tender is the bread
This featherbed bread, with its silky crumb and substantive butter-and-egg focus, has a captivatingly light, feathery style. You will recognize its briochelike structure by the set of ingredients and the method, though the procedure has been modified in order to create bread that does not require an overnight chill to establish a certain texture and flavor.
However, if your schedule allows (or requires), feel free to turn the prepared dough (after the first lengthy rise at cool room temperature) into a jumbo self-sealing food-safe plastic bag and store it in the refrigerator for 18 to 24 hours, then proceed to form it into rolls, counting on an extra hour or so for the cold dough to elevate to full potential.
The simple but good hot rolls happen to be my idea of classic (and fairly upgraded) American dinner rolls—a dough that elevates butter to star status in a way different from the featherbed bread. It may be on the rising slope (that is, high end) of roll doughs, but it is my front-runner, go-to roll, so good with meat loaf, roasted chicken, beefy stew—you get the picture. It is also a fine midnight roll, freshly baked and torn open, its surfaces coated all over with jam.
Once the rolls are tucked into a linen cozy or enveloped in a casual paper cone, you will have the scent and taste of homemade on your table—literally. To me, handmade bread is the true symbol of home.
featherbed bread
serving: three 5-inch breads, creating 4 servings each (each bread is composed of 4 rolls that hug one another)
ahead: best on baking day; or freeze for 3 weeks, defrost, bundle in aluminum foil, and reheat in a preheated 300 degrees F oven for 10 minutes
light and buttery dough
sponge
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons warm (105 to 110 degrees F) water
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
foundation dough
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups unsifted bleached all-purpose flour blended with 1 teaspoon salt
butter and flour for the finishing dough
1/2 pound (16 tablespoons or 2 sticks) cool unsalted butter
1/2 cup unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
egg yolk and milk glaze
1 large egg yolk
pinch of granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons milk
For the sponge, stir together the yeast, the 1/4 teaspoon sugar, and the warm water in a heatproof measuring cup. Allow the mixture to stand until swollen, 6 to 7 minutes.
Turn the yeast mixture into a small mixing bowl. Stir in the 3 tablespoons sugar and the 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons flour. Mix well. Cover the bowl with a sheet of food-safe plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in volume (the surface will be bubbly).
For the foundation dough, scrape the sponge mixture into the bowl of a heavy-duty freestanding electric mixer. Blend in the eggs, mixing with a wooden spoon or flat wooden paddle. Stir in the 3 cups flour-salt blend in 3 additions. The dough will be quite shaggy, with distinct patches of flour that have not been absorbed as yet. Set the bowl in place and attach the flat paddle. Mix to form a dough, beating on moderately low speed for 10 minutes. The dough will be quite smooth and supple at this point.
For the finishing dough, place the butter on a dinner plate and smear it with the heel of your hand. Divide the butter into 8 portions. Mix the butter into the dough, a portion at a time, beating on moderately low to moderate speed until absorbed (about 1 minute) before adding the next amount. The dough will be elastic and very sticky, and will resemble a dense, tacky batter. From time to time in the beating process, stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. Turn off the mixer and sprinkle over the 1/2 cup flour. Beat the dough on moderate speed for 3 minutes. At this point, the dough should be supple and will barely clean the sides of the mixing bowl, leaving a thin, streaky film, and it will not detach from the bottom of the mixing bowl.
Scrape the dough into a bowl heavily coated with softened unsalted butter, lightly turn to coat all sides in a film of butter, make several cuts in the dough with a pair of kitchen scissors, cover tightly with a sheet of food-safe plastic wrap, and let rise at cool room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Uncover the dough and lightly compress by folding it over on itself 3 or 4 times, using your fingertips. Cover the dough and let stand for 15 minutes.
Film the inside of three 5 by 5 by 3-inch baking pans with nonstick flour-and-oil spray.
To form the rolls, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 12 even-size pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a tight ball. Place 4 balls of dough in each of the prepared baking pans, assembling them in two rows of 2 each.
Cover each pan of bread loosely with a sheet of food-safe plastic wrap. Let the breads rise at room temperature for 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours, or until almost doubled in bulk. The sections will merge as they rise, filling the gaps in the pans.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F in advance of baking.
Remove and discard the sheets of plastic wrap covering the breads about 15 minutes before completely risen.
