whole milk

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5-1/2 cups (770 g) bread flour

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0.55 oz (15.6 g) fresh yeast (or 1-3/4 tsp (7 g) active dry yeast or 1 package)

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1-3/4 tsp (10.6 g) fine sea salt

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1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter, cold

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Egg wash (1 yolk mixed with 1 tbsp water)

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Scald the milk with the salt and set aside to cool to lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water (100°F–38°C) and set aside for about 5 minutes, until foamy. Add yeast water to flour and mix, then add the milk. Knead until the dough develops and feels satiny, smooth, and supple. You might need to add a little more water if the dough seems too dry or a little flour if it is too sticky. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes at room temperature, covered, then place it in a lightly buttered covered container and let it rise in the refrigerator overnight.

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Take the dough out of the refrigerator and flatten it in a rectangle 1/4-inch (0.5 cm) thick, with a rolling pin, on a lightly floured surface. Do not knead the dough. Dot the surface of the dough with thin slices of cold butter, then fold into thirds (business letter fold). Roll the dough again and fold in thirds two more times, letting the dough rest a few minutes every time. The same as you would do with croissants dough.

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Once the dough is ready, with sharp scissors or a dough scraper cut 1-1/2 oz (45 g) portions of dough and shape the rolls as shown in the following illustrations from the book.

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(click on the thumbnails to enlarge)

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For the Cannon Rolls

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Flatten a round portion of dough (1-1/2 oz–45 g) to resemble a “8” shape. Roll the rounded sides to enlarge them, then roll each side toward the center. Finally invert the roll so that the center strip is on top.

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For the Horseshoe

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Flatten a portion of dough (1-1/2 oz–45 g) into a round, then roll it into a sharp oval shape. Roll it up starting at one of the narrow ends, then elongate the rolled up dough rolling it under the palms of your hands, making sure the ends are well tapered. Finally curve it into a round, resembling a horseshoe.

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For the Twin or Double Roll

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Simply divide one portion of dough (1-1/2 oz–45 g) into two smaller balls, then join them together.

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Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C), place the formed rolls on two baking sheets and gently brush them with egg wash. Let the rolls rise, covered, until they are light. Bake them crisp in a dry oven (no steam). Let the rolls cool on a rack.

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This is how the interior should look; it is important not to knead the dough after the turns (click on the thumbnail to enlarge)

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Note: this dough, minus the butter and the turns, can be used, as said in the book, to make Kaiser rolls.

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World Bread Day ’07: Parker House Rolls

Buttery, slightly sweet, crusty on the outside and fluffy inside, small and dainty.

 

Thanks to Zorra for organizing this great event

For World Bread Day I wanted to choose a bread to represent the United States–choosing only one was obviously difficult given its rich and diverse heritage–but since I write from Massachusetts I finally opted for something typical of this area.
Parker House Rolls have a long and colorful history. They were created at the Parker House Hotel here in Boston in the 1870s, and were greatly appreciated by its patrons, which included famous ones such as Offenbach, Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. They have been popular ever since.

From the original recipe by Fannie Merritt Farmer

In “The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book” 1896–USA

Ingredients

2 cups (488 g) milk

3 tbsp (45 g) butter + 1 tbsp (15 g) extra

2 tbsp (25 g) sugar

1 tsp (6 g) salt

1/2 (7 g ) fresh yeast cake

1/4 cup (60 g) warm water

6 cups (750 g) all-purpose flour (or as needed)

Add 3 tbsp (45 g) butter, the sugar and salt to scalded milk and set aside until lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water and set aside.

Add yeast water to lukewarm milk mixture and mix well, then add 3 cups (375 g) flour and set aside, cover, and let rise until light and bubbly. Add more flour to make a soft dough that can be kneaded and rolled (it will require about 2-1/2 to 3 cups of four–312 g -375 g flour). Knead the dough (on low speed) until smooth and supple, then let it rise in a covered greased bowl until doubled.

Preheat the oven to 425°F–220°C

Melt 1 tbsp butter and set aside. Roll the dough to a 1/3-inch thickness and cut in rounds using a small biscuit-cutter dipped in flour (2-3/4-inch –7 cm diameter). Dip the handle of a wooden spoon in flour and with it make a crease through the middle of each round. Brush over one-half of each piece with melted butter, then fold and press edges together. Place rolls on a pan, let rise, and bake for about 15-20 minutes.

Best served warm in a basket lined with a napkin.