Fancy Flower Rolls

October 17, 2014 ~ bakingwithsibella.com ~ 7 Comments

These fancy rolls are not only beautiful, but they taste like a little piece of Heaven. They are probably one of the best I’ve ever had and I will be making them over and over again. Even after a few days they keep soft, which is not always the case with homemade rolls. As of their taste, they remind me somewhat of brioche. I also had them split and toasted like a bagel and they were great. I imagine they will look beautiful on any Holiday table and will be gone in a matter of minutes! Have a wonderful weekend friends! 🙂

Fancy Flower Rolls

{Printable recipe}

Ingredients:

1 cup (236 ml) warm milk
1/2 cup (118 ml) warm water
1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
2 tsp dry yeast
1/4 cup (60 ml) oil
3 ½ TBSP (50 g) butter-melted
1/3 cup (67 g) granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
All-purpose flour (approx 4 and 1/2 cups or 580-600 g)
2 eggs, whites and yolks separated

Topping:

egg yolks + 1 tsp milk
Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc.

Preparation:

First combine warm milk, water and sugar. Mix well and sprinkle dry yeast over it.
Divide eggs
Place egg yolks in a small bowl and cover with plastic.
In a medium bowl lightly whisk egg whites, then add oil and melted butter.
Combine flour, salt and sugar in a mixer bowl with dough hooks.
When the yeast mixture becomes bubbly slowly pour into flour mixture and start mixing slowly. Just when combined, add egg mixture and mix until you get a compact, shiny dough ball.
Brush with oil, cover with plastic and let it rest until double in volume.
This dough will be really easy to work with, almost like the play dough.
Flour your working surface, place the dough on it, divide in half and then each half into 12 equal parts.
Lightly oil your hands, press and roll each piece into a 10 inch (25 cm) long stick, with about ½ inch (1.5 cm) diameter.
Take two sticks together and swirl them around as to a get a braid.
Connect the ends to form a bagel-like roll and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
Preheat your oven to 385 F or 195 C
Whisk egg yolks with 1 tsp of milk and brush the rolls
You may sprinkle them with sesame seeds, poppy seeds or any seeds of your choice.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

ENJOY!

Fancy pull-apart Dinner Rolls

January 7, 2014 ~ bakingwithsibella.com ~ 22 Comments

Hello my friends, HAPPY NEW YEAR to each and every one of you! 🙂

I hope you had nice and relaxing Holidays with your family and friends. My wish is that this New Year will bring us all peace, love and compassion toward one another and a lot of good memories and joyful moments and that we will get to spend a while here in this virtual world and share some good cooking and baking recipes and stories.

In today’s recipe I wanted to introduce a fancy and an easy way to make holiday/celebration dinner rolls. These rolls are soft and flaky and can be served warm or cold. I made these for our Christmas dinner and they looked just gorgeous and tasted fantastic.

Fancy Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

[Printable recipe]

Dough:

All-purpose flour: 500 g ( 4 cups)
Fresh yeast: 20 g (or 1 envelope dry yeast)
Warm milk: 2 dl (3/4 cup + a few TBSP if needed)
Sugar: 1 tsp
Salt: 1.5 tsp
Cooking oil: 5 TBSP

To brush the dough layers:

Butter: 120 g (1 stick) at room temp.

Also needed:

Round baking pan (or a spring form) 25 cm or 9-10 inches
1 egg
Sesame seeds (or any other desired seeds)

Preparation:

Place flour into a mixing bowl, make an indent and crumble up fresh yeast, add sugar and a little bit of milk, mix, cover and let stand for about 10 minutes. If using dry yeast, proof as directed on the package.
Turn the mixer to low setting and while mixing start adding milk and salt. When the flour and milk start forming a dough, add oil and let it stir for another 2-3 minutes to get a shiny and firm ball of dough.
Place the dough onto a floured surface, knead it by hand for a minute or two and then place back into the bowl, cover and leave it at a warm place until double in size.
Divide the dough into 5 equal pieces. Knead each piece and form a small dough ball. Let them rest for about 10-15 minutes.
Divide butter into 4 equal pieces. Roll out each dough piece into a 10 inch (25 cm) circle. Spread first circle with butter, put second circle on the top, then butter again and so on until you end up with the fifth circle on the top.
Now roll it all together into a large 18 in (45 cm) circle. With a pizza cutter cut off about 1 ½ inch (4 cm) all around the circle to get a “hoop”. Place the hoop on a flat surface and cut once vertically and once horizontally to get 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a bun (like a cinnamon bun) and place in the middle of the greased baking pan.
What’s left now is a smaller circle which you will cut to get 16 equal triangles. Roll each triangle not like a crescent, but more like a cone or along one of the longest sides of a triangle. That way you will get a nice swirl. Place all the cones all around the 4 middle rolls with a little bit of space in between.
Cover and let it rise for about 30 minutes. Lightly beat an egg, brush all over the rolls and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake at 395 F (200 C) about 30 minutes or until deep golden brown. Serve warm or cold. The rolls will be soft and flaky and will look just amazing on your holiday table.

