Fantastic Bread Rolls

Irrespective of how drab and bleak everything looks, It’s testimony time!

Reties gele and adjusts Buba.

Cue in worship song accompanied by dramatic dancing.

Come and join me sing hallelujah! Jehovah Jireh has done me well.

Praise the Lord brethren!

I have been through the deep shadows and I have come out victorious. My last two attempts at bread have been anything but successful. From burnt semolina squares to buns that look and taste like rocks.

Shortly after I had gotten out of my despair, my friend sent a bread recipe to me. Maybe to encourage me? I guess so. I noticed that there was an ingredient that I was not familiar with in bread, and that is ascorbic acid aka vitamin C.

A study done confirmed that the use of ascorbic acid or vitamin C in yeasty dough increased it by 20% and preserved the shelf life of the bread. It strengthens the gluten in the flour, which can give a better rise, and help the dough to rise more quickly.

“What’s the worst that can happen”, I thought to myself as I went to buy some Vitamin C from the pharmacy.

I started out by crushing a few tablets of Vitamin C with a rolling pin. I followed the recipe by measuring all my ingredients properly and separately to avoid making any mistakes and having a repeat of the last time.

While my yeast was proofing, I combined all my dry ingredients in the bowl of my stand mixer. In a separate bowl, I combined the wet ingredients into another bowl. A tricky part of this recipe is the melted butter. Ensure you melt the butter and leave it to cool for a bit so as not to kill the yeast.

Once the butter was cooled, I added it to the wet ingredients as well as the proofed yeast. I used the dough hook of my mixer because I certainly could not use the whisk attachment. I mixed it until the dough came together in a smooth ball that was bouncing off the sides of the mixer while holding on to the dough attachment.

If you are using a bowl and a spoon, you will need to keep stirring until combined and then transfer it to a floured surface for kneading.

Once on the floured surface, I kneaded the dough until smooth, which did not take up to 10 minutes, unlike my last experience. I did the windowpane test and I was more than happy to see my dough flourish.

I buttered a bowl that was three times the size of my dough, turning the dough around the bowl to ensure it was fully coated with butter before covering the bowl tightly with some cling film and leaving it to rise for 1 hour 30 minutes or until it was double its original size.

Once the dough had risen, I put it onto a floured surface and kneaded for two to three minutes. I divided the dough into two equal halves and rolled them into 12” logs. Then, I cut them into 1” segments each.

Yes, I have and I use a ruler in my baking ventures.

In my buttered baking dish, I set the rolls with about a half-inch between the rolls. I set it in a warm place to rise for 1 hour 30 minutes while loosely covered with cling film.

Once risen, I brushed with an egg wash I made with the last egg and set to bake in an oven preheated to375F or 190F. I also set a dish of water inside to create a moist environment.

Once baked, I set this to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Fun Fact: I did not need to serve it. My siblings were waiting to devour it!

Fantastic Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

¼cup of sugar

5 cups of all-purpose flour

¾ cup of warm milk 

⅛ cup of warm water 

⅛ teaspoon of salt ( just a pinch)

3 eggs

1 tablespoon of active dry yeast

½ teaspoon of ascorbic acid 

¼ cup of butter or 57 g (melted 

• Ready in 3 hours 40 mins 
• Calories: LOL
• Makes: 24 rolls
  

Preparation

1. Prepare all your ingredients and utensils. Measure out all ingredients into separate bowls. This makes the process easier. 
2. Proof the yeast.  Over the warm water,  sprinkle the dry yeast and set aside for 5- 10 minutes.  It should be foamy and bubbly at this time. If it is not, your yeast is bad and needs to be replaced or your water was too hot and it killed the yeast. 
3. Combine the dry ingredients.  In a bowl, combine 4 cups of flour, ascorbic acid, sugar, salt. Since I used a mixer with a dough hook, my dry ingredients went into my mixing bowl.  
4. Combine the wet ingredients. In a bowl, mix two eggs, milk, and melted butter and whisk together. 
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Pour the yeast mixture and milk-egg-butter mixture and stir until combined. If you are using a bowl and a spoon, this may take some arm strength and about 5 minutes. If you are using a mixer, this may take the same amount of time.
6. Turn unto a floured flat surface and knead. This should take about 5 – 10 minutes. The kneading process involves stretching the dough and putting it back with the balls of your palms and not your fingertips. It should not stick to the work surface or your hands.  Knead until it passes the windowpane test. 
7. Butter a bowl that can take three times the volume of the dough. Roll the dough in the bowl so that it would be fully coated with the butter or grease. Cover the bowl with cling film or foil. 
8. Set aside to rise. It may take about 1 hour 30 minutes or less to rise. The dough should be more than double the initial size of the dough. 
9. Turn onto a floured surface and deflate. Knead for about three minutes.  
10. Divide the dough into two equal halves. 
11. Roll into 12 in logs.  Divide into 1-inch portions. 
12.  Grease a 15” x  10” square baking tray. You can use any baking dish you want to. You may use a larger one if you want to have individual buns or rolls. 
13. Smoothen the portions. Using your thumb, in an upward motion,  gently press the centre of the dough into the ball of your palm. Then pinch the edge of the dough and bring it back to the centre. Repeat until the dough is a smooth ball. Repeat for all 24 balls.
14. Place onto the greased baking tray. Give about a half-inch spacing in order to allow it to rise properly. 
15. Leave to rise for 1 hour 30 minutes. Lightly cover with some cling film or foil and set in a warm place to rise until the buns are double their initial size. 
16.  Preheat your oven to 375F or 190C.     
17. Make some egg wash. Egg wash is made by beating an egg. You can decide to add some water.  
18. Brush the egg wash onto the buns. Be very generous! This is what gives it a lovely golden brown colour. 
19. Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan every 10 minutes.

 Voila! Your bread is baked. 

Cool for 15 minutes before serving.   

Tips

1. If you like your bread to be a little sweet, increase the sugar in the recipe to ½ cup. 
2. To proof the yeast faster, you can sprinkle some sugar into the warm water. This would ensure that the yeast puffs up faster. 
3. ¾ cup is easily ½ and ¼ together. 

Stay safe, wash your hands, santise and stop touching railings.

Love,

The Ultimate Cheapito