Rosemary Onion Focaccia

The idea of focaccia always sounds so appealing to me, a flatbread rich with olive oil and topped with any number of delicious things. It's really like a pizza in disguise, dressed a little differently so you can eat several slices without feeling too guilty. In the past however, I've attempted to make focaccia a couple of different times and have never been very successful at it. It's always been, well, just okay. But I want more than okay, I know it can be so much more than that. With this recipe I've found my stride, I have found a focaccia that is well beyond okay. This bread was soft and light, tender and rich, topped with just a few simple accompaniments. It really was what I've been looking for. I can't wait to play around with different toppings and flavors. With this focaccia as a base I know they will all be great!

This recipe was very simple, and pretty quick as yeasted bread goes. Knead everything together and let it rise for about an hour. I was in a little bit of a hurry and only let it rise for about 45 minutes and it didn't seem to matter at all. Then all you have to do is press it into your pan and let it sit for only about 20 minutes. While it's resting you can get your toppings together. I went simple this time with some thinly sliced onion, rosemary, a sprinkling of pecorino and some sea salt, but there are so many options when it comes to focaccia, you can really do whatever you want. After the 20 minutes rest, just top it off and stick it in the oven. In another 20 minutes you'll have a beautiful golden brown round of rich, savory bread. You really can't go wrong.

Rosemary Onion Focaccia

Adapted From 

Food and Wine

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
• Thinly sliced sweet onion
• Roughly chopped rosemary
• Grated pecorino or parmesan cheese
• Sea salt

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, yeast and salt. Add the water, honey and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Knead the dough on medium speed until smooth and supple, 5-6 minutes. Place the dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for about 1 hour. 

Transfer the dough to a well oiled 9-inch cake pan, pressing it down to fit and dimpling it all over with your fingers. Drizzle the dough with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and let rise until puffed, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle the dough to taste with the thinly sliced onion, rosemary, cheese and salt. Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the focaccia. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 450 degrees until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool. 

Ciabatta

Sometimes all I want is a good sandwich. Versatile and delicious, I could probably eat a sandwich every day. And we all know (I hope) that a good sandwich demands excellent bread. Sub-par, stale grocery store bread just doesn't do it for me anymore. I need something better. For me, that means I have two options; head to the bakery (which, trust me, I do a lot!) or make some of my own. One of these options is more convenient and, let's be honest, probably better, but the other option is super cheap, absolutely delicious, and extremely satisfying. Pulling warm loaves of homemade bread out of my oven only 4 ingredients later is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon. I highly recommend it!

This recipe is easy, and simple, although it does take some advanced planning and to be honest, some practice (at least for me). It turned out 3 beautiful loaves of ciabatta that were perfect for my sandwich craving. 

Ciabatta
From The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
Ingredients
Poolish

• 2 1/2 cups (11.25 ounces) bread flour

• 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) water, at room temperature

• 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

Dough

• 3 1/4 cups (22.75 ounces) poolish

• 3 cups (13 1/2 ounces) unbleached bread flour

• 1 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

• 6 tablespoons to 3/4 cup (3 to 6 ounces) water, lukewarm

Directions
For the Poolish: stir together the flour, water and yeast until all the flour is moistened. It will be soft and sticky, like very thick pancake batter. Cover the bowl with plastic and let sit at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours, until bubbly and foamy, then place in the refrigerator where it will keep for up to 3 days.

For the ciabatta: remove the poolish from the refrigerator 1 hour before starting. Stir together flour, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with the paddle attachment. Add the poolish and 6 tablespoons of the water and mix on low speed until the ingredients form a sticky ball, adding additional water as needed. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 5 to 7 minutes or until the dough is smooth and sticky. Switch to the dough hook and mix for 2 more minutes. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but still stick to the bottom. You may need to add additional flour, but don't add too much, the final dough should be quite soft and sticky.

Spray about an 8-inch square part of your counter with cooking spray. Using a dough scraper, transfer the dough to the counter. Dust the top of the dough liberally with flour, patting it into a rectangle. Wait 2 minutes for the dough to relax. Coat your hands with flour, lift the dough from each end, stretching it to twice its size. Fold the dough over onto itself, like folding a letter, returning it to its originally shape. Dust the top of the dough with flour, and loosely cover with oiled plastic wrap.

