Milk and Honey Freezer rolls

These rolls are frozen unbaked, so you can pull them out, defrost them while the soup is cooking and bake them in a few minutes. Extra yeast is added to the dough so enough yeast survives freezing to enable the bread to rise when baked. (cost to make this recipe $2.58)

5½ cups plain flour
2 teaspoons salt
50g melted butter
2 sachets instant yeast
1½ cups warm milk
¼ cup honey
½ cup warm water – use more or less as required

In a large bowl combine the flour, salt and instant yeast and make a well in the middle.
Combine the honey, milk and water in a small pan and heat until warm but not hot. If you are not sure, hold your little finger in it and count to 10. If it’s uncomfortably hot by the time you get to 10, allow it to cool a little, if it doesn’t feel warm at all, heat it up.
Add the melted butter to the liquid and pour into the dry ingredients. Mix with a large metal spoon till combined then turn out onto a floured bench and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Dust with flour as you knead to prevent dough sticking.
Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic film or slip the bowl into a plastic bag and allow to rise until doubled. In a warm place this will take around an hour or use the microwave method.
Knead the risen dough lightly and divide into rolls – 12–18, depending on how dainty you want them.

The trick to making a perfect roll is to flatten the ball of dough slightly on a non-floury surface and circle with the palm of the hand. When you can feel that the ball of dough has “grabbed” bench then continue to circle but begin to cup your hand around it. The outer layer of the dough gets pulled smooth and tight around the ball and disappears in a neat little spiral on the base. This technique takes a little practice but is much quicker and gives a better result in the long run. I form mine in this manner, then elongate them slightly by rolling them back and forward to form an oblong. Place them onto a sheet of non stick baking paper and using a serrated knife cut a diagonal slash along the top of each roll. Allow them to rise until nearly double their original size then freeze them. When frozen they can be stored in a plastic bag in the freezer until required. (Up to one month, longer and they may not rise so well).

To bake the rolls, remove them from the freezer and allow them to defrost for roughly an hour. Don’t panic if they look a little deflated at this stage, they will experience “oven spring” when the heat of the oven kicks in. Preheat the oven to 200°. Place the rolls on a greased or floured tray – you can glaze them with milk if you want a crisper crust. Bake them for 20-15 minutes until well risen and lightly golden.