Recipe Notes: Rustic Dinner Rolls

3 February 2020

Recipe from Bread Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen,  2016, p. 128; also available online

I like to have dinner rolls in the freezer, just to have on hand to add to the dinner menu when needed. With just two of us it's not practical to make them whenever we want them, but fortunately breads freeze well and thaw out quickly. I like soft, fluffy rolls but it is good to have some choices and variety so I was looking forward to trying these rustic dinner rolls. This recipe was featured on the America's Test Kitchen TV show in 2010 though the directions in the cookbook recipe are slightly different.

Some interesting techniques were used to achieve the chewy crumb and crispy crust. Bread flour, whole wheat flour, and yeast were whisked together in a stand-mixer bowl. With the mixer running using the dough hook, a mixture of water and honey was slowly added to form the high-hydration dough. After combining the ingredients the dough was covered with plastic wrap and left to rest for 15 minutes. Salt was then added and the dough mixed for 5 minutes followed by 1-2 minutes of kneading at a higher mixer speed. The dough was transferred to a greased bowl where it rose until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. The dough was then folded over on itself four times, with a 90° turn of the bowl between each fold, and left to rise for another 30 minutes. This process was repeated once more. The risen dough was turned out onto a well-floured counter and cut into two pieces. These were stretched into 16-inch logs which were each cut into 8 pieces. The pieces were placed into two greased 9-inch cake pans, covered, and set aside to rise until doubled in volume. They were misted with water and baked at 500° for 10 minutes. The partially baked rolls were  removed from the oven, cooled slightly, then pulled apart and placed on a baking sheet. This was returned to a 400° oven and baked until the rolls were deep golden brown all over. Total time, excluding cooling, was 4 hours 45 minutes, much of it hands off.

These are good rolls and worth making again. They have a nice crisp crust, chewy crumb with large holes, and a pleasant yeasty flavor. They keep reasonably well though, of course, losing some of the crispness of the crust. Watching the online video helped with the shaping process, which was easy enough but the visuals helped.