Let rest for 30 minutes. The repeat the stretch and fold as above. Dust with flour and cover with plastic again. Let the dough ferment and rise on the counter for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It should swell, but won't necessarily double in size.

Set up a couch with a cotton dish towel, sprayed with oil and generously floured. Carefully remove the plastic wrap from the dough. Using a pastry scraper, divide the dough into 3 rectangles, making sure not to degas the dough. Sprinkle the dough generously with flour and use the scraper to gently lift each piece from the counter and lay it on the floured cloth, folding each piece of dough from left to rich, letter-style, into an oblong about 6 inches long. Bunch the cloth between the pieces to provide a wall.

Proof for 45 to 60 minutes at room temperature, or until the dough has noticeably swelled. Meanwhile, place a baking stone in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees, placing an old heavy duty sheet on the lower rack.

When the dough is ready, gently transfer each piece of dough to a 9x12-inch piece of parchment paper, lifting from each end and gently tugging the dough out to just smaller than the piece of parchment. Slide the dough, parchment and all, onto the preheated baking stone. Pour one cup of hot water into the sheet pan and close the door. After 30 seconds, open the door and spray the sides of the oven with water from a spray can. Repeat twice more at 30 second intervals. After the last spray, turn the oven temperature down to 450 degrees and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the loaves 180 degrees and continue baking for 5-10 minutes, or until done, the bread should register 205 degrees in the center and be golden brown. Allow loaves to cool at least 45 minutes before slicing and serving.

No Knead Bread

I know there is nothing new about this no knead bread recipe. It's been around for a while now but I never really got around to trying it before. Recently however, I decided to give it a go and see how it turned out, you never know until you try. It is super easy and turns out a beautiful loaf of bread. Some of the comments I had seen mentioned that it wasn't as tall of a loaf as they would have liked, and I agree. It would be nice if it rose a little taller in the pot, but that's okay.

So obviously, there is no kneading with this recipe, very little hands on at all in fact. This does not mean however that it is quick. You have to think ahead to have this bread on your table at dinner. It requires a 12-18 hour rise after mixing the ingredients together. And after shaping it needs another 2 hours. But this is all hands off time. All you have to do is set it aside and forget about it. It doesn't get much easier than that!

As for the flavor, this bread was pretty good. The crumb inside was full of beautiful air bubbles and the top crust was beautiful golden brown. On the other hand, the bottom of this loaf got quite dark brown, almost to burned which I don't like at all. Maybe there's a way to change this, but as it was, the bottom was overcooked. Also, while the crust was beautiful, I did think it was a little tough and thick. Not horrible, but not great either. But the bread inside was flavorful and moist, perfect for dipping into your soup bowl, or smearing with a pat of butter. I think this recipe has a lot of potential, but I might need to play around with it a little to make it work for me.

No Knead Bread

From

Jim Lahey via The New York Times

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
• ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
• 1¼ teaspoons salt
• Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed

Directions

Mix together the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and mix well; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic and let dough rest at least 12-18 hours, (preferably 18), at  room temperature.

When the surface of the dough is dotted with bubbles it is ready to continue. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle with a little flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

Gently and quickly shape dough into a ball using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking. Coat a cotton towel with plenty of flour, wheat bran or cornmeal and put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more of the flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover the dough with another cotton towel and let it rise for about 2 hours. When the dough is ready, it will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees and place a 6- to 8-quart Dutch oven inside. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide hands under towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up; it may be messy, but that is okay. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is browned beautifully. Cool on a rack before slicing

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Braided Challah Bread

I've been wanting to try making challah for some time now, but I just couldn't seem to get around to it. Last week I decided it was time to stop coming up with excuses and just do it. I looked at several different recipes for challah, it was difficult to choose one to try, but I finally settled on this recipe I found on The Apron Archives. The pictures were beautiful and the original recipe was from the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion Cookbook, so I figured I was in good hands. While my loaf turned out beautifully and smelled divine, it was a little dry and overcooked. I think it would be just perfect if it baked for just a little less time. I'm definitely going to try it again and keep my eye on it. But even so, this bread made some fabulous grilled sandwiches, and killer croutons. I think my next experiment will be french toast! Can't wait!

