Baps or morning rolls in the breadmaker

Most of us home bakers have a gaggle of well used recipes to bake a variety of bread for our families. I am no different. These are soft white bread rolls that the English call Baps and the Scots call morning rolls. I often use wholemeal flour instead of white and these photographed are wholemeal. They're nothing fancy, just an all purpose roll that are easier for children to eat than a crusty roll. The rolls are perfect for lunch boxes, for a hearty bacon and egg roll or sausage on a roll for a Saturday family lunch in winter, or for salad rolls all around in summer. These rolls are a great accompaniment for soup and that is why I made these on the weekend. We had them with our sweet potato and pumpkin soup.

The other thing to point out is that there is another common recipe for Baps using vegetable oil or butter but no milk. I prefer the recipe using milk. To make these rolls soft and light you need a small amount of fat; it also makes the dough easy to handle and shape.  Using milk instead of butter or oil gives you enough fat from the milk for the lightness and flavour, but without the two tablespoons of fat the other recipe advises. 

The recipe will make up 12 small or 8 large rolls.

• 2 level teaspoons dry yeast 
• 2/3 cup lukewarm full cream milk
• 2/3 cup lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups unbleached white (or wholemeal) flour, plus a little extra for shaping and finishing

Activate the yeast in the warm water for ten minutes before starting. This not only ensures you're using active yeast, it also helps the ingredients combine.

Add the flour and salt to the bread machine bucket, then the liquid ingredients, including the activated yeast in the warm water. Turn the machine on to the dough setting. When the ingredients are mixed together, check to make sure the dough is neither too dry nor too wet.  Adjust if necessary with more flour or a small dash of water.

When the cycle finishes, it will already have done the first proofing and the dough will have been punched down in the machine. Now you can take it out, cut and shape it then put it on the baking sheet to rise. When you remove the dough from the bucket, it should be light, springy and smooth. On a lightly floured board or bench, roll the dough into a large sausage shape and cut it in two. Take one piece and roll it until it's a long sausage shape. Cut it in half, half again and half again. If you want large rolls, cut it into fewer portions. When you have each piece of dough, fold the sides into the bottom so you have a well rounded top. Place all the firmly formed rolls on the baking sheet. If you want to brush with egg wash, do that now, but traditionally these rolls have a lightly floured top.  Bake in a pre-heated hot oven at about 220C/430F until they're brown on the top and smell ready.

 TIP:  Always handle the finished dough gently. It's fine to be a bit rough when you're kneading but when the dough is ready to bake, it's very delicate. Dropping it or bashing the tray against anything might cause the dough to deflate. When you've got the dough ready to go in the oven, treat it like a new born baby.

This recipe will also make up very nice fruit buns. To make them use the recipe above with the addition of a tablespoon of soft butter, two tablespoons of sugar and a cup full of dried fruit.

Thanks for your visit today. I hope you had a good weekend and, like me, are looking forward to a productive week. :- )