I love those small rolls served at buffets. You can enjoy more than one, perhaps with different fillings, and not feel guilty thanks to their small size. I tried to recreate them at home my way. This recipe contains neither eggs nor butter and is suitable for making both sweet and semi-sweet preparations. You can prepare them in advance, even the day before, because they don’t lose their characteristic softness due to a small amount of yeast and a good 3 risings. But don’t be afraid because the process is very simple. You just need to be patient and you’ll achieve an excellent result. Additionally, we can either freeze them raw or after they’ve been cooked, to use them as needed.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 5 Hours
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 10/12 rolls
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup All-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Fresh yeast
- 1/4 cup Water
- 2 1/8 cups Bread flour
- 2/3 cup All-purpose flour
- Pre-ferment dough
- 2/3 cup Water
- 1/3 cup Vegetable oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Wildflower honey
Preparation
Let’s prepare the pre-ferment or ‘lievitino’.
In a bowl, sift the flour and crumble the fresh yeast well into it. Add the water and mix to obtain a well-combined mixture. Seal the bowl with cling film and wait for it to double in size.
Let’s prepare the actual roll dough.
In a large bowl, place the doubled pre-ferment, the two sifted flours, and half of the indicated water. Start kneading to combine the pre-ferment with the flour.
Once the pre-ferment is absorbed, add the honey, salt, oil, any flavors, and the water, which we’ll pour in slowly. Knead and add water only if deemed necessary. The final dough’s consistency should be soft, pleasant to work with, but neither mushy nor hard. Knead the dough for about ten minutes by hand (less if using a mixer) until you get a smooth dough, in which all ingredients are well combined, as seen in the first photo. Let it rest for an hour. This way, we can divide the dough into small rolls without problems.
After the time has elapsed, take the dough and divide it into small balls of the desired size and shape. Form our rolls by breaking off small pieces of equal weight (about 1.2/1.8 oz), roll them with the palm of your hand, placing them spaced about two fingers apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let them rise until doubled. Before baking the rolls, we can brush them with water, or slightly beaten egg white or yolk and add flaxseeds, poppy seeds, etc. We can place the rolls in paper cups and bake them to make them even more practical to transport or decorative.
Once well risen, turn on the oven and preheat it to 320°F.
Bake them in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes, paying attention to the baking since each oven has different baking times and temperatures. My oven is gas and bakes only from the bottom, so when I notice the bottom of the rolls has turned golden, I take one out and open it (even if the top of the roll is not browned). If the inside is cooked, well-alveolated, then I turn off the oven and place them under the grill for a few minutes to brown the top as well. Then I take them out and let them cool on a rack. Once cold, I stuff them or freeze them.
