Friday, December 10, 2010

Quick and Crusty Hard Rolls





From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...For over a year now, I've been testing recipes for hard rolls. I've been trying to find buns that are similar to those used to make authentic Vietnamese bánh mì. The best of these rolls have crusts that shatter when you bite into them and their interiors are pillowy soft. While I have yet to have that "Eureka" moment, this last effort did yield wonderful rolls that I know your family will love. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, this recipe defines simplicity. All ingredients get thrown into a bowl and the contents are beaten until everything is mixed and a dough is formed. The dough goes into the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before it is shaped and left to rise again. That's it. The original recipe came from King Arthur Flour and I found it on a food board whose name I no longer remember. The slow rise in the refrigerator actually improves the flavor of the rolls, so don't be tempted to cut it short. The dough can be kept for up to five days before it begins to sour. This recipe calls for instant yeast which is slightly more potent than active dry yeast. A discussion of the two types of yeast can be found here. You can substitute one for the other if you wish. Like all breads of this type, the rolls are best eaten the day they are made. They lose their crackle if they sit over night and stale very quickly. The stale rolls do, however, make wonderful stuffing for pork chops or a small chicken. I hope you'll give these a try. Here's the recipe.

Quick and Crusty Hard Rolls
...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:
4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

Directions:
1) Combine all of the ingredients and mix till cohesive. Knead dough, by hand or mixer, about 5 to 10 minutes, till it's soft and somewhat smooth; it should be cohesive, but surface should still be a bit rough. Place kneaded dough in a greased bowl, cover it, and refrigerate at least overnight, or for up to 5 days.
2) Remove dough from refrigerator, fold it over gently a few times, and cut off desired amount; you'll need golf-ball size pieces for dinner-size rolls and egg size pieces for sandwich buns. Return any remaining dough to refrigerator.
3) Form rolls by shaping the pieces into balls, then rolling them under your lightly cupped fingers on an unfloured work surface. Place shaped rolls onto a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let them rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until they're very puffy.
4) Bake rolls in a preheated 425 degree F oven for 15 to 18 minutes, till they're golden brown. Yield: 9 sandwich buns or 18 dinner rolls.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Rockin' Rolls - Food Gal
Soft Garlic Bread Sticks - Cookery Corner
Dinner Rolls - A Little Bit of Everything
Addictive Parker House Rolls - Sublime Hodge Podge
Multigrain Rolls - Annie's Eats
Sweet Potato Rolls - Coconut and Lime

This recipe is being linked to:
Designs By Gollum - Foodie Friday

52 comments :

Chef E said...

I have been craving bread for days...lots of soft butter on them too!

I like Novica- a good company, so congrats to the winner!

Jenn @ Peas and Crayons said...

Those even look crusty! great photo!

xoXOxo
Jenn @ Peas & Crayons

Receitas para a Felicidade said...

Hello Mary, once again I am visiting your blog. These rolls were gorgeous and look great, congratulations once again, and wish you already a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year my friend. Kisses.

Mariana (Portugal)

Unknown said...

These look too perfect! Wondereful rolls, love that the dough can last that long!

Simple and delicious!

Bakericious said...

the buns look so nice and delicious, I love it when toasted hot, spread with butter!

FOODESSA said...

I'm a real carb fan...especially with rolls. No need for too much convincing...this recipe is great due to the fact that the crust is a fabulous feature ;o)

Flavourful wishes,
Claudia

Marguerite said...

These rolls look wonderful and remind me of French pistolettes. Thanks for the great recipe!

Tasha said...

These rolls look and sound just wonderful. How I wish I was enough of a planner to actually make dough ahead of time. Maybe one day...

Ginny Hartzler said...

This does look real easy, and can be made in two steps! Oh, last night I forgot to mention on that wbbsite was a change purse made from soda bottle tops! And it was pretty, too!

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...

These look wonderful! I have not had luck making rolls successfully. I will try these! Thanks!

ann said...

Delicious looking rolls!

Red Nomad OZ said...

Looks like they'll be the perfect Xmas dinner accompaniment!

Happy travels!!

Lori said...

I think I love Novica. I have seen it and it is pretty amazing. We have aplce locally too that has things made by artisans around the globe. its called Creators Hands.

PeggyR said...

Those look delicious! I can't get your giveaway link to work..

Karen said...

I like that this dough can be left in the fridge for several days, which means you can bake up fresh rolls each night! I love the King Arthur Flour site!

Kim said...

I like these rolls! I kinda like the one that has to sit in the fridge for a wile, they taste better!

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

Bread! A wonderful food group!!!!!
These rolls are calling my name.
And they are easy too.
Thanks for this great recipe!
Yvonne

Diana's Cocina said...

What a lovely photo of the crusty rolls. Please pass the butter.

Joanne said...