I just love the braided look of this bread, it is so pretty. If you want to know how to achieve this look, head over to The Apron Archives where I got the recipe, she has a great little tutorial on how to do the 4 strand braid. It is really not difficult at all, and makes the finished product so festive looking.

Braided Challah Bread
From The Apron Archives
Ingredients
Quick Starter

• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup water
• 2 tsps instant yeast

Dough

• All of the starter
• 3 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 3/4 tsps salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs + 1 yolk (save 1 egg white for the wash, below)

Wash

• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp water

Directions
To make the starter, mix the 1 cup flour, 1 cup water and yeast together in a large bowl. Let the mixture sit for about 45 minutes. Add the dough ingredients to the starter and mix and knead together until a smooth is formed.Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl, turning it over once to coat both sides. Cover it and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into four even pieces and roll each into a strand about 18 inches long. On a lightly greased or parchment-lined sheet pan, braid the strands. Once your braid is done, make the wash by mixing together the reserved egg white, sugar, and water. Brush the loaf with half the wash. Cover the loaf with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow it to rise again for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until it’s almost doubled in size.

Brush the loaf with the remaining egg wash and bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, covering with aluminum foil if it starts getting too brown. Remove it from the oven, and cool completely before slicing.

Soft Dinner Rolls

There is almost nothing I love better than a soft, buttery, freshly baked roll. Still slightly warm from the oven, smeared with softened butter, it can't really get any better than this. I've been making these rolls for several years now and they are my absolute favorite. I found the recipe in a memoir by Katherine Darling about her time at The French Culinary Institute. She calls them Mama's Rolls because the recipe came from her mom, obviously. I don't know her or her mom but every time I make these rolls I thank both of them for sharing the recipe.

Throughout the years I've made this recipe into dinner rolls, sandwich rolls, hamburger buns, whatever I need. I just change up the size depending on what I want. The recipe makes quite a big batch, which usually isn't a problem for me. I just stick the leftovers in the freezer to have whenever I need them. However, if you really don't need a huge batch this recipe halves very nicely too, I've done it several times. So whatever you need, these rolls will work beautifully for. Give them a try, I promise you you won't regret it.

Soft Dinner Rolls

Adapted from:

Under the Table: Saucy Tales from Culinary School

by Katherine Darling

Ingredients

• 7 to 8 cups (36 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (2 1/3 ounces) sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil or 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups (about 18 ounces) milk

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, place the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Mix briefly to combine. Add the oil or butter, water and milk. Knead dough until a soft, supple dough forms, about 5-6 minutes, it should not be too sticky or too dry and tough. Place the dough in a oiled bowl and let rise until doubled, about an hour and a half. 

Butter a rimmed baking sheet. Cut the dough into 36 equal size pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a smooth ball and place on the baking sheet. When all the rolls are formed, let the dough once again rise until doubled in volume. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the risen rolls with a little butter if desired and then bake for 25 to 30 minutes. If they begin to get too brown, cover the top with foil. 

Soft Wrap Bread

Sandwiches are near the top of my list of favorite things to eat. I could eat one at every meal and never get tired of them because the possibilities are endless. There are so many different kinds of breads, meats, cheeses, spreads, toppings etc., you never have to eat the same sandwich twice! I love a sandwich built with some freshly baked bread as the base, but sometimes all I want is a thin, soft sheet of flatbread to roll up my sandwich within, that is where this wrap bread comes in.

Over the years I've used a lot of flour tortillas to make wraps for lunch, and although they are okay, they have never been exactly what I wanted. They are usually kind of dry and stale and just don't have that much flavor. I tried making my own once, but the recipe I used just didn't impress me. When I found this recipe though, I was hopeful that it was what I was looking for. Boy was it ever. These wrap breads are the most delicious thing since, well, sliced bread! They are soft, tender and absolutely delicious. I have yet to be disappointed when these wonderful wraps are the base for my sandwich.