Fancy Pull Apart Dinner Rolls

Easy Honey-Wheat rolls from scratch

December 17, 2012 ~ bakingwithsibella.com ~ 14 Comments

Last week I was experimenting with the bread dough again. Not so much because I wanted to experiment, but more because of lack of necessary ingredients and being lazy to go to the story at a late hour. I would usually make these kinds of rolls for a party, because they are easy to make, look pretty on the table and taste delicious just warm from the oven. However, there was no party, I just wanted to spoil my family a little, because I had a day off and I felt like baking. Reason enough to do so, don’t you think?! Even with limited ingredients, these turned out far, far better than I thought. My husband said I should write down the recipe so I can make them again. He suggested they would be also excellent as burger buns. So here they are:

Easy Honey-Wheat rolls from scratch

[printable recipe]

Ingredients:

3 cups (385 g) all-purpose flour (used King Arthur)
1 cup (125 g) wheat flour (used King Arthur)
1 ½ TSP salt
0.7 oz (20 g) fresh yeast
1 ½ cup (350 ml) warm water
1/2 cup (115 ml) heavy cream
2 TBSP honey
a bit of cooking oil
1 TBSP heavy cream
Flax and sesame seeds

Preparation:

*** If you are going to make these rolls for dinner, I suggest make the dough in the morning and let it rest until ready to make them. I made my dough at night since I wanted to make the rolls for breakfast.

Combine all-purpose flour, wheat flour and salt and mix it thoroughly. Combine warm water and cream and dissolve fresh yeast in the liquid.
Set your mixer on slow and start pouring the liquid into the flour mixture, add honey and now switch to medium speed and knead for about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle your work surface with a bit of flour and transfer the dough on it. Knead the dough by hand for a minute or two, make it into a ball, brush with a bit of oil, cover and let it rest for several hours, best overnight.
Prepare a greased large round baking pan.
Empty the dough on a floured surface and knead it a few times. Weigh the dough and decide how many rolls you need. Cut the dough into desired number of pieces. I weighed mine so they can be a similar size.
Knead each piece of dough 8-10 times and form a ball. Place all the dough balls into the greased pan, cover lightly and let rise for at least 1 ½ – 2 hours.
When they have doubled in size, brush them with some heavy cream and sprinkle with flax and sesame seeds.
Bake at 400 F (200 C) for about 20 minutes or until golden.

All is left is just to enjoy them!

Easy Sandwich Buns

July 31, 2012July 31, 2012 ~ bakingwithsibella.com ~ 26 Comments

I so enjoy making my own bread and buns. What’s better than a fresh, golden-brown bun right out of the oven?! Here is just a quick and simple recipe for some excellent sandwich buns.

Easy Sandwich Buns Printable recipe

Ingredients:

4 cups (512 g) all-purpose flour (used King Arthur)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 cup +/- ¼ cup (250 ml) warm water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Flour for kneading

Preparation:

In a large bowl combine flour, active dry yeast, sugar and salt. Mix well and start adding water. Quantity of water will depend on the flour.

Add the olive oil at the end and mix for 4-5 minutes. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest for about 5 minutes.

Now turn on the mixer for another 5 minutes. The dough will look nice and smooth. Shortly knead it by hand on a flour dusted surface. Shape it into a ball, place it back into the greased bowl, cover and let it rise until double in volume (1 to 1.5 hours).

When double in size, place the dough on your working surface, roll it into a square and cut into square shaped buns. I made bigger buns, so I had 9.

Make sure buns are nicely dusted with flour when you place them onto a baking sheet. Cover them and let rise for another hour.

Heat the oven to 450 F (230 C). Bake the buns for about 12-15 minutes. For extra crunchy buns place a cup of water on the bottom of the oven.

