Garlic bread Rolls – Soft and Easy

“I like bread, and I like butter – but I like bread with butter best.”
― Sarah Weiner

There are over 200 varieties of bread and each country has its own recipes of breads be it the humble Indian Chappathi/Roti or the luxuriant French Croissant. Each Bread has its share of flavours and the techniques to them makes it unique. Bread making is an art and it can be very therapeutic when making by hand. Its the kneading, the rise, the deflation and the time spent in the process. Lovely! And the aroma can be compared to none. If you’re a first time bread maker, this is a easy to follow recipe. Please try it and let me know how it turns out for you. These are soft rolls with garlic butter in them and flavoured with coriander leaves/parsley.

Recipe

Serves : 5

Source : here

Measuring Cup : 250 ml

All purpose flour/maida : 2.5 cups + 1/2 cup

Olive Oil : 3 tbsp , divided

Yeast : 2.5 tsp (Pls refer notes)

Salt : 3/4 tsp 

Water : 1 Cup , Warmed to about 50 C

Sugar : 2.5 tbsp

White sesame seeds : For sprinkling (optional)

For the Garlic spread

Garlic : 4-5 cloves, peeled and crushed coarsely

Butter : 100 gms ( I used 4 tbsp/ 60 gm)

Coriander leaves / Parsley : 3 -4 tsp, finely chopped 

Method :

Warm the water to about 50 C. (Refer notes) . Add the sugar give a stir to dissolve the sugar. Now add the yeast. Stir to dissolve and leave it untouched for about 5 mins. After 5 minutes, there should be froth in the bowl meaning that the Yeast is acting.I used Instant Dried Yeast in this recipe

Now in a larger bowl, add the flour (2.5 cups) and salt. mix well. Make a well and add the Yeast mixture. Now spread the fingers like claws and keep mixing. (If you’re using a stand mixer, use the kneading blade and you’re good to go.)

After about 2 mins the dough will come together yet will be very sticky. Dont worry, it wont come together yet. (PLEASE REFER NOTES)Keep kneading and add a couple of tablespoons if needed. We need a very soft dough. Softer stickier dough means softer bread.

After about 2 more mins , add a tbsp of the olive oil. Keep kneading. Now the dough will feel less stickier.

Add one tsp olive oil at a time and knead it. The dough will happily absorb the oil.

Use up all the oil and now the sides of the bowl will seem clean. 

Now smear oil on the ball of dough. 

You can set this aside with a cling wrap on top or a wet towel. Keep it in a warm place to rise.

Now, after an hour you’ll see that the dough has doubled. Thats what we want.

Gently deflate and knead it gently. Divide into 4 big balls. I divided into 3 balls

Lightly dust your surface with flour and roll it into 1.5 cm thickness almost into a rectangle. 

Make the Garlic Spread : 

Soften the butter ( Do NOT melt it) and add the crushed/minced garlic and the coriander leaves. Mix well.

Add a layer of the spread , then roll. Cut into half. Then again into half so that you get equal sized portions.

In a greased loaf pan, add the roll one by one. Do not layer on top of each other. Leave a bit of space for the rolls to grow in the oven.

Sprinkle sesame seeds and brush with the remaining butter, milk wash.

Now, keep it aside for about 15 mins

In the meantime Preheat the oven to 180 C, bake these for about 25 – 30 mins.

Wait for the aroma of Garlic to waft through! Enjoy for tea, Dinner with a bowl of soup.

Notes :

** DO NOT be tempted to add more flour than necessary else the bread will be very dense and tough. ** In this recipe I added 2.5 cups + 1 tbsp flour.

Although Kneading is very important in making bread this is a no fuss recipe. Kneading for about 8 minutes yields the desired results. Use your palm to press down the dough and push.

Yeast is very important in any bread. Make sure the Yeast you’re using is of good quality.The dates are important. If you are using fresh yeast the quantity must be more than dried yeast but I haven’t had the chance to work with fresh yeast yet.

To make the yeast work we need the right temperature of the water. The water must be just hot enough to activate the yeast. Tepid water may fail to activate whereas too hot water can kill the yeast.

I have used 2.5 tsp yeast so that the rise is quicker, you can use 1 tsp but give a lot more time for the bread to rise.