DINNER BUNS

I love these rolls with soup or as sandwich bread for a light lunch. My daughter and husband love my buns too... ;o)

I used a basic breadmaker recipe (but work the dough manually, again, because the breadmaker sometimes misses some of the dry ingredients), but added a little more yeast and sugar...not alot, but I find that an added teaspoon of Edmonds Surebake or packet of dry yeast and an extra teaspoon or two of sugar makes for better rising and a fluffier bread.



INGREDIENTS: Sponge/Foam - Combine the following ingredients and allow to froth covered in a warm place for at least an hour.

1/2 Cup Lukewarm Water
1/2 Cup Milk (room temperature)
1 Egg (room temperature)
2 Tbsp Oil or Shortening
1/2 Tsp Salt
3 Tbsp Sugar
2 Cups Bread Flour (High Grade Flour)
2-3 Tsp Edmonds Surebake or 2 Packets Dry Yeast



DOUGH: After the foam has frothed for an hour or so, add in the following:

1 Tsp Mustard Powder
1/4 Tsp Cayenne Powder
3 Tbsp Parmiggiano Regiano (finely grated)

Next, you need to slowly incorporate another 2-3 Cups or so of flour, one cup at a time.

As the dough begins to pull into a ball and away from the bowl, turn it out onto a floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes adding more flour to your work surface as you go. After 10 minutes, your dough should be smooth and no longer sticky.

Now you need to oil a bowl at least twice the size of your dough ball. But the dough in and flip it over in the bowl to get oil on all of the dough surface. This bowl will now need to be covered and, again, left in a warm place for a couple of hours or so to rise.

After your dough has risen, roll it out flat and knead just a few times before rolling it into a log shape and pinching off golf ball sized amounts and arranging them on a baking stone or tray for baking. This recipe makes approximately 24 buns/rolls so you may opt to cook half at a time or arrange them all together in a pull-apart style, dependin gon how many you need. Any extra dough may be refrigerated for a day or two if you don't need 24 buns at once.

Once your dough balls are ready, let them rise again for a couple of hours if you can, then bake them at 350 F/180 C for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Remove them from the oven and brush the tops with melted butter and you have delicious and slightly savoury dinner rolls.



There are lots of variations on this recipe. You can add onion powder and/or garlic to the froth before adding the bulk of the flour, or make them more cheesy by topping them with grated cheese before baking. Even seeds or wholegrain flour work well. Find what works for you and enjoy making your own bread. I have to be honest in saying that it was the skyrocketing grocery prices that started me on this breadmaking thing...five buck for a loaf of wholegrain Tip Top bread was just over my limit and I refuse to buy the three dollar bread that doesn't last in the bread box. Well, back to the kitchen for me...the soup is beckoning.