The recipe for this soft wrap bread is a little odd, it starts with pouring boiling water over top of flour and letting it sit for about 30 minutes. King Arthur Flour says that this process basically "cooks" the starch in the flour, making the flatbread easy to roll out, and removes any "starchy" taste in the finished bread. Whatever it is doing chemically, I like it. The bread is wonderful to roll out and the flavor in the finished product is super yummy.

After this initial starch cooking, the dough is put together like most breads I've made. However, the dough you are left with after the kneading is finished is very odd. The texture is very different from most doughs. It may not seem quite right, I was kind of doubtful the first time I made it, but have no fear, it will all work out in the end. After letting the dough sit for an hour (it didn't really rise much for me), all that is left is to cut it up, roll it out, and dry fry it in a skillet. The recipe tells you to roll out each piece of dough into a 7-8 inch circle, but I decided I wanted mine a little bigger and thinner (more like a tortilla) and didn't seem to have any problem with the finished product.

Frying up each piece of dough can take a little bit of time, but trust me, it is so worth it. This wrap bread is on its way to becoming a staple in my house. I don't think I'll ever buy a tortilla again!

 Shaped dough, read to fry

 Make sure you have lots of flour

 Start rolling

 Keep going!

 Perfect, ready to cook

 Into the fairly hot pan

 When it starts to brown, flip it over

 Stack them up as you go

(I made a double batch this time)

Fill them up and dinner is served!

Soft Wrap Bread
Adapted From King Arthur Flour
Ingredients

• 3 1/4-3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups boiling water
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons (7/8 ounce) vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast*

*This recipe works best with instant yeast because it dissolves during the kneading process, so you don't have to knead liquid into the dough. If you really prefer to use active dry yeast, use only 1 cup boiling water for the initial dough, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water, and add this mixture to the dough along with the remaining flour mixture. It'll be somewhat "slippery" at first, but will knead in and eventually become smooth.

Directions
Making the Dough: Place 2 cups of the flour into a bowl or the bucket of a bread machine. Pour the boiling water over the flour, and stir till smooth. Cover the bowl or bucket and set the mixture aside for 30 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining flour with the salt, oil and yeast. Add this to the cooled flour/water mixture, stir, then knead for several minutes (by hand, mixer or bread machine) to form a soft dough. The dough should form a ball, but will remain somewhat sticky. Add additional flour only if necessary; if kneading by hand, keep your hands and work surface lightly oiled. Let the dough rise, covered, for 1 hour.

Shaping: Divide the dough into 8 or 10 pieces, cover, and let rest for 15 to 30 minutes. Roll each piece into a 7- to 8-inch circle, and dry-fry them (fry without oil) over medium heat for about 1 minute per side, until they're puffed and flecked with brown spots. Adjust the heat if they seem to be cooking either too quickly, or too slowly; cooking too quickly means they may be raw in the center, while too slowly will dry them out. Transfer the cooked breads to a wire rack, stacking them to keep them soft. Serve immediately, or cool slightly before storing in a plastic bag. Yield: 8 breads.

Bagels

In case you haven't noticed, I have a rather large sweet tooth and enjoy having a nice sweet for breakfast on a regular basis. Hence, a lot of my baking tends to lean towards the sugar filled finished product. This does not mean however, that I always need to have something sweet in the morning, this recipe proves that. I've been wanting to make both bagels and English muffins for some time now, and I can finally cross one of those off my baking to-do list. Who doesn't love a fat, chewy bagel, covered in butter, cream cheese or my personal favorite, topped with a couple of slices of swiss cheese and then toasted in the toaster oven. Savory and delicious and oh so delectable, even if they aren't loaded with sugar.

These bagels were fun to make, but they definitely aren't quick to put together. They take two days to complete, with most of the work done on day 1. Making the dough, letting it rise, and shaping are all done on this first day, and then the shaped bagels are left to sit in the fridge overnight and develop a lot of yummy flavor. Day two is just for boiling and baking, the fun part!