When you find the hard roll recipe of your dreams PLEASE point me to it! I'd love to make some homemade banh mi buns. in the meantime, this looks delicious!

Monet said...

Whenever you find those perfect rolls...I will be making them the day that they are posted! But I must agree that these rolls look delicious! I imagine they are perfect with a big bowl of soup (which I've been consuming quite often as of late). Thank you so much for sharing with me tonight. I hope you have a wonder-filled Friday!

fuat gencal said...

Ellerinize, emeklerinize sağlık. Çok güzel ve leziz görünüyor.

Saygılarımla.

Lucie said...

How beautiful! Perfect little mounds of dough. Warm with some butter...yum!

Elin Chia said...

Mary..what a wonderful hard roll...will try this out when the craze for buns and rolls set in :)

Btw Mary, I have tried out your cranberry layered cheesecake and it turned so good that I can get the orgasmic feel just thinking of it now :p LOL ! Thanks for sharing such an awesome cake. Great for the coming festive and I baked one for pre-Xmas. Everyone in the family loves it :) I have linked you too :)

http://www.elinluvdelights.com/2010/12/cranberry-layered-cheesecake.html

Have a great weekend and I look forward to your future posts with the intention to snap up what you are going to share :)

XOXO,
Elin

Katerina said...

A good recipe for buns is always welcomed Mary. Thanks for sharing!

Priya Suresh said...

Cute rolls, lovely crust..

♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ said...

Oh perfectly bake crusty bread!
its been a day of very wonderful weather here and would love some of these now with something warm!
have a wonderful day and entered ur super giveaway too!

Jamie said...

You know how much I love baking and love bread baking but I seem to have trouble creating that perfect dinner roll! Fabulous recipe, beautiful rolls and a recipe I'll be trying! xo

Ana Powell said...

Perfect shape and colour ♥

Flavia Galasso said...

I would like to taste this crusty rolls...they seems delishous!!!Love, Flavia

Rita said...

These look perfect! Great time of the year to post this recipe. I'm still looking for a good dinner roll recipe; these sound pretty nice; thank you.
Rita

Unknown said...

I do love bread. Crusty bread/rolls being my favorite! Warm, right out of the oven with a slab of butter... YUM!

lena said...

mary, these buns look so nice and love the crust!

Anonymous said...

These rolls look delicious... the kind of thing I couldn't stop eating!

Emily Z said...

The "anonymous" comment was actually from me. I forgot to put my info in before submitting. Ooops, SORRY! :)

The Fajdich Times said...

Great recipe. They look great! Sounds easy enough, maybe I'll give it a try. Thanks for stopping by:)

Barbara said...

I don't think there's anything I like better than a hot homemade roll, Mary! Pass the butter!!
Have a lovely weekend....

teresa said...

oooh, i'd love to crack one of those open right out of the oven, deliicous!

Anonymous said...

Those look really good--I will have to try them!

Amy said...

I love Vietnamese bánh mì! Your quick and crusty hard rolls sound perfect as the Vietnamese bánh mì bread. :) I'll definitely give the recipe a try and join you at the dinner table! ;) Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. Have a wonderful weekend, Mary.

We Are Not Martha said...

These look pretty perfect! Kind of like those delicious rolls at Bertuccis :) YUM!!!

Happy weekend :) :)

Sues

Valérie said...

*gasp!* I am bookmarking this recipe right now! I too am on a quest for the perfect crusty bread (although my ultimate goal is to recreate the Belgian pistolet), and these look amazing!

Diana said...

your rolls look perfect! Thank you for your kind comment.

Tiffanee said...

Oooh yum. I love bread and crusty bread is my favorite. Bookmarking this one to try soon.

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

Hi. Thanks for stopping by my blog. These rolls sound really good!

Hope you can come by next Thursday for my Christmas Recipe party!

So Very Domestic said...

I will def be adding these to my list of things to try. They seem like they'd go well with soup!

Sue said...

I can almost smell them from here. I've never made a bread that I refrigerated the dough overnight. I'll have to try these!

Thanks for your visit today!

Banana Wonder said...

Awesome! Thanks for sharing your test results - I love making bread and always looks for the perfect combination. I will try making these soon. Love the bahn mihn rolls - my sister in law, who I used to live with, is Vietnamese so we ate lots of these! yum!

qutins said...

yummy! those will go great with some minestrone soup :)

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I love to make bread...and eat it fresh! Great recipes this past week! WOW! I love them all! ♥

Joshua said...

I get all sort of great bread in Naples, but good old fashiond hard roles are not included in that list. Thanks for the recipe, I'm going to have to try it.

George said...

Nice!

Foodiewife said...

Mary, I've been looking for a recipe that is a German Broetchen. I think these rolls just might do it. I actually want them to become stale, so I can make Bavarian Dumplings. However, I think I'd like to eat a few fresh from the oven. I trust King Arthur Flour and you, so I'm going to try these.

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