Rolling

For the past 8 months or so I have been holding my cousin's Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum hostage. I had used it a few times, but was still overall intimidated by the excessive length and detail of all the recipes. Nonetheless, when my cousin requested that I bring dinner rolls to Thanksgiving, I resolved to rise to the challenge (an unintentional but brilliant pun!)

For the week before T-day I fretted on and off about my upcoming task. I planned to do a test run; I contemplated starting the night before to allow sufficient time for the dough sponge (a new concept for me) to do whatever it is that it does for 1-24 hours. Neither of these ideas came to fruition.

Instead, I awoke painfully early on Thursday morning and got to work. Here is a summary of how it went:

8:30 AM
I mixed together
* 1/4 tsp yeast
* 1 1/2 cups/170 g flour
* 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp warmish water
* 1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp honey

This was the sponge that was meant to sit for 1-24 hours.

I waited about 2 hours. Next, mix:
* 1 1/3 cup/156 g flour (reserve 1/4 cup)
* 1/2 tsp yeast
* 20 g dry milk
Sprinkle the mixture over the sponge (when I say sprinkle I mean dump unceremoniously) and leave to sit for 1-3 hours. It was around this time that I realized I was only making enough dough for 12 rolls, and I was asked to make 24. After kicking myself repeatedly and crying it out, I began on a second batch which followed about 1 hour behind batch #1.

After the 2 hours or so of sitting, add:
* 4 1/2 tbsp butter, softened
* 1 1/2 tsp salt

and mix the whole thing into a dough.














Knead the dough for a few minutes, then rest under the mixing bowl for 20 minutes. Then knead it again, put it in an oiled bowl, cover the bowl with a lid, and let the whole thing sit in front of the heater for about 1 1/2 hours. (At this point in the process, I took the time to finish reading the recipe and became aware that I did not have enough time for both doughs to rise and rest for the full times proscribed by the recipe. The adjustments I made have been factored into the following.)

After letting the dough rise, punch it down, flatten it, then fold the corners together and re-form a ball. Let the dough again rose in front of the heater for about 45 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, melt 4 tbsp butter and let cool.

Next comes the shaping. Cut the dough into quarters, then each quarter into 3 pieces. Pinch the corners of the dough pieces together at the bottom to make a good skin around the balls. You heard me. Pour the melted butter into a bowl and dip each roll into the butter.














Poppy/sesame seeds are optional (thanks to Wilma for the suggestion). Place the buttered balls into an 8x8 square baking dish. Cover, and let rise for another 45 minutes or so.

When the balls are rising, preheat the oven to 400˚. Place a cast iron pan at the bottom of the oven and a baking sheet on the lowest rack. Once the final rise has been completed, place a few ice cubes into the cast iron pan and place the baking dish onto the baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan and cool on a rack. Reheat gently before consuming. Praise whoever made them profusely.