wiredfool

This time as rolls. Revisiting this a year later, with more experience, new processing, and awesome results. Good top and bottom crusts, nice flavor, good rosemary and salt, and nicely light texture. So, in detail so I don’t forget it this time.

– 5c flour (King Arthur, All purpose), + probably close to another 1/2 cup over all the working.
– 1 2/3 c water
– 1/2 c milk
– 1/3 c olive oil
– 1 tsp yeast, dissolved in some of the water.

Mix this till it’s wet an ragged, less than a minute or so. Let it autolyse for 15 minutes.

Add 2 tsp salt, 3 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary. Knead in the mixer for 4-5 minutes or so. Pull it out and knead a little by hand/bench scraper. It’s wet and sticky, so it’s going to take scraping and flour. It will be pretty elastic and stretchy, but still sticky.

Let it rise in a floured bowl for a couple of hours in a cool kitchen, then fold over and let rise overnight @ 58 degrees or so. In the morning, bring back into the warm room, then an hour later, divide and shape into rolls. This is about my normal 2 loaf quantity or 32 rolls. Divide in half, making quick boules at each division till you’ve got the right number. As the rolls are rolled, add them to an oiled pan with sides — I used a metal 9×13 and a loaf tin. They should be nearly touching before proofing, and they should proof into each other, and then support each other in the oven.

Proof for 45 minutes in a just warmd oven(~100 degrees at the start, maybe), then 30-40 minutes on the counter while the oven was heating to 500.

Bake, pans on the stone at 500 for 10 minutes, with boiling water in a hot pan on the lower rack for steam. Take out of the oven, and invert to remove them from the pan onto a cookie sheet. Turn the oven down to 400 Break apart the rolls so that they all stand individually. Wash the tops with a beaten egg, then sprinkle kosher salt on the tops. Bake at 400 for another 15-20 minutes till the color looks nice and brown.

They were good, but now they’re gone. Unfortunately, before pictures were obtained.

This is a mix of the old recipe, some techniques for a couple different books around here, and the latest Cook’s Illustrated where they talk about perfect rustic dinner rolls.