french bread rolls party!

This is a GREAT French bread roll recipe. Truth be told, I have at least three go-to recipes for homemade rolls. And I honestly can’t pick a favorite. Homemade bread & I are like this: // – we’re very close! I love this recipe because it’s simple & delicious. These rolls are a must have at our house when we have spaghetti & meatballs. I’ve used this recipe for dinner rolls, hamburger buns & today I used it for bread bowls for homemade potato soup: SEE HERE

I found the recipe at www.allrecipes.com & it deserves it’s 700+ reviews!

French Bread Rolls

1 ½ cups warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups bread flour (I usually just use unbleached all-purpose flour)

directions:

1. In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast & sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes.

2. Add oil, salt & 2 cups flour to the yeast mixture & stir together with a fork.

3. Stir in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl.

4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes, adding additional flour if necessary. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl & turn to coat.


5. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

6. Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth & let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.

7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Brush with melted butter & sprinkle with sea salt, rosemary, garlic, etc. while warm, if desired.

*For hamburger buns, divide dough into 8 equal portions & flatten a bit before baking.
*For soup bowls, divide dough into 5 equal portions. Below are pics of how I prepare my bread bowls.

Slice off the top of the bread bowl.

Scoop out a bit of the bread & push the inside of the bread against the outside crust to form a bowl.Fill with something yummy, like this POTATO SOUP & enjoy!


 
Updated 10/31/12
I added food coloring to this recipe for a SPOOKY Halloween dinner for some special ghosts & goblins and ended up with Pumpkin Shaped Bread Bowls and witch's fingers Bread Sticks. Served with a cauldron of Witch's Brew (Cream of Broccoli Soup) Click HERE for more information.