Garlic Butter Bread Rolls: Fills the Whole House with Aroma

🍞Ingredients: (Makes 12 rolls)

🎈Bread dough: Bread flour 450g, whole wheat flour 50g, water 295g (the photo shows 282g, but I added more during mixing for 295g total), sugar 15g, salt 5g, instant dry yeast 5g, olive oil 25g.

🎈Garlic butter filling: Butter 70g, 2 whole heads of garlic, a pinch of salt, chopped green onions.

🍞Method:

1️⃣ Place all dough ingredients except the olive oil into the mixer bowl and mix until the dough stretches into a thick membrane. Add the olive oil and mix until a relatively thin membrane forms (it does not need to reach a full Pullman-loaf windowpane). Shape the dough into a tight ball and place in a warm spot for the first proof.

2️⃣ While the dough is rising, prepare the garlic butter filling. Peel and finely mince the garlic. Melt the butter in a pan, add the minced garlic, and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant. Season with salt to taste, toss in the chopped green onions, turn off the heat, and let cool completely.

3️⃣ Once the dough has doubled in size, gently degas and turn it out onto your work surface. Cover with plastic wrap and bench rest for about 15 minutes (so it rolls out easily), then shape as shown in Photo 5.

4️⃣ My oven takes about 40 minutes to preheat, so right after shaping the rolls I start preheating the oven to 190°C while the rolls do their final proof.

5️⃣ Right before baking, brush with egg wash and sprinkle a little chopped green onion on top. Bake for about 18 minutes. Keep a close eye on the browning during the last few minutes; if the tops are still pale, move the baking sheet up one rack for the final 2 minutes to get a golden finish.

6️⃣ Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. I couldn't resist eating one piping hot right out of the oven because it smelled incredible!

🔅Helpful Tips:

1. Adjust the water amount based on your flour's absorption. Last time I made this, 280g of water was enough, whereas a different flour this time took 295g.

2. If you don't have whole wheat flour, you can use 100% bread flour. I like a hint of whole grain texture and flavor.

3. Let the garlic butter cool until it is semi-solid and spreadable before smearing it onto the dough. Never spread it while it is hot and liquid, or it will leak everywhere and be impossible to roll up neatly.

4. If you don't have olive oil, corn oil or another neutral vegetable oil works fine.

5. Every oven runs differently. If you aren't familiar with your oven's hot spots and calibration, watch closely near the end and adjust as needed.