French Bread Rolls

I made these rolls last night to go with our Chicken and Corn Chowder and they were yummy. More importantly, however, THEY WORKED!! I have no luck with bread, as I've mentioned before, but these rose beautifully. I loved kneading them. I'm sure it would've worked to knead them in my Bosch Mixer, but I did everything by hand. (It was very stress-relieving with the rhythmic motion!) They can be made when you have few ingredients on hand and for people who can't have milk or eggs.

These were easy to make and took about 2 hours from start to finish. They had the crunchy exterior and the soft interior like a loaf of french bread. I love that it made only one dozen - just right for our family dinner with a couple left over.

French Bread Rolls (yet another wonderful recipe from My Kitchen Cafe)

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart.

Cover the rolls with a damp cloth (or greased saran wrap), and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Bake for 12-13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. (Mine were ready after 10 minutes)

Have a taste with some homemade strawberry jam and you will be in heaven!