If this new wave of rising virus numbers has you back heading home again, this aromatic, delicious comfort food, ready to eat in less than an hour, will satisfy your soul.
Thanks to Taste of Home for this super easy bread recipe. (Btw, our latest “Thursday Night Restaurant At Home” ~ Pub Fish ‘n’ Chips ~ was a smashing success! Paulaner Hefe-Weizen beer batter; fresh, meaty cod, and handcut matchstick redskin potatoes assembled exactly according to America’s Test Kitchen was perfection. It’s taken years to find the right recipe, but this is it. Next time we’ll serve it with these homemade rolls!)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110-115 degrees)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (we used a good olive oil)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
(optional) 1 more beaten egg for egg wash plus any combination of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion flakes, salt
Directions
1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar; let stand for 5-10 minutes until yeast is foamy. Add the egg, salt, and enough flour to form a soft dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, and not overly sticky, about 3-5 minutes. (Here, we let the dough rise in a covered bowl for 10 minutes. The recipe doesn’t call for this, but it worked well for us both times.)
3. Dump dough back onto floured surface, divide into 12 pieces for dinner rolls or 8 pieces for sandwich buns. Shape each piece into a ball and place 3 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Bake until golden brown, 8-12 minutes. * We like seeded buns. For this, bake the buns about 5-6 minutes until they are just beginning to turn tan, remove from oven, quickly brush on egg wash and sprinkle seeds, salt, etc. on top. Do this one bun at a time or the egg wash will dry out before the seeds can stick.) Return to oven and bake until fully golden, about 4 more minutes. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks.
Total time: 50 minutes with, 40 minutes without, that extra first rise.
