The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Back to Basics - Success

Syd-a's picture
Syd-a

Back to Basics - Success

After my brioche brick disaster I was keen to get back on track with some bread that would be useful and also something that an amateur (as I am), should surely be able to succeed at.  I decided to do some soft sandwich rolls and thanks to the tip from davidg618 (Thanks very much for that), I used a Dan Lepard recipe: 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/oct/06/recipes.foodanddrink

Simple ingredients and gave the following results:

Ready for the oven

Nice big rolls

They are very moist, perfectly soft and look very inviting. The dark crust is an interesting aspect (maybe because of the sugar in the dough or the high bake temperature?), but a great aspect to the white dough.

Here is the crumb shot.

Now I completely understand there is nothing special to this, but I think the moral of the story is important to myself and other novice bread making colleagues. That is when things go wrong, take a step back and do something easy/easier to regain a little confidence and then dive in again. I now feel sufficiently happy to try my next artisan loaf and hopefully will use a little regained confidence and experience with dough to make more progress.

Happy Bread Making

Andy

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Those look perfect Andy and I'm sure they taste too eat too.

did you use corn starch or corn flour?

Syd-a's picture
Syd-a

Thanks for the praise  isand66

Again, very basic all things considered, but still fun.

My mum couldn't resist and she used one as a bun for a teatime burger and said it was delicious. They were very soft and moist, not too dense, but had some weight to them. 

I used cornflour, very easily obtained here in the UK, but I understand a little more difficult to get sometimes in the US. 

Best

Andy

BreadBro's picture
BreadBro

Funny you mention the back-to-basics thing. Whenever a bake turns out poorly I get either angry or depressed and turn to one of my old standbys - like a simple sourdough boule or baguettes, to make myself feel better. 

Also, I like the color on those loaves. They look quite "rustic"

Syd-a's picture
Syd-a

It is a very important lesson to learn I think. When passion and interest is involved and things go wrong, it is important to go back to basics and get some enthusiasm back. I hope to improve my "backup" bread to sourdough.

Thanks, the crust looks really rustic and I was very worried of overbaking but the crust is very soft and works really well and the colour is a great contrast.

All the best

Andy

bruneski's picture
bruneski

... all I have to say is "Nicely done, Andy!".

Take care.

Syd-a's picture
Syd-a

Thanks a lot bruneski. Hopefully my next endeavour will be a little more complex.

All the best

Andy

bruneski's picture
bruneski

... you should relax about the complexity of the stuff you bake and concentrate on your understanding of the processes involved! :-)

Take it easy!

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Those look great, Andy. Well done!

Syd-a's picture
Syd-a

Thanks Floyd,, really happy they turned out well. Thanks for your comment.

Andy

davidg618's picture
davidg618

Well, done; the crumb looks perfect!

I dropped the baking temperature, but the crust are still coming out quite dark, maybe a function of the high startch content.

Again, great job.

David G

Syd-a's picture
Syd-a

Thanks David. They turned out great and I was surprised how soft and moist they were. Nice easily achievable. I was going to take them out earlier when I saw the bake, but I am glad I didn't. The browning on the top is unavoidable and must be due to some aspect of the dough, probably the starch as you say.

Thanks once again

Andy

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

roll making is easier than other breads.  I've been trying to make the perfect roll for a long time and am only halfway there.  Yours look terrific and will have to give Dan's recipe a shot for comparison.  Nice baking

Syd-a's picture
Syd-a

Hi dabrownman.

Thanks again for the compliment. Dan has some good breads, but I particularly like his approach to kneading and rest times. They seem to provide a very manageable and workable dough that good for the beginner.

Yes, cornflour is cornstarch. So just use cornstarch if you cannot get hold of cornflour in the US.

All the best

Andy

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

recipe calls for corn flour - does he mean corn starch?

mrfrost's picture
mrfrost

Yes. That is a "British(Scottish?)" recipe. What we call "corn starch" over here(in the US), they call "corn flour" over there.

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

corn flour?

davidg618's picture
davidg618

Hi all,

I've also make this recipe with potato flour substituting for corn startch. I think the resulting rolls are  softer than made with corn starch, but I've never done a side-by-side comparison.

David G

DavidEF's picture
DavidEF

I've been wanting to do rolls for quite some time, but I always thought of them as *more* advanced! I will have to give these a try. Of course, I'm a glutton for punishment anyway. As I'm a beginner at bread-baking, I should be doing everything the easy way, but I jumped right into using sourdough exclusively, trying to make 12-to-24-hour baking schedules fit into my life, while learning the 20-or-so different variables that decide the outcome of sourdough bread. Maybe I should go "back to the basics" with store-bought yeast and simple formulas.

hanseata's picture
hanseata

look great, and I prefer a darker crust any time. Dan Lepard's recipes in the Guardian Weekend are usually very nice, I made several of them, and have more on my to-do list. Your photos tempt me to put these rolls on top.

Potato flour will definitely soften a dough, corn starch or flour won't.

Happy Baking,

Karin