Homemade Soft Milk Rolls

📝 Ingredients

• 250 g plain flour
• 120 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 5 g fast-action dried yeast (1 sachet)
• 25 g caster sugar (5 g for the yeast, 20 g for the dough)
• 4 g salt (⅔ tsp)
• 1 egg (about 50 g: 40 g for the dough, 10 g for glazing)
• 25 g unsalted butter, very soft

🍴 Utensils

• Small saucepan
• Large mixing bowl
• Clean tea towel
• Baking tray and baking paper
• Pastry brush
• Freezer bags

📖 Steps

1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan over a low heat: it should feel barely lukewarm to the touch (about 35 °C), never hot, or the yeast will die. Off the heat, stir in the yeast and 5 g sugar, then leave to stand for 10 minutes, until a foam forms.
2. Beat the egg with a fork and set aside 2 tsp (about 10 g) in a ramekin in the fridge for glazing. In the mixing bowl, mix the flour, the remaining 20 g sugar and the salt, then make a well in the centre.
3. Pour the yeasty milk and the rest of the beaten egg into the well, then mix with a spoon until the dough forms a rough ball. Knead it for 5 minutes on the work surface: it's sticky at first, which is normal, so don't add too much flour.
4. Add the soft butter cut into small pieces and knead for another 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and supple and comes away from your fingers. Once well kneaded, it springs back slowly when you press it with a fingertip.
5. Shape the dough back into a ball, return it to the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 1 h to 1 h 30 min in a warm place, around 25 °C (near a radiator, for example), until doubled in size.
6. Knock back the dough by pressing it with the flat of your hand, then divide it into 8 equal pieces of about 58 g. Shape them into balls, then roll them under your palm into small 10 cm ovals. Place them on the baking tray lined with baking paper, 4 cm apart.
7. Cover with the tea towel and leave to rise for another 45 minutes: the rolls should puff up noticeably. Preheat the oven to 180 °C during the last 20 minutes, then brush the rolls with the reserved egg, without pressing so they don't deflate.
8. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes on the middle shelf, until the rolls are nicely golden and sound hollow when tapped underneath. Leave to cool completely in the open air, otherwise the steam will make them soggy in the bags.
9. Pack the cooled rolls in pairs into freezer bags, squeeze out the air and freeze. Take a bag out in the morning: the rolls will be thawed and soft by snack time, or in 20 seconds in the microwave.