Fresh Baked Buttery Bread

Buttery bread rolls

Bread and cheese: the two things my body would gladly subsist off. If food would be restricted to a couple of items, a warm crispy-on-the-outside-fluffy-on-the-inside bread roll and a slab of creamy Saint Andre cheese would be my pick.

Cheese is an easy staple. Buy it in the supermarket and keep it in the fridge. On the other hand, bread is complicated. Unless you are buying pre-packaged toast bread—which is certainly not one to pair with cheese—it goes moldy or rock hard in less than a week. On top of that, how great is a freshly baked loaf of bread? Slicing into a loaf shortly after it has been taken out of the oven is a sensational experience. Steam slowly rises and the scent of fresh bread inevitably reaches your nose.

Still, baking a loaf of bread can be tedious and hard. Yeast is a very delicate ingredient and if worked with incorrectly, it can be a mess. But, this recipe is easy to follow; let’s call it a bread crash course.

Buttery Bread Rolls (adapted from How Sweet It Is)

  • 1 packet active dry yeast, about 2 ¼ teaspoons
  • ¼ cup warm water
  • 1 ½ cups warm milk

    Buttery bread rolls
    Melted butter added to bread before and after cooking gives the rolls a delicious flavor. | Photo by Estefania Souza

  • 1/8 cup honey
  • ½ tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten and separated into two
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened + melted butter for brushing
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 ½ cups flour
  • Cooking spray
  1. In a medium bowl, combine yeast, warm water, olive oil and half the honey. Mix with a spoon. Let sit until foamy for about 15 minutes. Add warm milk, remaining honey, half of the egg and softened butter. Mix until just combined.
  2. Add 1 cup flour and salt and mix until flour is incorporated. Slowly add remaining flour and knead dough. If dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour until it becomes smooth. Remove dough from bowl and form ball in your hands, covering with flour if its sticks to your hands.
  3. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat with spray. Place a towel over bowl and let rise in warm place for 1 ½ hours.

    Buttery bread rolls
    Bread rolls are the perfect individual proportion | Photo by Estefania Souza.

  4. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside. Punch dough down and transfer to a floured surface. Tear small pieces off dough and roll into balls, about 1-inch wide. Place three balls into each muffin tin. Cover with towel and let rise again for about 1 hour.
  5. Preheat oven to 375. Brush tops of bread rolls with melted butter. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and brush with more melted butter as rolls cool. Serve warm (You can store rolls in an air-tight container after they have cooled completely).

About Estefania Souza

Estefania is passionate foodie and magazine lover. She could spend all day every day flipping through food magazines and dreaming of a kitchen equipped with everything from a pair SubZero refrigerators, to a professional KitchenAid electric mixer to a brick oven. Follow her on twitter @estefaniasouza

View all posts by Estefania Souza →

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