These homemade soft white rolls take very little effort to make, and they are perfect for lunchboxes, burgers or to accompany dinner. Whip up a batch in no time with this tried-and-tested recipe!
The soft while rolls are also cheap to make, working out at about 16 cents each even when using a decent quality strong white flour. You could probably make some more savings by using cheaper ingredients.
The proving time is relatively quick, and there is limited kneading too which make them handy to make if you don’t have a stand mixer with a kneading dough hook.
Homemade Soft White Rolls Recipe
This recipe makes 6 medium homemade soft white rolls
Ingredients:
- 300g strong white flour (plus extra for baking stage)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 sachet (7g) dried yeast
- 25g unsalted butter, softened
- 150ml cold water (possibly more so start with this amount)
- 1 teaspoon salt (you can lower this amount if you’re watching your sodium intake)
Method:
- In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar and yeast, then mix the butter into this mixture until you get a light breadcrumb texture.
- Pour the salt into the cold water and stir until dissolved (I picked up this tip from Paul Hollywood). Pour half the saline water into the dry ingredients and using your hand (or dough hook) mix, add half of the remaining water in and mix again. Slowly add the remaining water until you have a sticky dough. The dough will be fairly loose, the easiest way to explain is that it should form into a lump but be very moist. Don’t be afraid to reserve some water if you think it’s becoming too sticky or add more if it’s not sticky enough.
- Dampen your hands and knead the dough for 10 minutes in the bowl, 5 minutes on high if you’re using a dough hook. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover tightly with cling film. Leave the dough in a warm spot for 90 minutes.
- After 90 minutes, preheat your (fan) oven to 210 degrees Celsius and place a spare baking tray in the bottom. While the oven is heating knock back the dough in the bowl, separate it into 6 equal pieces. Dampen your hands with water and shape each into a rough round shape. Sprinkle some flour over a baking tray and put the balls of dough onto the tray sitting about 5 cm apart. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top at this stage if you want them, they’re not compulsory. Lightly dust the tops with a bit extra flour. Boil a kettle of water.
- Once the oven comes up to temperature, pop the rolls into the oven. Fill the baking tray in the bottom of the oven with hot water to the 3/4 mark and close the door.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing and serving. These rolls will keep for up to 24 hours to be eaten as they are, a further 48 hours if you’d like to toast them & of course they will freeze for up to a month once cold.
This recipe, and more, is available on Wholesome Ireland.
About the Author: Caitriona Redmond
Caitriona is a food writer, blogger and author, as well as a mother to 2 boys and a teen stepdaughter.
After Caitriona was laid off during the recession, with her family budget getting smaller she found herself facing a shrinking amount of money on a weekly basis to spend on food. She could feed the family on convenience food for the same amount that she had to spend but she chose to cook the best food she could within their tight budget. Her blog is about her, how she manages and the rollercoaster that parenting and living on a tight budget brings.