I ended up making 10 bagels from this recipe but the recipe says it makes 12 large or 24 mini bagels, so you can really make however many you want. However many you end up making, you won't be disappointed. These bagels ended up full off flavor, chewy and not at all dry; they toasted up beautifully and were perfect for breakfast, finished off with your favorite topping. I would for sure make these again, they really were wonderful. As fresh as you'll find anywhere, and just as good, if not better.

Getting the sponge ready

Mix it together and let it do its magic for 2 hours

2 hours later, nice and poofy

Add in the rest of the dough ingredients

Knead it up until smooth

Divide the dough

Shape into bagels, aren't they cute?

Into the fridge for an overnight retard

The next day, time to boil

All done swimming and ready for the oven

Out of the oven and ready to eat!

Yum, ready for toasting and buttering

Bagels
From The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
Ingredients
Sponge

• 1 teaspoon instant yeast 
• 4 cups bread flour 
• 2 1/2 cups water 

Dough

• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast 
• 3 3/4 cups bread flour 
• 2 3/4 teaspoons salt 
• 2 teaspoons malt powder or 1 tablespoon brown sugar 

To Finish

• 1 tablespoon baking soda 
• cornmeal for dusting 
• Any toppings of your choosing (sesame seeds, poppy seeds, kosher salt etc.) 

Directions
Start by making the sponge: mix together the yeast and flour in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the water and stir only until it forms a smooth batter (like pancake batter). Cover the bowl and let sit for about 2 hours at room temperature until the mixture is bubbly and foamy and swells to about double the original size.

Make the dough: int eh same bowl, add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir to combine. Add 3 cups of flour and all of the salt and malt or brown sugar. Mix on low speed until the ingredients form a ball, all the while mixing in the additional 3/4 cup of flour.

Knead the dough for about 6 minutes in the mixer until firm and stiff but still pliable and smooth with no traces of flour remaining. Add more water or flour as needed. The dough should be satiny and pliable but not tacky. Immediately divide the dough into equal size pieces and form them into rolls. Cover the rolls and allow them to rest for about 20 minutes.

Line 2 sheet pans with parchment and mist with oil. Shape the bagels either by poking a hole in the dough and rotating you thumb around inside the hole to widen it to about 2 1/2 inches in diameter (try to stretch the dough as evenly as possible) or by rolling the dough into a 8 inch rope and wrapping the rope around the palm of your hand, overlapping the ends and pressing the ends into the counter, rocking your hand back and forth to seal.

Place each shaped bagel onto the parchment lined pans. Mist them lightly with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Use the float test to see if the bagels are ready to go into the fridge to be retarded. Fill a bowl with cool water. Drop the bagels into the water. If they float within 10 seconds they are ready for the fridge. If they don't float, return the bagel to the pan, dry it off, and check again in 10 to 20 minutes. Once the bagels pass the float test place the covered pans in the fridge overnight (or up to 2 days).

The next day, or whenever you are ready to make the bagels, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the baking soda. Remove the bagels from the fridge and gently drop them into the water, don't overcrowd the pot. After 1 minute, turn them over and boil for another minute (if you like really chewy bagels, let them boil for 2 minutes a side). While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle cornmeal on the parchment paper. Return the boiled bagels to the cornmeal lined parchment paper and repeat with remaining bagels. If you want to top your bagels, do so right after they come out of the water.

When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pans in the middle of the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Rotate the pans and switch shelves and lower the oven to 450 degrees and continue baking for about 5 minutes, or a little longer if you prefer them darker.

Remove pans from oven and let bagels rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Classic White Bread

While I love baking anything and everything, there will always be a special place in my heart for a simple loaf of soft white bread. There is almost nothing better than a slice of fresh from the oven, still warm, homemade bread slathered in salted butter. The yeasty flavor mixes with the heavenly aroma still emanating from the oven to produce the bliss that is freshly baked bread. I've made several different white bread recipes over the past few years and while I don't vividly remember them all, I know this one is right up there at the top of the list. Buttery, light and tender, this bread is ready for anything: sandwiches, toast, or a simple afternoon snack with some almond butter, really whatever you can think of, it's up to you.

