Buttermilk rolls
I've been working on this recipe for a while now, and I think I've got it right. I use this as a hamburger bun recipe, but it makes equally good dinner rolls.
1000 g bread flour + about 50 g for kneading
1 1/2 cups milk, scalded to 190°F and cooled to no more than 70°F
1 cup buttermilk, cold
18 g yeast
18 g salt
90 g sugar
90 g oil
2 eggs, cold
2 Tbsp homemade dough enhancer (diastatic malt, ascorbic acid, gelatin, pectin and ginger) *optional*
1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp of water and 1 Tsp of sugar
Mix the dry ingredients in a stand mixer and then add the eggs and milks. Mix thoroughly with the paddle mixer, then remove the paddle. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let autolyse for 30 minutes. Attach the dough hook and mix in the oil just until well blended (This will take a while). Place dough on floured board and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Place in an oiled rising bucket and let rise for one hour at room temperature, punch down and allow to rise for one more hour. The dough will be quadrupled in volume. Divide into 18 pieces for 4" buns or 12 pieces for 6" buns. Shape and place on a parchment paper covered sheet pan, spray the rolls with water and allow to rise for one more hour. Brush the rolls with the egg wash and bake at 300°F for about 30 minutes or until a thermometer read an internal temp of 200°F, turning the pan half way through baking. For a deeper brown crust, brush again with the egg wash after turning the pan. Remove from oven, brush with melted butter and serve warm.
I was using both milk and buttermilk powder, but the results were not that great. I switched to real milk and buttermilk and it made a big difference in softness and volume. The recipe is simple and I've made it with 40% whole wheat flour with equal success. It does seem odd since I use weights for most of the ingredients, but not the milk and buttermilk. However, this was done through experimentation when determining how much of each to use to replace the powders. I'm not sure if there is a need to convert them to weights. The dough enhancer is not necessary, but simple to make and recipes abound all over the internet. It does make a difference though.
Thanks for sharing your recipe with us, Mark. It's great to get the benefit of others research and development.
I've always wondered why we scald milk. Most recipes say "scald and let cool." Would it be just as good to heat it to lukewarm in the microwave? Do we heat it to kill bad bacteria in it, or does heating change it for the better in cooking?
Syb
Sybram, I believe the purpose of heating the milk is to denature some of the proteins in the milk that can weaken the gluten after it develops (Hamelman's Bread pg. 60). Because you're only aiming to heat it to 190F, you should be able to do this in the microwave, but it's probably harder to control how quickly and evenly the microwave will do this. I've definitely had hot milk bubble over the rim of the measuring cup before :) Quicker than the stove for me, though (electric coils)
Sephie