Soft rolls

For many years I’m looking for soft rolls. It’s difficult because they are hidden in my memory and to make a comparison they have to be exact the same as the ones in my memory. Not only the shape, but also the smell and taste have to be the same. Recognize this?

As soon as I saw the soft rolls made by Lutz I knew these were the ones from my memory. I could almost smell and taste them. But, could I make them too? I used the Google translation because my knowledge of the German language is very rusty and dates back to my schooldays. Even though the Google translated recipe looks like a bit like a puzzle I think I knew enough to use it and went for it.

When they were ready and we finally took them out of the oven we recognize the smell of butter and milk. They are really soft and when we pull them apart there’s a thin piece of crumb hanging there. And the taste is great!

These are the soft rolls from our memory, the ones Peter used to eat with corned beef and he hit the rolls flat as he often had done as a child. I have no idea why someone would like to hit a roll flat, but he loves it. My memory is a soft roll with Dutch cheese and strawberry jam. And Peter has no idea why someone would combine strawberry jam and cheese together on one roll and not hit it flat. Together we sat quietly enjoying our soft rolls and enjoyed those memories.

Specifics
Name                                       Soft Rolls
Found at                                  Plötzblog
Yields                                       7 rolls
Dough temp.                             24°C
Autolyse                                   0 minutes
Mixing minutes                         5 slow and 20 medium speed
Fermentation                           120 minutes
Shape                                      oblong rolls
Proof at roomtemp.                  60 minutes
Bake 180°C                              35 minutes with steam

This is what I used:
Bakers formula                      %          grams
Flour                                      100       500

Water                                      42        210
Salt                                         1.6       8         

Preferment

Wheat flour 550                                  150

(Soy)milk (3.5% fat)                             90

Dried yeast                                          0.5

Dough

Preferment

Wheat flour 550                                   350

Egg whites                               2         

(Soy) milk (3.5% fat)                           120

Butter                                                 90

Salt                                                      8

Sugar                                                  40

Dried yeast                                           3

Coating
Water                          3 Tblsp

Sugar                           1 Tblsp

This is what I did:
The night before I prepared the preferment by mixing all ingredients in a plastic bowl, covering with pastic and leave to ferment for the night (18 hours).

The next morning I placed all ingredients except butter and sugar in the mixing bowl. I mixed all for 5 minutes on first speed and 10 minutes on second speed. Then I added the butter and sugar and mixed another 10 minutes on first speed.

Bulk Fermentation: transfer the dough to a slightly oiled containers, cover and leave for 2  hour. 

Shaping: I loosely shaped the dough into a balls, covered with a towel and left for 10  minutes to rest. I shaped them into oblong rolls place them with the long sides together on parchment paper and covered them with a towel.  

Proofing: I proofed the rolls for 60 minutes.


Pre heating: I pre heated the oven to 180°C.

Preparing and Baking: When the oven is hot enough I boil water and pour it in a glass bottle with a long neck. I pour some boiling water on the hot stones and quickly close the oven door to keep the steam in the oven.

Brush the rolls with the prepared sugar water and place the rolls on a peel. Transfer to the oven and quickly slide the rolls on the baking stone. After some minutes I add some more water to get more steam.

I baked the rolls 35 minutes with steam. I baked the loaf for another 25 minutes. Bake the loaf until it is dark brown colored.

When the rolls come out of the oven brush them again with sugar water.

Cooling: Let the rolls cool completely on a wire rack.

I send these rolls to Susan’s YeastSpotting. Susan offers a great showcase of artisan breads for all to see and share.