Soft Dinner Rolls

I made these soft dinner rolls some time back. It was really easy. Perfect with butter. Making the knots and small braids was quite a pleasure. While I had a lot of reservations using egg in bread, I have overcome it and will now not hesitate to use it in the future. Hmm... one definite change I make to recipes is add some whole wheat flour. I just cannot get myself to use only plain flour. This recipe is adapted from "The complete book of bread and bread machines" by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter.



This is my entry for Yeastspotting this week



Ingredients



3 cups plain flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp caster sugar

1 1/4 tsp rapid rise dried yeast

1/4 cup butter

1 cup lukewarm milk

1 egg



For the topping

2 tbsp milk

poppy seeds and sesame seeds (optional)



Method



Sift the flour and salt in a large bowl and stir in the sugar and yeast. Add the butter and rub in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre. Add the milk and egg and knead well to get a smooth and elastic dough.

Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.



Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knock down (punch down) and knead for 2-3 minutes. Divide the dough into 11-12 equal pieces and shape into knots or braids. Place the rolls on baking sheets spacing them well apart. Cover the rolls with lightly oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place or until doubled in bulk.



Preheat oven to 220C. Brush the rolls with milk and sprinkle the sesame/ poppy seeds. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.