This recipe was straightforward without any unusual ingredients. The basic cast of flour, salt and yeast along with some milk, some butter, an egg, and a hint of sweetness via the addition of a little sugar. That's how I like my bread, simple but with a little enrichment to really take it over the top. To finish it all off I brushed the loaves with melted butter when they came out of the oven (instead of the egg wash suggested) to produce a soft and buttery crust, yum!

I didn't have the size bread pans the recipe calls for (something I've since remedied) but it didn't seem to matter one bit. The loaves didn't get as tall as they would have in a slightly smaller pan but they still turned out beautifully. I've been eating this bread daily in the days since making it and I absolutely love it. Last night it made the best Texas toast, and this morning it was perfect slathered in homemade jam. I can't wait to find out what it will be good for next; whatever that is I know it will be delicious.

Start mixing it all together

 When smooth and supple, place in an 

oiled bowl to rise

 Doubled and ready to shape

 Cut the dough in half

 Shape into two nice loaves

 Nicely risen and ready to hit the oven

 Straight from the oven, golden and beautiful

 Pull out of the loaf pans and let cool on wire racks

 Slice it up, making sure you have a nice snack

along the way

Ready for anything

Classic White Bread
From The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
Ingredients

• 4¼ cups (19 ounces) unbleached bread flour
• 1½ teaspoons (.38 ounces) salt
• 3 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) sugar
• 2 teaspoons (.22 ounce) instant yeast
• 1 large (1.65 ounces) egg, slightly beaten, at room temperature
• ¼ cup (2 ounces) butter, margarine, or shortening, at room temperature, or vegetable oil
• 1½ cups (12 ounces) buttermilk or whole milk, at room temperature
• 1 egg, whisked with 1 teaspoon water until frothy, for egg wash (optional)
• sesame or poppy seeds for garnish (optional)

Directions
Mix together the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Pour in the egg, butter, and milk and mix with a large metal spoon (or on low speed of the electric mixer with the paddle attachment) until all the flour is absorbed and the dough forms a ball. If the dough seems very stiff and dry, trickle in more milk until the dough is soft and supple.

Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook), adding more flour, if necessary, to create a dough that is soft, supple, and tacky but not sticky. Continue kneading (or mixing) for 6 to 8 minutes. (In the electric mixer, the dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick ever to slightly to the bottom.) The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 80° F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Ferment at room temperature for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size (the length of time will depend on the room temperature).

Remove the fermented dough from the bowl and divide it in half for sandwich loaves, into eighteen 2-ounce pieces for dinner rolls, or twelve 3-ounce pieces for burger or hot dog buns. Shape the pieces into boules for loaves or tight rounds for dinner rolls or buns. Mist the dough lightly with spray oil and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Allow to rest for about 20 minutes.

For loaves, shape as shown on page 81. Lightly oil two 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pans and place the loaves in the pans. For rolls and buns, line 2 sheet pans with baking parchment. Rolls require no further shaping. For hamburger buns, gently press down on the rolls to form the desired shape. For hot dog buns, shape as shown on page 80, although without tapering the ends. Transfer the rolls or buns to the sheet pans.

Mist the tops of the dough with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Proof the dough at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until it nearly doubles in size.

Preheat the oven to 350° F for loaves or 400° F for roll and buns. Brush the rolls or buns with the egg wash and garnish with poppy or sesame seeds. Sandwich loaves also may be washed and garnished, or score them down the center and rub a little vegetable oil in the slit.

Bake the rolls or buns for approximately 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown and register just above 180° F in the center. Bake loaves for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating 180 degrees halfway through for even baking, if needed. The tops should be golden brown and the sides, when removed from the pan, should also be golden. The internal temperature of the loaves should be close to 190° F, and the loaves should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.

When the loaves have finished baking, remove them immediately from the pans and cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving. Rolls should cool for at least 15 minutes on a rack before serving.