Bon Appétit!

Buchteln – Sweet pull-apart Rolls

January 28, 2012January 28, 2012 ~ bakingwithsibella.com ~ 34 Comments

Buchteln are Bavarian/Austrian sweet rolls or dumplings usually filled with jam. I’ve seen them served with warm vanilla sauce poured on the top of them. They are also popular in other regions of Europe, including my homeland, Bosnia. They are very simple to make. I love how they snugly fit together in the pan and how easily they come apart when you need one. They are great for breakfast or any other time of the day. My Grandma often used to make them filled with rosehip jam.

This cold winter morning seemed perfect for Buchteln, so I made them for breakfast filled with homemade plum jam and nutella.

Buchteln Printable recipe

4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp active dry yeast (or 40 g fresh yeast)
½ cup (100 g) sugar
1 vanilla sugar (1 tsp vanilla extract)
Zest of one small lemon
7 tbsp (100 g) butter (soft)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup (250 ml) warm milk

For filling: Your favorite jam, nutella, sweetened cream cheese and raisins, etc.

For brushing: 1 tbsp melted butter

For dusting: Powder sugar

Combine flour, yeast, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and mix well for few minutes.
Add half of the milk and start mixing.
Add egg, egg yolk and butter and remaining milk, continuing mixing for another 3-4 minutes or until the dough stops sticking to the walls of the mixing bowl.
Knead the dough by hand for few minutes, form it into a ball, cover with kitchen towel and let it rise for about 1 to 1 ½ hours or until double in volume.
Now roll it into a 1/3 in (about 8 mm) thick rectangle and with a pizza cutter, cut into smaller squares (about 3 x 3 in, 8 x 8 cm)
Place a tbsp of jam on each square and close by bringing together opposite corners, pinching them tightly and making a small ball.
Place formed buchteln into a round spring form lined with parchment paper. Melt 1 tbsp of butter and brush over buchteln, cover with kitchen towel and let rise until double in volume.
Bake at 380 F (190 C) about 30 minutes. Cool down slightly, dust with powder sugar and serve warm.

Enjoy!

Dinner Rolls from scratch

September 24, 2011September 24, 2011 ~ bakingwithsibella.com ~ 9 Comments

Delicious dinner rolls are pretty simple to make if you have a little time. They are great, not only for breakfast, lunch or dinner, but for special occasions and holidays as well. I like to shape them like knots, pull-aparts or crescents, just for a fun of it! 🙂 Homemade dinner rolls are super yummy and soooo much better tasting than the store bought ones! In addition to that, they don’t contain any preservatives and questionable ingredients. You may sprinkle them with your favorite topping or just leave them plain!

Ingredients for about 15-16 rolls:

4 cups ( 512 g) all-purpose flour*
2/3 cup (75 g) dry milk powder
1 pack of active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar*
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp (42 g) butter (room temperature)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
about 2 1/4 cup (500 ml) warm water

Egg wash:

1 egg
2 tbsp milk

1. In a large bowl (or a stand mixer bowl) combine and mix well all dry ingredients, add thinly sliced butter. Pour little by little water into the bowl and mix slowly for 2-3 minutes, add oil and continue mixing for the next 5 minutes.

2. When the dough doesn’t stick to the walls of the bowl and it looks shiny and smooth, form it into a ball, cover with a clean dish towel and let it raise over night or at least 1 to 1 1/2 hour. The dough needs to double its volume.

3. Sprinkle your working surface with flour, roll the dough into a 10 X 15 inch (25 X 35 cm) rectangle. Prepare a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Grease your muffin pan.

4. For the knot shaped rolls cut the dough at the shorter end into 1 in (2.5 cm) strips. Tie a strip into a knot with ends placed on the bottom. Allow some space between knots as they will raise and expand during baking.

5. For the pull-apart rolls, form 1 inch balls, putting three together into a muffin pan.

6. For the egg wash, lightly beat an egg with two table spoons of milk, brush over rolls and sprinkle with your favorite topping or just leave plain. Let the rolls raise for about 30-45 minutes.

7. Pre-heat oven to 400 F (200 C) and bake about 20 minutes or until beautiful golden-brown color.

*Note:

For bread and rolls I always use “King Arthur” all-purpose or bread flour. I think it is the best flour on US market.

If you like sweeter rolls add 2 more tbsp of sugar into the dough.

Bon Appetite!