Soft Plain Roll

I follow exactly the recipe and the direction..and the result..fantastic!

Ingredients

Overnight Poolish:

150g bread flour

150g lukewarm water

0.5g (1/8 teaspoon) instant yeast

Main Dough:

250g bread flour

100g cake flour (or plain flour if desired)

15g milk powder

50g caster sugar

6g (1 1/4 teaspoons) salt

5g (1 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast

1 egg, lightly beaten

75g (approx.) lukewarm water, adjust as necessary

50g butter, cut into small cubes

Preparation

1. For the poolish, mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl together until incorporated . Cover with cling film and let it prove for about 1 hour in a warm place , then place into the refrigerator to chill (preferably at 5°C but not strictly, a couple of degrees off is still fine) for at least 16 hours  it should be bubbly at this stage. Let poolish return to room temperature, about half an hour, before using.

2. Sift bread flour, cake flour, milk powder, caster sugar and instant dry yeast onto the working surface and mix well. Form the flour mixture into a well and add lightly beaten egg, room-temperature poolish and salt, then gradually add just enough lukewarm water to form into a slightly sticky, soft dough. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. (You can do the kneading in a breadmaker if you own one.) If you are kneading by hand, the dough also needs to be thrown onto the working surface once every few minutes between kneading to improve the dough structure. (I usually just pick up the dough to about head-high and throw it down onto the working surface 10 to 20 times every few minutes between kneading.)

3. Finally knead in the room-temperature butter, a cube at a time, until incorporated. (In many cookbooks, they mentioned that the dough at this stage should be able to be pulled and stretched into membrane – “window pane test”, but it’s hard to achieve with hand kneading because the dough does not heat up as much as when using machine. I usually stop kneading when the dough stretches like chewing gum when pulled!) Form the dough into a round ball and let it rise in a warm place (preferably at about 26°C – 28°C) until at least double or nearly triple in size in a large greased bowl, covered with cling film (should take about 1 hour in optimum warm temperature, longer in winter months). To test if the dough has risen properly, dip a finger into bread or plain flour and poke down into the center of the dough as far as your finger will go and pull out again – the hole should remain if it is ready. If the dough springs back, then it is not ready, continue to prove further.

4. Punch down, knead briefly and form into a ball shape. Then divide into 12 or 16 equal portions. The easiest way is to first divide equally into 4 larger portions first, then divide each of these again into thirds (for 12 portions) or quarters (for 16 portions) each. Form each into balls and let rest for 10 minutes.

5. Shape and fill the buns according to recipe. Place all finished buns on a greased baking sheet, lightly cover with cling film, and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour in warm weather, longer in winter months).

6. Brush with egg wash if the recipe calls for it and bake in preheated 190°C oven for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Soft Plain Rolls

To shape plain rolls (for 12 portions):

1. Follow preparations as above up to step 4. Roll each dough ball into carrot shape of about 15cm long . Roll out using a rolling pin to about 30cm length , then roll up from the wider end like shaping a croissant

2. Place the shaped rolls evenly apart, sealed ends down, on a greased or lined 30cm × 25cm slice tin or baking tray , lightly cover with cling film, and let rise in a warm place until double in size. Brush with eggwash (using one lightly beaten egg) and bake in preheated 180°C oven for about 22 minutes, or until golden brown.

(Adapted from cornercafe.wordpress)