Knotted Bread Rolls

Knotted Bread Rolls

These bread rolls look impressive but are really simple to make.

I make these bread rolls using 1kg strong white flour, 10g fast action yeast, 20g salt, 300ml warm water and 300ml warm milk.  The addition of the milk makes the rolls a little whiter and also makes the crust slightly softer.  Just mix all the ingredients together to form a rough, stick dough then knead on an oiled work surface for about 10 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

Put the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film or a damp tea towel.  Leave to rise until doubled in size.

Knock the dough back (that is poke it a few times to let the air out).

Then divide into equal pieces – I usually weigh them and make them somewhere between 80g and 100g depending on how big I want the rolls to be.  Roll each piece of dough into a ball.  Whilst you are working keep the pieces covered with a damp tea towel to stop them drying out and forming a skin.

Roll each ball into a long thin sausage – about 20-30cm long depending on the size of your piece of dough.  So long as the dough is not too sticky I find it easiest to do this on a work surface that is not floured or oiled – the dough won’t stick so long as you keep it moving.  Rather than rolling backwards and forwards like you used to do when making Plasticine sausages I find it works best if you keep rolling in the same direction so I put the dough at the back of my work surface, roll it towards me and then move it back the the back of the work surface and repeat again if I need to.

Lay the sausage of dough in front of you, pick up the two ends and cross the right hand side over the left hand side.

Tuck the right end (that is now at the left!) under so that it’s end pokes back up through the middle.

Then tuck the left end (that is now at the right!) over the top and squeeze it together with the other end in the middle.  You have now knotted your roll…

Place all the rolls on a baking sheet, cover loosely with some oiled cling film or a damp tea  towel and leave to rise for about an hour or until doubled in size – the amount of time this takes depends on how warm your house is.

When doubled in size dust with flour and bake at 190C for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.