Potato Bread Rolls ~ I just love the smell of bread baking

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Bread, Bread Rolls, Chefs, Cook Books, Cooks, Food Blogs, Food Writing, Life, Photography, Portuguese, Potato Bread, recipe, Travel, Yeast

There are too many potatoes in the larder so I am using some to make potato bread rolls. I usually use this recipe to make bread loaves but today I am in the mood for making bread rolls instead, some of the rolls will go to a friend who I am expecting to arrive later today.

The recipe is Portuguese in origin, just one of the many cultural influences in our cuisine.

Potato Bread Rolls

Makes 24 rolls

Ingredients

500 g cooked mashed potatoes

900 ml lukewarm water

1.5 kg plain flour

20 ml salt

15 g instant yeast

Method

Preheat the oven to 220C and grease two baking sheets.

Start by blending together the mashed potato and warm water until smooth.

Place the flour salt and yeast in a bowl, make a well in the centre and add the blended potato mixture and work it into the dry ingredients until everything comes together, then turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place until double in size. Knock the dough back and divide into four equal portions, then pinch off pieces of dough roughly equal in size and form into plump sausage shapes. Arrange on baking sheets, leaving enough room for the rolls to rise during baking.

Leave to rise again until nicely plumped up, dust with flour, pop into the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 220C then reduce oven temperature to 180 C and continue to bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. He rolls should have a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.

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A good Crisp Loaf of Bread

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baking, Bread, Bread Rolls, Country Loaf, Crisp crust, Flour, food and drink, Pizza, recipe, Salt, Yeast

Warm air wafts in gently through the bedroom shutters, typical of this time of the year and is referred to locally as the ‘Berg’ wind. We tend to get a few days of these conditions during the winter, a warm respite from the cold.

The dawn is just breaking through and the garden is filled with different bird calls. I open the shutters and gaze out over the sea, beautiful pink and blue shades, different from last evening’s sunset where the sky was a magnificent magenta hue, casting deep pink shadows across the sea.

After my morning coffee I will start a batch of bread. Through the years I have tried many different recipes but have since settled on a handful of reliable favourites; one does not need much more than that.

I enjoy making bread and love the smell that fills the kitchen as the warm yeasted dough starts to rise. The loaf today is a white ‘cottage’ loaf with a nice crispy crust. I find this recipe suitable for making a loaf, to shape into rolls, or to roll some of the dough as thinly as possible to for a pizza base.

This recipe makes one large loaf or 2 smaller ones or a loaf and some rolls. I usually mix my dough in the Kenwood mixer using the dough hook, but you can do it just as easily in a large bowl by hand.

Bread Recipe

Ingredients

1 kg white flour plus a little extra for dusting and kneading

14 g instant dried yeast

20 g salt

700ml water (approximately)

Method

Place the flour, yeast and salt in the mixer bowl, pour in almost all the water and mix to sticky dough. (Add more water if too dry) Mix for about 5-6 minutes adding a little extra flour if required until you have dough that is soft, spongy and slightly sticky to the touch.

Scoop the dough out onto a flour dusted work surface, work the dough with your hands, pushing flat with palms, then folding far edge towards you, pushing it back into the dough with the heel of your hand. Work firmly but gently for about 5 minutes. The dough should feel soft, springy and alive.

Place the dough in a bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place (not hot) to prove, the dough should almost double in size. The time this takes will depend on how hot or moist the room is, the type of flour and the age of the yeast, usually about an hour.

Once the dough has doubled in size, tip it onto the floured surface and knead for a few more minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a floured baking sheet. Dust heavily with flour, cover with the tea towel and leave to rise; about another hour.

Set oven to 250∘C.

After an hour the dough will have spread, it should be twice its original size. Gently, tuck it back into a neat, high ball and place in the hot oven, taking care not to slam the door.

Bake for ten minutes at 250∘C, then turn the heat down to 220∘C and continue to bake for about twenty five to thirty minutes. Check the loaf for doneness by tapping on the bottom, it should sound hollow. Let loaf cool and settle before slicing.