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Wednesday 13 June 2007

Breakfast Rolls with Poppy Seeds

Whilst I'm frequently baking bread - last time with not so good results but I better be quiet, I'm still chewing on this one - bread rolls are a rare treat on our breakfast table. Mostly because of one reason: If you want to have freshly baked bread rolls in the morning, there's not much sleep to be had on this very morning. Even if you make the dough the night before and leave it in the fridge to rise, you still have to get up early to take it out, let it come to room temperature (well, I usually skip this step), shape the rolls, let them rise again, and finally pop them in the oven. Unfortunately, due to our small apartment, my boyfriend wouldn't get much sleep either. Therefore, I prefer to do the whole process the night before resulting in nice but not quite fresh bread rolls on Saturday morning. Even a quick refreshing in the hot oven never restored the ultimate crunch.

This time however, I had resolved to make Deinin's bread rolls who got the original recipe from Anne. I followed Deinin's adaptations to the letter (apart from accidentally watering down the egg wash resulting in lighter colour) and was rewarded with very tasty, chewy rolls. Half of them got eaten the same evening. The rolls were not overly crunchy but had very pleasing rustic appearance and a good, hearty bite. The other half got devoured the next morning - and miraculously, these rolls hadn't deteriorated at all! I reckon it's due to the butter they contain making for softer rolls with an obviously longer shelf life. I will definitely make them again!

PS: The only thing I wondered about was how Deinin got them big enough to fill them with Caesar's Salad. While having a nice size, mine would not have been up to that task. But maybe I suffer from a streak of bad lack regarding the whole rising business - as I said, I'm still chewing on my last loaf...

9 comments:

Nora B. said...

Your rolls look wonderful, Eva. I know what you mean about the hassle of trying to have freshly baked bread for breakfast. What I do sometimes is underbake my rolls and freeze them as soon as they cool down and bake them again when I need them. This way, they taste freshly baked and does not get dry.

Anh said...

I have the same prob with baking bread, too. My schedule is never set, so baking good bread is a prob for me. The overnight schedule yields excellent bread, but the time waiting is still a bit too long!

BTW, your rolls look beautiful!

Eva said...

Nora - That's a very good idea! Next time, I'll double the recipe and try this method!

Anh - Thank you very much! And I totally agree the waiting time is simply too long (I'm not really an early morning person anyway...)

Mia said...

I'm so glad you liked them, they do look beautiful! Mine kept very well, too - I had some several days later that were still perfectly OK once toasted. And the Caesar breads were really MINI Caesar breads. A bit silly but pretty nice... :)

I share your problem with wanting fresh bread for breakfast - most mornings I'm just not in any condition to get up early enough to accomplish anything of the sort.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

These rolls look gorgeous! and your picture too!
I love bread and always make my own. Generally I freeze it until Sunday morning and refresh my loaves in the oven for about 5 minutes...

Patricia Scarpin said...

Eva, your rolls are fantastic! I haven't made bread in a while now and your photo makes me feel like running to the kitchen and baking something... Too bad I'm stuck at the office... :S

I think their color is perfect and the poppy seeds are the magical touch.

Eva said...

Deinin - Yours certainly did look nice with their filling! I'm glad to hear that there wasn't anything wrong with the rising process. After I've ruined a wonderful rye loaf, I'm a bit anxious to get it right...

Rosa - Thank you! After lots of mis-shaped rolls, they finally start to look good! This freezing trick seems to be widely known - now I really have to do it, too!

Thanks Patricia - I like baking bread especially after a somewhat frustrating day at work - feels like you've achieved something very enjoyable! Besides, they're really quick to put together.

Helene said...

That one...right in the middle...euh no...that one...on the right...well no that one in the bak...any left?
No kidding aside they look abosutely fantastic!

Eva said...

Helen, I have to disappoint you, they were all gone in no time - far to quick if you ask me!