Reinhart's Soft Sandwich Rolls

When we went down to Eilat last week, I knew I'd be breaking my no-bread-during-the-week rule because the lunches that we pack for each hike involve bread. Knowing this to be the case, I had the foresight to bake my own bread and bring it along. Hey, if I'm going to be eating bread, it might as well be good bread. I turned to Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day and settled on his Soft Sandwich Bread. Knowing I wouldn't need two whole loaves, I halved the recipe and made nine small rolls, perfect for this three day trip. This dough is very simple to make and easy to handle. The rolls shaped well and held their form quite nicely. I used  rice milk here, sugar as the sweetener, and oil as the fat. I'm really loving that Reinhart gives oil alternatives to the margarine/butter component. I also topped the rolls with my favorite, sesame seeds. More would have been better, but I was too lazy to make an egg wash, so most of them fell off. The resulting rolls were lightly browned, not golden (and egg wash would have been helpful here), but they were perfect sandwich fare, delicious with tuna and cucumbers, or really just plain. They were soft but still a bit chewy, which is a good thing considering I subbed AP for the called for bread flour. Another winner from Reinhart's latest book. I'm sending these rolls to Yeastspotting!

Soft Sandwich Rolls- full recipe
adapted from Artisan Breads Every Day

1 tbsp instant yeast
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp rice milk
6 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
5 1/2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg

Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Add the liquid ingredients and stir thoroughly to make a shaggy dough. Allow the dough to rest for a good fifteen minutes before kneading it.

Knead the dough, in its bowl or on a lightly floured surface, until it is soft and supple, tacky but not sticky.

Place the dough in a greased bowl. Turn to coat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight or up to four days.

Here is my beautifully risen dough, taken out 2 1/2 hours before baking on bake day.

Either shape the dough into a loaf or scale into small pieces and shape into rolls.

Proof the rolls until they are puffy and well risen.

I brushed with water and topped with sesame seeds. You can omit this step. Preheat the oven to 350.

Bake until golden for the rolls, or until a thermometer registers at least 190. A loaf will take around 50 minutes. Cool the rolls on a rack and store in a plastic bag when completely cool. 

Happy hiking!