And today, thanks to our Monday Light and Tasty feature, here’s a new batch of rolls for you. 😊 Today we’re talking about recipes cooked with alternative cooking methods, the perfect topic for me to tell you about when I baked my stuffed rolls in the air fryer.

Cooking stuffed rolls in the air fryer was one of the first experiments I did with this new (new at the time) appliance. I did a proper test because baking rolls at home is a recurring activity, so it was necessary to also test the air fryer.

The result was more than satisfactory, with one caveat 😊 which is why in my opinion, baking bread, and in this case stuffed rolls, in the air fryer should be considered an alternative cooking method. Not because the baking doesn’t go well, on the contrary, but because you can only cook three rolls at a time, and in my house, this certainly can’t be the usual method! 😄

The number of three rolls is not my decision, but it’s the capacity limit. My air fryer is the mini model (2 liters), but I know that air fryers of this size are very common, so I imagine others have faced this same ‘dilemma’. Especially if it happens to you that at least three of the four family members eat the three rolls to taste before the meal. Things like: “what kind of bread – yum – did you make today? – and yum, and yum – and where are the other rolls?” 😅

So I decided to do this: although the photos I’ll show in the procedure are from that first trial production (a total of eleven rolls), I recalculated and re-prepared a small dough with which to make only three rolls. If you have a larger fryer, you just need to double the doses (or triple or quadruple them, but I’m not sure if there are air fryers as large as a traditional oven, I guess not, but I’m eager to find out more).

All this, because to bake those eleven rolls, I had to make four batches at the time. It’s true that from the second batch onwards, the time decreases slightly – because the first round pays the price of a couple of minutes of heating the resistance – but in the end, it doesn’t make sense anyway.

Beyond the economic calculation of consumption (which I didn’t do), by convenience I mean the ergonomics of work, in short, the time it takes to complete the whole procedure: since you have to open and close the basket every five minutes, turn the rolls, raise and lower the temperature… in short, you have to be there available for the cooking for an hour, and I don’t have the time or patience to cook this way. Ergo, as we all already knew, air fryers are fabulous for many reasons and uses, but 2-liter ones are too small for a family of four.

And so my dear friends, today I dedicate this recipe to those who have to (or simply want to) bake a maximum of three rolls!

Are you single? Are you on a diet? Do you want to test your air fryer that you still have closed in the box? Or do you want to try just out of curiosity? Have you always given up on baking or even given up on sourdough because for you, baking only three rolls in the oven is too large and not convenient? Well, now you know that for just three little rolls, you can use the fryer with excellent results, oh yeah! 💪

Hey, aren’t I good as a promoter oh! 😄

🤣

And after you’ve tried with the rolls, take a look at these other air fryer recipes of mine. For the same reasons… you can’t miss them!!

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Very economical
Rest time: 8 Hours
Preparation time: 5 Minutes
Portions: 3
Cooking methods: Air frying
Cuisine: Anti-waste
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients for 3 Stuffed Rolls

1 cup flour (choose between 0, type 1, and manitoba)
2.8 oz liquid sourdough starter (licoli)
3.5 tbsp water
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1.1 oz cheese (to taste)
Half slice cooked ham
1 tsp poppy seeds (level)

Tools

Air Fryer Airy Fryer Mini

Steps to Prepare and Cook 3 Stuffed Rolls in the Air Fryer

Premise: naturally, the rolls can be made either stuffed or plain. The ones you see in the photos are mixed, and there are more than three (as explained in the introduction) because the photos are from the day I did the cooking test, while in the ingredient list I included the weights to make three stuffed rolls, one with cheese, one with cooked ham, and one with poppy seeds.

Pour all the ingredients into a bowl and knead to obtain a soft and elastic dough.
(Since it’s a very small dough, it is advisable to knead by hand.)
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or a lid).
Let the dough rise in a sheltered place (I put it in the microwave) and wait for it to double.
👉 For rising times, I refer you to the rolled rolls recipe. The fact that this is a small dough doesn’t substantially change the rising times, but in summary: 6-8 hours at room temperature and with active licoli, 10-12 hours with excess. Optionally, rest in the fridge for 6-12 hours (as needed) in this case wait a couple of hours before cooking.
When the dough has doubled, transfer it to a floured cutting board and divide it into three pieces.
Flatten and stretch each piece of dough. In your preferred way: with a rolling pin or with the fingertips or by pulling from the short sides.
☝ Handle the dough gently.
Cover the dough strip with pieces of cheese or ham or poppy seeds (or something else of your choice).
Roll the dough starting from one of the short sides.
☝ When rolling, close the filling inside the roll (this caution mainly applies to the cheese) taking care not to compress the dough too much.
Place the rolls in the air fryer basket. (The photo of the raw rolls placed in the basket is missing, I’ll add it when I redo the recipe).
You can lay the rolls directly on the perforated grid (I did so), as the grid is non-stick, the rolls won’t stick during cooking. But if you want, you can cover the grid with a piece of parchment paper.
👉 In air fryer models like mine or similar, the grid must be inserted (and rest) at the bottom of the basket.
☝ For using parchment paper in the air fryer, I recommend not leaving the paper with too long tips because they could catch fire during operation. Always cut the tips. There are special paper baskets available on the market for air fryers (but also microwaves): these are sized for a basket with a 16 cm base.
Start the air fryer at 392°F for 5 minutes.
Then lower the temperature to 356°F and continue for another 5 minutes.
The cooking of the rolls at this point seems optimal,
but in reality, it is not, there is still a third step: turn the rolls upside down, then cook again at 392°F for another 5 minutes.
As you can see in the following photo, for the cheese rolls I had also tried to put the cheese on the surface. And the browning turned out perfect.
Let me know if this bread cooking method works for you! I’m curious to know your opinions!
🤗

Salt-Free Tips

Salt-Free No salt in this recipe, also because cheese and ham do a good job as flavor enhancers, without the need for further sodium additions. 😊

If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
– Gradually decrease the salt; the palate needs to get used to it gradually and shouldn’t notice the progressive reduction.
– Use spices. Chili pepper, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
– Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
– Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
– Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
– Use my salt-free vegetable granules
– Prefer fresh foods.
– Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
– Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
– Occasionally allow yourself to break the rule. It is good for your mood and helps perseverance.

If you don’t want, or can’t, give up salt:
You can still try my recipes salting according to your habits.