For the glaze, whisk the egg yolk, sugar, salt, and milk in a small mixing bowl.
Brush the glaze on top of each risen bread. Let stand 2 minutes, then brush on a second coat. Continue to let the breads finish rising, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Bake the breads in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until set and a golden color on top. The baked bread will pull away slightly from the sides of the baking pans. Place the pans on cooling racks and let stand for 10 minutes. Invert the breads onto other cooling racks. Lift off each pan, then invert the breads again to stand right side up. Serve the bread very fresh, pulling apart the sections at their natural seams.
notes
• the best piece of equipment for glazing the tops of the breads is a croissant basting brush—with its long and soft but sturdy bristles—made by Carlisle (#40377)
• the rolls are arranged and baked in three 5 by 5 by 3-inch baking pans; two 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking pans may be substituted, creating smaller rolls and a larger yield (divide the dough into 24 balls and assemble 12 balls in three rows of 4 in each pan), reducing the baking time by 4 to 5 minutes
simple but good hot rolls
serving: 2 dozen rolls
ahead: best on baking day; or freeze for 3 weeks, defrost, bundle in aluminum foil, and reheat in a preheated 300 degrees F oven for 10 minutes
gently puffy yeast dough
41/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup warm (105 to 110 degrees F) water
11/4 cups milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size chunks
3 large egg yolks
4 cups unsifted bleached all-purpose flour, plus an additional 2 tablespoons, as needed for kneading
1 cup unsifted unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
butter roll
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter (preferably clarified), melted and cooled to tepid
salt finish (optional)
about 1 teaspoon coarse salt, for sprinkling on the risen unbaked rolls
For the dough, stir together the yeast, the 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and the warm water in a heatproof measuring cup. Allow the mixture to stand until swollen, 6 to 7 minutes.
In the meantime, place the milk, the 1/3 cup sugar, and the chunks of butter in a small saucepan, set over low heat, and warm until the butter melts. Remove from the heat, whisk well, scrape into a medium-size heatproof bowl, and let stand for 7 to 8 minutes to cool to tepid. Whisk in the egg yolks. Blend in the yeast mixture.
Whisk the 4 cups bleached flour, unbleached flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In another large mixing bowl, place 3 cups of the flour mixture, add the milk-butter-egg-yeast mixture, and stir to mix; the mixture will resemble a thick batter at this point. Let the batter stand, uncovered, for 4 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 cups of the flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time. Knead the dough on a lightly floured work surface for 8 to 9 minutes, or until quite smooth, using up to 2 tablespoons extra flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. The dough should be moderately firm and slightly bouncy.
Turn the dough into a bowl heavily coated with softened unsalted butter, lightly turn to coat all sides in a film of butter, cover tightly with a sheet of food-safe plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
Remove and discard the plastic wrap. Lightly compress the dough with your fingertips or a rubber spatula, and let stand for 5 minutes.
Film the inside of a 13 by 9 by 3-inch baking pan with softened unsalted butter.
To form the rolls, divide the dough into 24 even-size pieces. Roll each piece on the work surface in the cupped palm of your hand into a smooth ball.
For the butter roll, pour the melted butter into a shallow bowl. One at a time, gently roll the dough ball in the butter. The dough balls will be glossy-looking. Arrange the buttered dough balls in the prepared baking pan, assembling them in four rows of 6 each.
Cover the pan of rolls loosely with a sheet of food-safe plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise at room temperature for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until doubled in bulk and puffy.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F in advance of baking.
Remove and discard the sheet of plastic wrap covering the rolls. Sprinkle the tops of the rolls with the coarse salt, if you wish.
Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until set and quite golden on top. The rolls will rise high, filling the pan completely.
Place the pan on a cooling rack and let stand for 20 minutes. Detach the rolls from the pan in groups of 4 or 6, using two small offset metal spatulas, then lift them out of the pan for serving. Or, invert the pan of rolls onto another cooling rack, then invert again to cool right side up. Serve the rolls warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container.
notes
• clarified butter, used for rolling and coating the dough balls, makes for the freshest butter taste and best (non-speckled) appearance on baking
• the rolls are arranged and baked in a 13 by 9 by 3-inch baking pan; two 9 by 9 by 2-inch square baking pans may be substituted
