Easy Bread Maker Bread Rolls
Making bread rolls sounds like a lot of work, but it isn't. These rolls are incredibly easy to make. They are soft, delicious and cost a fraction of what supermarket rolls cost to buy.
We live where we work, 'above the shop'. So if I know we're having rolls for lunch, I put the ingredients into the bread maker around 9am. You then leave the bread maker to do all the work.
After about 2.5 hours, you pop the dough out, shape it into rolls and put on a baking tray (which takes about 3 minutes). By 12.30 the rolls are baked, ready for lunch.
Variations on the basic recipe
Sometimes I top them with seeds. If so, I brush them with a little milk so the seeds stick to the top. Or grind salt and pepper on the top. Or maybe some oats. Or some grated cheese (yum). Or just leave them as they are, just with a small dusting of flour. If you roll them into small balls and bake them until they're just cooked... you have dough balls like a certain Pizza restaurant. Dip them in garlic butter and swoon.
If you like a slightly denser, less soft roll, add a 50/50 mix of milk and water rather than 100% water. Sometimes I swap in some rye flour or strong wholemeal flour. No more than about 15-20% of the flour content, otherwise they don't rise as much. Or add in a bit of bran. Or oats. Or seeds in the dough as well as on top. So long as you don't switch more than 15-20% of the flour, I find the dough still rises perfectly and makes delicious rolls.
Varying the ingredient quantities and freezing
When I want 4 large sized baps for lunch I sometimes halve the recipe. Or I make the full batch and freeze half the dough. The dough freezes really well. Just pop the unbaked rolls in the freezer.
Take them out of the freezer about an hour before you need them. Half an hour and they will be defrosted, another half an hour and your rolls will have risen again and will be ready to bake.
Alternatively, bake all the rolls and then put the ones you don't need into the freezer on the day you bake them. They defrost beautifully and are ready to use, or 2 minutes in the oven perks them up even more.
Whatever you do to these homemade bread rolls they are quick, easy and delicious.
Using a bread maker to make dough
You can of course make this dough by hand rather than in a bread maker. However chucking all the ingredients into the pan and leaving the bread maker to make the dough whilst I do something else appeals to my 'multi tasking' side.
My bread maker of choice is the Panasonic SD-2500
When we first got it we used to bake bread in it all the time. I tend to use it more now for mixing the dough and then shaping it to make rolls, focaccia bread and other non-standard loaf shapes.
Of course the machine also bakes bread beautifully. And nothing quite beats putting your ingredients into your bread maker at night, and waking up to freshly baked bread.
Bread Yeast
I like Doves Farm Quick Yeast
And make sure your yeast is in date, otherwise your dough may not rise at all. Don't ask me how I know this.
Homemade Breadmaker Bread Rolls
Get ready to have bread rolls baked and ready to eat in no time flat. With very little work.
- 1 tsp Fast Action Dried Yeast
- 450 g Strong White Flour
- 1/2 tsp Sugar
- 25 g butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 medium egg
- 250 ml water
- 1 tbsp milk (if you intend to add seeds)
- 1 tbsp seeds (sesame seeds, poppy seeds or similar small seeds which will stick to the top)
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Place all the ingredients into your bread maker apart from the milk and seeds at the end, which will be going on top. If you have a 'dry ingredients first' bread maker, put them in the order above. Otherwise, reverse it.
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Select the appropriate menu setting for 'dough' and leave your bread maker to it. If your bread maker is similar to mine, it will take just under two and a half hours to make the dough.
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Preheat your oven to 220 degrees C/425 degrees F/Gas mark 7. Remove the dough from the bread maker and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape them into rounds.
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Put the dough balls on to a greased baking tray, or one lined with baking parchment. Cover lightly with a clean tea towel or cling film, allowing room for them to rise. Leave them to prove for 20 minutes until about doubled in size.
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Brush them lightly with milk and add sesame seeds on top, sticking them to the milk. Or if you don't want seeds, just dust with flour.
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Bake in your preheated oven for 15 minutes until golden brown. I set my timer for 10 minutes and keep checking in case they catch.
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Hi Lynette, I haven’t made them entirely with wholemeal flour, I would imagine you would have to leave them for longer to rise and they wouldn’t be as soft. I have made them 50/50 though, again not quite as risen but equally delicious!
Can I use whole meal flour for these rolls instead?
Brilliant Justine, glad to hear it! Lovely aren’t they?
Made the rolls and my family loved them. Really light and springy, will definitely use recipe again and again.
Good luck Ann, hope you like them!