Plain Rolls
Mould the dough into little round balls and place them just touching in the pans, slightly greased between. Rise an hour; bake 20 minutes; brush over with water when done. Keep hot without drying out or sweating the bottom on the iron pan.
We shall come to the more delicate sorts of rolls further on.
This is a shaping-and-baking note rather than a full formula: the dough is assumed from the plain bread recipe that precedes it in the book. Read it as pan-roll technique, and supply your own lean white bread dough.
- No dough is givenThe text assumes a plain bread dough already known to the reader. Any lean white bread dough will behave as described; the closing line defers "the more delicate sorts of rolls" to later pages, so richer doughs are evidently treated separately.
- Oven temperatureNone is given, as was usual before oven thermometers. For small pan rolls, a modern oven around 400-425F will suit the stated 20 minutes; watch the rolls rather than the clock, since the ball size is unspecified.
- "Just touching"This is the hinge. Rolls set close enough to fuse as they rise stay pale and soft on the sides and pull apart in a slab; spaced out, they brown all round and turn into hard rolls. Grease only the strips of pan between them, as written, so the sides climb rather than fry.
- Rise an hourAn hour assumes a warm room and a lively dough. Judge by the dough, not the clock: the balls should be visibly swollen, touching along their whole seam, and slow to spring back when pressed.
- Brushing with waterWater on hot crust steams off and leaves a thin, soft, faintly glossy skin. It is the plain-roll finish; milk gives more colour, egg gives shine, butter gives flavour and a softer crust still.
- Keeping them hotHis warning is practical. Rolls left sitting in the iron pan trap steam underneath and go soggy on the bottom; left uncovered in a warm place they dry out. Turn them out of the pan promptly onto a rack and cover loosely with a cloth.
- YieldThe recipe gives no quantities. As a rough guide, about 1 lb of flour will make a dozen small rolls, enough to fill one medium pan.