SOFT NO KNEAD DINNER ROLLS

Ek het gister probeer om rolletjies te maak en ek was heel verras hoe maklik die resep is.

These soft dinner rolls are like magic! These are soft, fluffy and moist, nicely salted with a touch of sweet.

BUNS:
1 tablespoon dry yeast (Note 1)
55 g / ¼ cup caster sugar (superfine sugar), or sub with normal white sugar
½ cup / 125 ml warm water (Note 2)
600 g / 20 oz bread flour (4½ US Cups, 4 Cups everywhere else exc Japan)+ extra for dusting (can use all purpose / plain flour) (Note 3)
1½ teaspoon salt
1 cup / 250 ml milk, lukewarm, whole or low fat, (Note 2)
50 g / 3.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs, at room temperature, beaten with fork
BRUSHING:
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Place the yeast and 2 teaspoons of the sugar in a medium bowl, then pour in water. Leave for 5 minutes until it froths.

Place flour, remaining sugar and salt in a bowl. Mix to combine.
Make a well in the centre. Add milk, butter, eggs and pour in the yeast liquid, including all froth.
Mix until combined with wooden spoon – it will be like a thick muffin batter. Not pourable, but thick and sticky.

RISE 1:
Leave dough in the bowl, cover with a wet (clean) tea towel and place in a warm place (25°C/77°F+) to rise for around 1 ½ – 2 hours or until almost tripled in volume. See Note 4 for how I do this (you will laugh – but it works every time!). Dough surface should be bubbly.

FORMING BALLS :
Line a 31.5 x 23.5 cm / 9 x 13″ tray with baking paper with overhang.
Remove tea towel and punch dough to deflate, then mix briefly in the bowl to get rid of the bubbles in the dough.
Dust work surface with flour, scrape dough on work surface. Dust top of dough then shape into a log. Cut log into 4 pieces, then cut each piece into 3 pieces (12 in total).
Take one piece and press down with palm, then use your fingers to gather into a ball, flip (so smooth side is up) then roll the dough briefly to form a ball. This stretches the dough on one side and that’s how I get a nice smooth surface on my roll. (For this step, use as much flour as needed to handle dough and avoid piercing inside into the wet dough)
Place the ball with the smooth side up on the tray. Repeat with remaining dough. Line them up 3 x 4.

RISE 2:
Spray surface of rolls (or cling wrap) with oil (any), then place cling wrap over the tray.
Return tray to warm place and leave for 30 – 45 min, until the dough has risen by about 75% (less than double in size).
Partway through Rise 2, preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (standard) or 180°C/350°F (fan/convection).

Bake for 15 – 18 minutes, or until the surface is a golden brown and the roll in the centre sounds hollow when tapped. The surface colour is the best test for this recipe.
Remove rolls from oven. Brush with melted butter.
Use overhang to lift rolls onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool to warm before serving.

RECIPE NOTES:

1 tablespoon dry yeast = 9 grams. I use Dried Instant Yeast which technically doesn’t need to be frothed before using but there’s no harm in doing it, because then the same steps apply to any dried yeast.

If you are using the packets, you can just use 2 x 7 g sachets, that is 4½ teaspoons which is slightly more than 1 tablespoon but it works just fine. Doesn’t taste yeasty and makes it rise a touch more. Otherwise, measure out 1 tablespoon.

If your yeast doesn’t go frothy, sorry to say it’s not active so your buns won’t rise.

To use fresh yeast (comes in a block that crumbles, not powder like dry yeast), use 27g/ 0.9 oz. You don’t actually need to dissolve it in liquid like I do with the dry, but there’s no harm in doing it and so for the sake of consistency, crumble it in and let stand until it foams up, same as using dry yeast.

Recipe posted and tested by Juanita Vermeulen – adapted from Tin Eats

Photo: Juanita Vermeulen