Crusty French Rolls

I love bread. I also don't eat bread quickly enough to keep any in the house, so on the days when the cravings get really bad, I make my own. I have been experimenting with dinner roll recipes for several years, trying to find the perfect one. I don't think these are perfect, but they're getting close. They also make amazing sandwich rolls. Hard and crusty on the outside and amazingly soft and chewy on the inside. I may have burnt my tongue because I didn't let them cool before I had to eat one. They are that good. The impetus for my bread-baking this time around was some leftover pork I was hoping to turn into BBQ pork (that will be another post), which, naturally, requires a sandwich roll on which to put it.

While I suppose you could make these by hand, that would be a lot of kneading. Fortunately, I have a KitchenAid, which I absolutely adore, and it makes kneading bread a breeze. I halved the recipe because these rolls will turn rock solid very quickly. If you don't intend to eat them in a day or two, I would freeze the remainder to take out as needed. A full recipe makes 16, but it is fairly easy to halve such that you will have 8. Note that when you halve the recipe, your rising times will also decrease.

Crusty French Rolls (from Country Living)

2 pkgs. active dry yeast
2 1/2 c. warm water (about 110F)
6 1/2 to 7 1/2 c. bread flour
1 Tbs. salt
2 Tbs. cornmeal

In a large liquid measuring cup, stir the yeast into the water with a plastic spoon and set off to the side to stand for 5 minutes. In order to get the water the proper temperature (yeast are temperamental), I run the faucet and stick a thermometer into the stream and play with it until I get it to about 110F, and then I fill my measuring cup. That's much less frustrating than filling and measuring multiple times.

Add 4 c. flour and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer and turn it on stir (using the paddle attachment) for about a minute. Alternatively, you could whisk the flour and salt together. Once the yeast have foamed a bit on the top (about 5 minutes), pour the yeast mixture into the flour and salt. Beat with an electric mixer (paddle attachment) on medium-low (I think mine was at 2) for 10-15 minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and the paddle appears to "cut" through the mixture so to speak. Pictures below help illustrate that. You might think this is a long time; my advice is to set a timer for 10 minutes and then walk away, rather than compulsively watching the dough come together, wondering if it is done. After 10 minutes, you can start staring at it to determine when it has reached the proper soft dough stage.




Take the paddle out and let the dough "rest" for 10 minutes. This translates to set a timer and walk away from the yummy, yeasty smell. Put the dough hook on the mixer and turn it to medium-low (I set it on 2). With the mixer running, slowly pour the remainder of the flour in and knead for an additional 5 minutes, until the dough looks smooth and elastic. Smooth and elastic is a bit of a term of art in the dough world, but hopefully the pictures below will help clarify. You will need to speed the mixer up to medium or so (I put my KitchenAid on 4 for this stage). The dough is going to smack against the side of the bowl. Do not be alarmed. At the end of 5 minutes, you want the dough to look like the pictures below.




Grease a large glass bowl (a spray of Pam usually does the trick). Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and form it into a ball with slightly floured hands. The best way to do this is to pull little pieces and tuck them underneath until you get a smooth ball. Place the ball upside-down into the bowl and then flip it so that the round smoothness is on top and oiled.


Cover lightly with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place to rise. I usually turn my oven on warm, let it heat, and then turn it off and place the bowl in there. Alternatively, you can place a pan of very hot water on a lower rack and then place the bowl of dough on top. If, for instance, it is Thanksgiving and your oven has been going for 3 days straight, another good technique is to fill a 9x13 pan with steaming water, place a wire rack over it, and set the bowl on top of the wire rack.

You want to let the dough rise until it is doubled in bulk, which for a full recipe will take about 2 hours, and for a half recipe in my warm oven takes about an hour. Then you will punch the dough down. Take a fist and push it into the middle so that all of the air comes out. Push around the dough to eliminate any air bubbles, and reform it into a ball to rise again. The second rise will go faster, again until doubled in bulk, which will be about 1 1/2 hours for a full batch and about 45 minutes for a half batch.

Water in the oven is what creates the crusty outside deliciousness on these rolls. Fill a 9x13 pan with water, and place it in the bottom of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Take your dough that has now finished its second rise, and divide it into equal parts (8 for a half-batch, 16 for the whole). Sprinkle a cookie sheet with the cornmeal. Tuck the sides of each roll under until you have little rounded lumps, and cover loosely with greased plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise while sitting on top of the preheating oven for 30 minutes. Take a very, very sharp knife and slice across the top of each roll. Place the rolls in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.