Hi, I hope someone more knowledgeable can advise me. I'm trying to make the soft white rolls that I can buy in Scotland (nothing better for a bacon sandwich). The recipe I use is
200ml water
50ml milk
300g plain white flour
150g strong white flour
25g butter
tsp sugar
tsp salt
sachet of dried yeast
Mix, let rise an hour, knock back, shape into rolls, let rise another hour, bake at 180C for 20 mins or so.
The texture and taste are good, pretty close to the real thing, but the problem is the crust - it's, well, let's say solid-ish. Not unacceptable in, say, an italian roll, but for a morning roll, not good enough.
Would a shorter, sharper firing help - say, 200C for 15 minutes? Or, is there a better solution?
Thanks
If it's baps you are trying to make, there is a good recipe with full technique and photos at the link below. I think the crust will be what as you seek.
http://artisanbreadbaking.com/bread/baps
Brush the tops with whole milk (you may have to repeat that a time or two during the baking cycle) and see how that works for you.
Try brushing with melted butter or an egg wash consisting of 1 whole egg, 1 egg yolk, and a pinch of salt. Those will keep the crust shiny and soft like what I thnk youre looking for.
I can give you a recipe for those, and they are delicious. The big thing with Baps is, after they've risen, you press down in the middles with your thumb, then brush with milk and dust with flour.
Many thanks for the suggestions.
@Boron Elgar, I've seen that recipe, but I can't get "Better for Bread" flour here in France. To reduce the protein content, as advised, I may try a higher proportion of plain flour to strong white flour, and see if that helps.
@flournwater, thanks, I'll try milk
@csimm064, thanks but scottish morning rolls traditionally have a natural, non-glazed finish.
@PaddyL, yes other people call them baps, but in Scotland they're just called rolls, or morning rolls if you're posh. I'll try the milk and flour treatment on my next batch
Cheers
Elizabeth David, in her book, "English Breads and Yeast Cookery," has a number of traditional bread formulas from the British Isles. Perhaps you can locate a copy (I read the one that my local lending library has) and find what you are looking for? Just a thought . . .
This is a recipe for Rowies which I think may be the same as Morning Rolls.
It has been sitting in my recipe archive for some years and I haven’t tried it otherwise it would be converted to sensible measures. Also this is not my recipe and I cant remeber where I got it from.
Any way here is the recipe please let me know how you get on.
Rowies
Ingredients:
1 lb Plain flour
1 oz Yeast or
1/2 tbl Dried yeast
1 tbl Sugar
7 7/8 oz Butter
3 5/8 oz Lard
3/4 pt Water at blood heat
1 pch Salt
Method:
Mix sifted flour and salt in basin.
Cream yeast with sugar.
When it bubbles, add to flour with water.
Mix well, cover, set in warm place until bulk doubles; about 1/2 hour.
Cream butter and lard together, divide into three parts.
Put dough on floured board, roll out into long strip.
Dot first third of fats on top third of pastry strip.
Fold over like an envelope as when making flaky pastry.
Roll out, repeat with other strips until all butter mixture is used up.
Roll out, cut in small oval shapes or rounds.
Lay on floured baking sheet, leave 2 inches between each to allow for expansion.
Cover as above, let rise 3/4 hour.
Bake for 20 minutes at 375 F (160 C) - 400 F (205 C).
Makes about 15 rowies.
regards
MichaelW
@mamalyn, sounds like a good recipe for square sausage - I'll give it a go.
@MichaelW - an interesting recipe. I'm not sure it's for rowies (what Aberdonians call plain rolls/baps) though. With that fat layered into the dough, it sounds more like butteries (a cross between a roll and a croissant, for those who don't speak Doric). Could be tasty, though, whatever the end result is.
Cheers