Brioche Rolls Recipe_September 2021
There is nothing quite like the smell of freshly baked bread and this recipe is my adaptation of a brioche roll – still an enriched bread dough with added egg and a little butter, but they aren’t quite as buttery or as sweet as a traditional brioche might be, making them slightly easier to make and slightly more versatile. They work brilliantly with freshly cooked bacon or sausages as a breakfast roll, as well as with a burger or steak for dinner and can be made ahead of time, just refresh them with 10 minutes in a warm oven before serving.
I can highly recommend trying to source local bacon or beef burgers for a really sensational roll and if you are looking for somewhere to find some locally farmed meat then do try your local butchers. There are butchers on almost every high street across the county and each one will have relationships with local farms and care deeply about the meat they source. As we head into game season this autumn, you should also start to find fresh wild fowl, pheasants and partridges too, if you are looking for something a little different!
Brioche Rolls – makes 12.
260ml warm milk
2 tsp dried yeast (1 packet) 2 tbsp caster sugar
1tsp salt
450g strong bread flour 60g butter (melted)
2 eggs
Lightly whisk the warm milk, dried yeast and sugar together and leave for 5 or so minutes to start the yeast working (it will start to get foamy on the top of the mixture).
In a large bowl, add the flour and salt and then add in the melted butter, 2 eggs and the milk mixture. Stir together until it forms a dough and the tip out onto a well floured side and knead until smooth (about 10 minutes). If the dough is too dry, then just add a little more milk or water but you should have a fairly sticky dough. If you are kneading by hand, you can coat your hands with a little oil which helps stop it sticking as much. You can also do this stage in a stand mixer with a dough hook if you have one and it will take about 5-7 minutes on medium to high speed.
Lightly oil a bowl and pop the dough into it and cover with a clean tea towel or cling film. Leave to rise for 1 hour (or until doubled in size). On cooler days, I leave the bowl gently resting next to or on top of a radiator to help the prove.
Whilst the dough is proving, prepare 2 baking trays by greasing and lining with baking parchment.
Once the dough has doubled in size, take out the dough and knead again to knock out the air. Cut the dough into 12 pieces and shape them into rolls. Place them onto the trays. Lightly cover with cling and leave to double in size again (45 minutes to 1 hour).
Preheat the oven to 180 fan or gas 5.
Once the dough has risen, you can give the dough a little egg wash if you want a nice shine to the finished rolls and then bake for 20 minutes or until the rolls are a lovely golden brown.
By: Heather Brown
