fluffy dinner rolls

Fluffy Dinner Rolls

Fluffy Dinner Rolls

(makes 20-22 small rolls or 12 full size rolls)
1 packet yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1/2 c. warm milk
1 large egg
2 tbsp. vegetable or olive oil or melted butter
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
2 tsp. salt
3 c. all purpose flour

2 tbsp. chopped rosemary (optional for rosemary rolls)
cooking spray
melted butter (~tsbp. to brush on rolls before and after baking)

Mix sugar, warm water and yeast in measuring cup and let sit ~5 minutes until yeast foams. Combine warm milk, salt, egg & oil and add this to the yeast mixture. Add all of the flour to form a shaggy dough. Knead on low or by hand for 8-10 minutes. Let the dough rise in a warm spot for about an hour (until approximately doubled).

Divide and shape the rolls. Dust your work surface with a little flour. Scrape the dough onto the flour. Using a bench scraper, divide the dough into 12 (or ~20 small) pieces. To shape into rolls, tuck the edges underneath to form a plump little package, then roll the dough against the counter or between your palms until round.

Heat the oven and let the rolls rise again. Line a 9x13-inch baking dish with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Arrange the rolls inside the baking dish so that they are spaced a little apart. Let the rolls rise until they look pillowy and fill the pan, 30 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F.

Brush the rolls with butter. Melt the butter and brush it over the risen dinner rolls. This helps the tops to brown and keeps the crust soft.

Bake the rolls 15 to 18 minutes. Bake the rolls until golden-brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Grasping the parchment paper, lift the rolls from the baking dish to a wire rack and let sit until cool enough to handle.

Le Gibassier: It's What the Ladies Man Eats for Breakfast

With a family wide fondness for anise and an apparent shortage of baked goods containing it (save for the Bake Shop sweet rolls in AK, which, surprisingly, don't fare too well on the plane ride home) we were ecstatic to stroll into Portland's Pearl Bakery expecting a nice croissant treat and find something even better. Le. Gibassier. You don't even need to know how to pronounce it in order to appreciate its deliciousness. I think it's French. It doesn't matter though, great flavors know no language barriers and never judge you for mispronunciations.

Since Amy was still here and has been thinking about making them for a while (and since my mom keeps a note in her iphone to remind her what they're called in case she ever wants to look up the recipe and make them), we decided to give it a shot and see how accurately we could replicate them at home.

If you don't have a kitchen scale at home, now is a good time to make friends with someone who does. If you don't want to make new friends purely for exploiting them for their kitchen appliances, then you can save $10 and go buy your own. Either way, it's pretty much impossible to make this recipe without a scale.

LE GIBASSIER

(Adapted from Advanced Bread and Pastry by Michel Suas)

For the sponge
85 grams bread flour
39 grams milk
11 grams egg 25g
1/8 tsp instant Yeast

Combine, cover and ferment at room temperature for 12-16 hours.

For the final dough
326 grams bread flour
95 grams egg
81 grams granulated sugar
7 grams salt
12 grams yeast
60 grams butter (cold, but pliable)
60 grams olive oil
Juice of one orange
28 grams water
7 grams anise seed
zest of one orange
82 grams candied orange peel
Sponge

Pour liquids, then sponge into the bowl of the mixer. Add dry ingredients except sugar, candied fruit, zest and anise seed. Incorporate all slowly for about 2 minutes. Put the dough hook on the mixer and knead for 9-11 minutes on medium speed. The dough should have a great deal of gluten strength and hold a strong window. Slowly sugar. Incorporate before each new addition.

When a nice dough window can be formed, add the butter. Bring the dough back up to an intensive consistency, with very strong gluten formation. Add candied fruit, zest and anise seed at the lowest speed, just to incorporate. Place rounded dough into oiled bowl, cover so no crust forms, and ferment for 1 hour.

Round the dough lightly into a boule, let rest for 20 minutes.

Roll to about 3/4" thick and cut into desired shapes. Lightly cut 3-4 slits on top of the shapes if you wish to. Place on parchment-lined pan and let rise again for approximately 1 1/2hours. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown, about 10-15 min. Brush with melted butter and toss in granulated sugar.

I believe it is a hand pie.

These sweet little pockets of goodness are what you eat when you decide you're too old to be eating pies out of a paper bag, sold three for $.79. OR if that time never comes, it's what you eat when you are out of range of a 7/11. If neither of these conditions ever come true for you, it's a good option if you're in need of a quick and easy dessert, suitable for serving to others. Because I like portable economy pies as much as the next guy, but I always worry people will find the wrappers in the garbage. After already distributing the recipe for said "homemade" pies, this can pose a problem. It's best to avoid this whole mess and keep your dignity by grabbing some fruits and getting started.

CHERRY AND PEACH GALETTES

Filling:

2 cups bing cherries, pitted

1 cup peaches

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

Crusts (Courtesy of Cooks Illustrated):

2 cups all-purpose flour (7 1/2 ounces)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter , cut into 5/8-inch cubes (1 1/2 sticks)

7-9 tablespoons ice water

Wash:

1 egg, beaten

Sugar for dusting

1) Combine flour, cornstarch, salt, and sugar in food processor with three 1-second pulses. Scatter butter pieces over flour, pulse to cut butter into flour until butter pieces are size of large pebbles, about 1/2 inch, about six 1-second pulses.

2) Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over mixture and pulse once quickly to combine; repeat, adding water 1 tablespoon at a time and pulsing, until dough begins to form small curds that hold together when pinched with fingers (dough should look crumbly and should not form cohesive ball).

3) Form Mound:Empty dough onto work surface and gather into rough rectangular mound about 12 inches long and 5 inches wide.

4) Fraisage & Chill: Starting at farthest end, use heel of hand to smear small amount of dough against counter, pushing firmly down and away from you, to create separate pile of dough (flattened pieces of dough should look shaggy). Continue process until all dough has been worked. Gather dough into rough 12 by 5-inch mound and repeat smearing process. Dough will not have to be smeared as much as first time and should form cohesive ball once entire portion is worked. Form dough into 4-inch square, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until cold and firm but still malleable, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

5) About 15 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut up fruit and mix with sugar and cornstarch.

6) Roll and trim dough: Place dough on floured 16 by 12-inch piece of parchment paper and dust with more flour. Cut into six even pieces and form into round balls. One by one, roll each ball out with a rolling pin until it is about 1/8 inch thick, dusting top and bottom of dough and rolling pin with flour as needed to keep dough from sticking. Trim dough so edges are even with parchment paper. You'll end up with six round circles.

7) Fill with fruit: Place about 1/4 to 1/2 c. of fruit on each dough circle, keep in mind you'll want a little over an inch of crust around the fruit to fold up.

8) Form border: Roll up 1 inch of each edge and pinch firmly, creating a fold every two inches around the circle. With parchment on cookie sheet and tarts formed and filled, brush each pie with egg wash and dust with sugar.

9) Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 45-55 minutes or until crusts are golden brown and fruit is bubbling.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. And enjoy! As we discovered, these are even more deliciuos reheated quickly in the oven on day 2, and again served a la mode.