French Bread Rolls

posted by melanie at my kitchen cafe

I have to confess I am kind of a roll snob. I love to make homemade rolls and have come across two, maybe three recipes, that are so tried-and-true I don't make any other kind. I know, I know, I should be more open-minded, but when it comes to fresh, fluffy, tender rolls, I just have to stick with what I love. These french bread rolls are my go-to rolls when I don't have eggs or butter in the house but want to make a fresh batch of rolls with relatively few ingredients (now, if you want a delicious, rich roll recipe with eggs AND butter, let me know...Lion House rolls are the only kind to make). They are exactly what their name implies - a little nugget of french bread goodness in roll-form. Really, they are scrumptious. If you want to make them crusty instead of soft, spray some water into the oven three times in the first five to six minutes of baking and brush them with an egg white/water mixture prior to baking. I'm kind of partial to the soft exterior, so I bake them unadulterated and then rub them down with butter hot out of the oven. (I made these for Christmas Eve since we had company with allergies to dairy.)

Trade Secrets: The original recipe calls for bread flour. Since I usually don't have that on hand, I've always used all-purpose flour and it works brilliantly. However, if you are a bread flour user, I bet the rolls will come out even more tender. I also cut the baking time down from the original 18 minutes to about 12 minutes. And finally, these rolls rise QUICKLY (probably due to the 1 tablespoon of yeast) so don't forget about them or you may have a big mess on your hands.

French Bread Rolls
adapted from allrecipes.com
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 12-14 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth (or greased saran wrap), and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Bake for 12-13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.