In collaboration with Brixton Windmill and using their organic wholemeal flour
These rustic soft rolls made with whole wheat flour are simply the perfect companion to any dish. They require only seven ingredients and are so simple to make, so if you are a bread beginner this is the recipe for you (but those more experienced may want to give it a go as well, as they are simply delicious).
I came up with this recipe after I found out about a new project that the volunteers at Brixton Windmill will be launching soon. It’s a senior club for elderly members of the local community who can meet up at the Windmill centre, have a chat, do many activities and finally be around other people in a safe space, after so many months of feeling isolated during the recent pandemic.
As part of the project, the joiners will be served some lunch to eat and share during the day. The Windmill volunteers came up with the idea of serving them something special: some fresh bread as part of the menu, baked by them and made with their amazing wholemeal flour, to add that comforting smell and taste of warm bread just out of the oven. But, they needed a recipe for that.
I love soft and crustless bread, it is my favourite to eat with some of my favourite charcuterie (Parma ham above all). It reminds me of the small filled rolls that my mom used to bake when I was a kid, which I would then take to school as a packed snack for the mid-morning break. That is what I call a comforting memory.
I created these rustic soft rolls specifically for this purpose. A super easy, fast and nutritious recipe that the staff members at the windmill can easily recreate and make from scratch in a couple of hours, and offer to whoever will be joining the senior club to make them feel ‘at home’.
I am sure you are going to love this recipe too. There is nothing more delicious and more comforting than the smell of freshly baked bread and these soft and flavourful rolls are the perfect everyday buns. To feel at home, every day.
If you are into bread or want to give a go at some more bread recipes, take a look at my bread recipes and get kneading.
Makes 8 rolls
Ingredients
- 200g bread flour
- 100g wholewheat flour (I used Brixton Windmill’s)
- 7g (1 sachet) fast action yeast
- 7g fine sea salt
- 150ml full fat milk (room temperature)
- 50ml (room temperature)
- 20ml extra virgin olive oil + extra for brushing
Method
- In a bowl, combine flours, yeast (on one side) and salt (on the other). Mix with your hands to disperse all ingredients and add both milk and water. Mix and start kneading in the bowl until a dough roughly comes together and no more powder is visible
- Transfer the dough to the work surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth. Add the olive oil and keep kneading until the oil is eventually re-absorbed and the dough is smooth and soft (about 5 minutes) Make a ball, transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film and prove in a warm place (26 – 28 degrees C) for 30-45 minutes, until nearly doubled in size.
- Uncover the bowl, punch the dough to knock the air out, reform a ball, cover and let rise for another 30 mins, or until doubled in size
- Transfer the dough to a work surface. Using scales, cut and weigh as many 65g pieces of dough as you can get (you should get 8).
- Take one piece of dough, flatten to get rid of the air bubbles, and fold the corners toward the centre. Then turn upside down and, using your hand like a cage over the dough, roll on the worktop to form a tight ball. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment and repeat with all the other pieces. Place the rolls on the tray at about 1.5 inch from one another, nicely lined in a grid (they will cook more evenly).
- Slightly flour the surface of the rolls, cover the tray with cling film and a tea towel and leave to rise again for 30 minutes in a warm place. In the meantime, warm up the oven to 190C conventional mode
- Transfer the rolls to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. They should come out nice and pale golden, not too dark and super soft.
- Take out of the oven, brush the top of the rolls with some extra virgin olive oil and leave to cool on a rack. These are my favourite rolls ever to eat simply cut in half and filled with some delicious Parma ham. Best snack ever.