Thursday, March 20, 2008

The simple life, back up for Easter

Sometimes life can be simple, especially when you spent a long morning waiting with son nr. 2 in an academic hospital room only to be send home with an affirmation of the earlier diagnose. Son nr. 2 happy that, in his words: "they won't rip anything out." We had our bit of fun as we saw the first doctor, coming back with a second one, both disappearing only to return with a third; Huey, Dewey and Louie in white. Luckily they all agreed with our own hospital: it's a tiny rust colored spot, we know what it is (they did tell us but I can't remember; blood vessels in the upper skin layer leaving a rusty iron red), no need to do anything. Teehee! McDonalds time!

On to the food then, another simplification; all you need is a regular white bread recipe, no additions, just plain bread flour, yeast, salt and water.For instance:
500 gr bread flour
350 gr water
1.1/4 ts salt
1 ts yeast

Knead this dough to an elastic ball that clears your work surface / bowl of your standmixer. Cover and ferment in a lightly oiled bowl untill doubled (approx. 1 hour). Carefully tip on a lightly floured surface (I prefer a light coating of vegetable oil) and divide into tiny pieces, each weighing a 30 grams. Ball up, making tiny tight skinned rolls and place 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet.
Dip your finger, or the handle of a wooden spoon in flour and press holes in the middle of each roll. Fill each dimple with a topping of your choice*, I used pesto and red bell pepper & ancho chili jam. Tent with plastic wrap, make sure you leave the top side undisturbed. Second rise will take something between 45 minutes and 1 hour or untill quite puffy. Bake in a preheated oven (250C), immediately lowering the temperature to 200C after the rolls are in. Bake for 12-17 minutes to a golden brown. Let cool thoroughly and freeze for later use. Pre-baking is also an option: bake for 4-5 minutes, let cool and freeze. Bake-off in a 220C oven for a couple of minutes untill golden brown. (Go wild on toppings, pretty much anything goes; cheese and onion, minced pre-cooked mushrooms, chocolate, dried fruit.. I would suggest an eggwash prior to baking when using sweet toppings.)

8 comments:

  1. Karen,
    Glad to hear that all is well. Happy Easter to you all! These look really delicious!

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  2. Whatever it is or isn't, I remember the deep fears that go with those simple times. And I much appreciate all that's going unsaid there.
    Love the trick with the rolls. Wonder if I couldn't do that with my next croc!

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  3. Hooray on not having to rip anything out of your son!!

    I love your rolls. I would definitely reach for the pesto ones.

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  4. So glad that all went well with your son...having three doctors taking a look can be scary. Happy Easter! Those rolls are delicious looking!!

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  5. Chocolate - they look like they need to be filled with chocolate. Yum! Beautiful!

    Glad to hear that there's nothing seriously wrong.

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  6. Could these be any cuter?? I think not! I love them - do they have a name?

    xoxo

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  7. gelukkig alles in orde!! daar kan je toch wel zenuwachtig van worden!

    Goed gedaan trouwens met je layout (simpeler dan je dacht of niet dan!)!

    Lekker broodsnaaiers! Top voor een party of inloop.

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  8. Aha, een zoon waarvan de stalen zenuwen aan de buitenkant te zien zijn .....

    Nancy

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