I made these rolls from a recipe in Great British Bake-Off cook book. I discovered the book while perusing through my wife’s recipe books for new ideas and inspiration. After leafing through the book, I’m debating cooking everything in there. Kind of like my own version of “Julie & Julia.” Although probably not the best book to use if I’m trying to land a book/movie deal. I feel like one of Paul Hollywood’s books would probably make for a better story. Although trying to do a remake of a female lead story with guys is an uphill battle. Plus, there’s no way I could top the original. Thankfully, I do this blog because I find joy in cooking and baking for my friends and family. Plus I can start including false admissions about crimes I may or may not have committed.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
So for this recipe, its pretty straight forward and easy to make. The dough rose well for me even with the added oil in there. Getting my dough to proof and double in size always takes longer than I expect. I generally leave my dough to proof on top of a warm oven to help with proofing. As far as putting the dough together, assemble your dry ingredients and then incorporate the oil and then the water. You can also add both at once, it’ll turn out fine, trust me. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary if using a stand mixer. Once mixed, the dough should hold a fairly smooth uniform shape. At this point, add your sun-dried tomatoes and other flavors. I chose dried bail and oregano, along with sliced garlic that I cooked with a bit of butter. I added a little less oil when making the dough to try and keep the oil level down. Oil slows yeast development, which causes dough to take longer to rise. Anyway, mix your ingredients into the dough until fully incorporated. Then cover and leave to proof in a warm spot for an hour.
Dough Shaping Tips
Once the dough has doubled in size, knock the air back from the dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, and I do mean lightly. You want the dough to be a bit tacky so that its easier to shape into balls. Divide the dough into 9 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. To roll dough into a ball, start by making your hand into a claw shape. Using your palm, press into the dough and roll in a circular motion. Your fingers keep the dough from rolling away. The motion (4:50 in video) is similar to when dividing pizza dough. I also use the pizza dough recipe from that video and its amazing!. Place all 9 rolls spaced an inch or so apart on a lined baking tray. Cover with cling film to proof for another 20 minutes.
Final Thoughts.
Preheat the oven while the dough is proofing a second time. Leave the tray on top of the oven to help speed your proofing time. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. I checked mine at 10 minutes and rotated the tray for the last five minutes. Once baked, I let them cool on a wire rack for a few minutes then tore into one. They have a nice texture on the outside and a nice crumb on the inside, a bit tight but delicious. The slices of garlic packed a lot of flavor but weren’t overpowering. Combined with the sun-dried tomatoes and herbs, you can’t help but think of pizza when eating one. The rolls can be stuffed so I might have to try adding mozzarella next time. Feel free to add whatever seasonings to your dough that you think would taste good. The original recipe called for thyme and sun-dried tomatoes, so don’t feel obligated to follow the recipe exactly.
Garlic & Sun-dried Tomato Rolls
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer optional
- 1 Parchment lined Baking Tray
Ingredients
- 350 grams Bread Flour
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 7 grams active dried yeast
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 200 ml warm water
- 6 sun-dried tomatoes drained of olive oil and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
Instructions
Dough Assembly
- Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl and combine with a whisk.
- Add the oil and begin to mix, either by hand or with your stand mixer using the dough hook attachment. Add in the water a little bit at a time until the dough is soft but sticky. Knead the dough until smooth and pliable, around 5 minutes if using the stand mixer.
- Once dough is ready, mix in the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, basil and oregano.
- Cover the dough with cling film and leave to proof until doubled in size, roughly 1 hour.
Dough shaping, second proof, and baking
- Once dough has doubled in size, knock back dough and transfer dough to a lightly floured surface.
- Divide dough into 9 equal pieces, either by eye or measuring, whichever you prefer.
- Knead and shape each piece into a ball and place on a lined baking tray, making sure to leave at least a 2" gap in between pieces.
- Cover the tray with a lightly oiled piece of cling film and leave to proof for another 20 minutes or until the dough balls have doubled in size.
- While the dough is in its second proof, preheat your oven to 375 deg F.
- Bake the rolls for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.