Dinner Rolls

I feel very happy when I see all sorts of assorted dinner rolls in the bakeries in Pune. Pune has wonderful Irani bakeries which specialize in all sorts of breads, cookies, cakes, pastries etc., so not many people venture into baking at home. The various shapes of buns & rolls do fascinate me but I have not yet come across a fish shaped bread roll..  I know the process to make various kinds of bread & dinner rolls is quite tedious & needs a lot of patience to master the art.. I bake bread, buns & rolls now & then. I love fish & seafood & when I saw the picture of fish shaped dinner rolls made by Fatima from Schee Culina, I just could’nt wait to try it out. But somehow making those beautiful dinner rolls got delayed for some reason or the other. All the while I kept thinking of that wonderful shape .. So at last I made them .. Thanks to Fatima for this wonderful recipe & the brilliant idea of the fish shape .. I thoroughly enjoyed making these rolls & my family loved it. They disappeared very quickly so next time I will make a bigger batch of these lovely rolls. Do try this recipe & enjoy it with family & friends. I’m sure your guests will love it too. J

11/2 cups Plain Flour

1 Egg (lightly beaten)

¼ tsp. Salt

2 tbsp. Vegetable Oil

1 tbsp. Active Dry Yeast

¼ cup Lukewarm Water

1tsp. + 1 tbsp. Sugar

Dissolve 1 tsp. sugar in lukewarm water & sprinkle yeast pwd. on it. (Don’t mix, only sprinkle). Keep aside in a warm place to froth for 5 mins.

In a sufficiently large bowl, mix together salt & 1 tbsp. sugar.

Make a well in the centre of the flour & pour the yeast mixture, oil & beaten egg.

Mix gently with your hands & knead the dough on a plain surface until smooth & elastic. Transfer the dough into the bowl & make a cut in the centre of the dough using a knife. (This helps the dough to rise quickly).

Lightly brush the dough with oil & cover the bowl with cling film.

Keep the bowl in a warm place until the dough doubles in size.

Grease your hands with oil & knead the dough once again.

Shape as you like & place on a baking tray lined with parchment.

Let it rest for another 5 mins.

Brush with egg yolk & bake in a pre-heated oven at 200C for 15 to 20 mins.

Divide the dough into 7 portions. Roll each part into a long strip & place on each other near the open ends. Make small cuts (using knife & fork to make mouth & tail). Sprinkle white/black sesame seeds to add scales & use black peppercorns to make the eyes. Glaze with egg yolk prior baking for a nice golden color. Glaze twice – once before putting in the oven & then 5 mins. before taking out of it.

Enjoy these wonderful buns plain/ with butter/jam or marmalade accompanied with a hot cup of tea or coffee or with any gravy of your choice. J