The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book_ A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking - Laurel Robertson [25]
NOTE: You can, if you like, use half of the dough from this recipe to make rolls; 12 to 15 small round rolls fit nicely in a 9″ 13″ baking pan, or nine medium ones in an 8″ 8″ pan.
Rolls should have a very full proof: their final rising period should be at least as long as the bread made from the same dough or even as much as half again as long. If you make both a loaf and rolls, shape the rolls before the loaf, or just let them rise an extra half hour or so longer than the bread. Bake them for about half the loaf’s baking time—depending on the oven temperature and their size—about 20 to 35 minutes. They are done when they are a pretty golden brown top and bottom. When pulled apart, the place where they touched each other will spring back to light pressure. Brush baked rolls with butter, if you like, and cover them with a thick terry towel to keep them soft and warm until you are ready to serve them.
Variations & Fancies
RAISIN BREAD
To make a quickie version of raisin bread from the basic dough, wait until you are ready to shape the loaf. If your pan is 8″ 4″, press the dough out into a rectangle about 16″ 7″. In other words, the short side of the rectangle is slightly shorter than the long side of your pan. Cover the whole surface up to about 2 inches from one of the short ends with ½ cup raisins. Add ¼ to ½ cup chopped walnuts, if you like, or ¼ cup toasted sunflower seeds. Press them all very well into the dough with moistened hands or, better yet, with a rolling pin. Dust with cinnamon if you want—it’s a fine touch—but resist the temptation to add sugar or butter at this point, or the bread won’t bake nicely.
Roll up the loaf jelly-roll fashion, beginning with the short end that was not left bare. Be fanatically careful to press the loaf closely as you roll it so that no air is captured in the part where the raisins are, or it will separate there, make a big hole, and wreak havoc with your toaster. Pinch the ends and seam well. Roll the loaf under your hands until it is the length of the greased loaf pan and ease it in, seam down. Use your hands to press it down well from the center outwards to be certain you have not trapped any air. Dust with cinnamon, proof, and bake.
This makes a pedestrian but quite acceptable raisin loaf. For a really elegant raisin bread and a fuller discussion, see Fruits, Nuts, and Seeds.
STEAMED HEARTH LOAVES
For a beautiful loaf of plain bread, bake it round with steam, and it will bloom into a golden sphere. Here’s the easy way to do it. Instead of shaping each piece of dough into an oblong, knead gently into a ball and place seam side down in a greased 2 quart round glass or clay casserole with a domed lid. Cover and allow to rise. Preheat the oven to 450°F. When the bread has risen nicely and the dough returns slowly from a gentle indentation of your finger, pour 2 tablespoons warm water over the loaf. Slash 3 slightly curved lines ½ inch deep across the loaf. Cover and bake in your preheated oven at 450° for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 350°F for the duration of the baking, another 20 to 30 minutes. For more details about steaming bread, see this page; about slashing the crust this page.
SESAME BREAD OR ROLLS
One of the easiest and most delightful ways to fancy up the basic bread is to sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on the board when you first flatten the dough for shaping. Some of the seeds will find their way into the loaf, and there will be an abundant sprinkling of them on the crust. Rolls made this way are just great.
A less messy