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Lagniappe Bread Rolls

Source of Recipe

From "Mosquito Supper Club" by Melissa Martin


Recipe Introduction

"Timing is everything in both life and cooking. Maybe that's why I like kitchens and baking: on a good day, you can control the ingredients, process, and technique—the mixing of water and yeast, watching the dough rise and shaping it right before the fall, then finishing it in a precisely heated oven. These are my simple pleasures, yet it's a simple process mocked by the weather. In October, when the heat in Louisiana breaks, we call this weather 'lagniappe weather' (lagniappe means a little something extra). It's when the humidity ceases to exist and dough can rise at a tempered pace. In the hot summer months, a sixty-minute dough rise time is easily shortened to thirty minutes. And if you're not ready to bake, you have to put your dough in the icebox to slow down the rising process. No matter the weather, these rolls are very forgiving. They are the rolls that remind me of my childhood. They are the rolls that are on my aunts' tables on Sunday. Everyone makes them slightly different, but the end product is the same. This slightly sweet soft dinner roll can be eaten with everything from cane syrup to fried oyster sliders."

List of Ingredients

â—¦  3 cups warm water (105° to 110° F)
â—¦  ¼ cup honey
â—¦  3 tablespoons active dry yeast
â—¦  ¼ cup leaf lard, plus more for greasing
â—¦  1 tablespoon sea salt or kosher salt
â—¦  5 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
â—¦  1 cup freshly milled whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting
â—¦  1 egg yolk
â—¦  Splash of heavy cream
â—¦  Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling


Recipe

Place the warm water in a large bowl, add the honey and yeast, and stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to bloom. Add the lard and salt and stir to combine. Add the flours and stir to combine until the dough comes together and forms a manageable ball.

Turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface and begin kneading, adding flour a little at a time as needed so the dough doesn't stick to the surface. Incorporate the least amount of flour that you need to manage the dough. I like to knead my dough for 10 minutes (or three songs on my current favorite playlist). Let the dough sit for a minute while you wash and dry the bowl. Grease the bowl.

Put the dough in the greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel, and set in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Depending on the weather and strength of your yeast, this can happen way quicker than an hour. Watch that your dough does not rise too much and fall in on itself.

Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Using a bench scraper, divide the dough into 20 to 24 balls, about 1½ ounces of dough per ball. You can weigh them if you want them all to be exactly the same, but I usually just eyeball it.

Take one piece of dough and gently roll it into a ball, using a circular motion with the side of your hand. It's important not to have an overly floured surface or you won't have any resistance when rolling dough, and you need some resistance in order to give the dough shape. I use the sides of my hands flat on the surface with thumbs up and a circular motion to guide the dough ball toward my body. I never use the palm of my hand because that flattens the dough. The bottom of the ball should spiral inward, creating a tight seal. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Place the rolls in two cast iron skillets or two 9-inch square baking pans or casserole dishes of comparable size. The rolls should be touching each other. They will help each other rise. Set aside in a warm, draft-free spot to rise until doubled in size, 20 minutes to 1 hour.

Make an egg wash by mixing the egg yolk, heavy cream, and sea salt in a small bowl. Brush the wash on top of the rolls. Bake immediately for 45 to 50 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Pull the rolls from the oven, cover with a clean dish towel, and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 2 dozen rolls