Easy Sandwich Rolls

When it comes to a good easy sandwich roll, a homemade one is hard to beat. Finding a great recipe is also a bit of a challenge.

I wanted a recipe that didn’t require an overnight sponge or two rising times. I wanted a recipe that could be done in just a couple of hours and have good texture and great flavor.

The recipe had to be versatile and most of all, fun.

First is the recipe as I made it and after, is a basic recipe that can be modified easily to give youSandwich Rolls a whole bunch of different results.

With practice, you could have these ready to eat within 2 hours.

Easy Sandwich Rolls

Ingredients

  • 1 cup non fat milk
  • 5 ounces water
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 2 ounces butter
  • 1 egg at room temperature, beaten
  • 3 cups AP flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup mixed grains and seeds; soaked in 1/4 cup water
  • 2-1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • Wash and topping:
  • 1 egg yolk with 1 Tablespoon water
  • Sesame and poppy seeds and coarse salt

Method:

Remove the egg from the refrigerator and crack it into a bowl. Beat it slightly with a fork, set it aside to come to room temperature.

Heat the milk, water and honey with the butter just until the butter melts. Cool until the temperature falls below 120°F then beat in the egg.

Measure 2 cups of AP flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. On low-speed, add the cooled milk mixture until a dough forms.

Slowly add the remaining flour a bit at a time. The dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl and will not be sticky when enough flour has been added. You may need to add additional flour beyond what is called for in the recipe.

Once a soft non sticky ball has formed, knead for 5-8 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Zero a scale and weigh the dough mass. Determine how many ounces of total weight you have. You can determine how many rolls to make in one of two ways.

1. Divide the total weight in ounces by how many rolls you need. Then cut off dough balls that of that weight and all rolls will be the same size.

2. Decide how large you want the rolls. The rolls featured are 3.2 ounce dough balls.

Seeded Sandwich Rolls

  • small slider rolls – 2 ounces – bake 10-12 minutes
  • sandwich or burger size rolls – 3.2 ounces – bake 12-14 minutes
  • large sandwich rolls – 4 ounces – bake up to 20 minutes
  • Hot Dog Buns: 4 ounce rolled into oblong shape, slice open on top or side – bake up to 20 minutes

As the dough balls are weighed, round each dough ball to create a smooth top. Place them 3 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle a bit of cornmeal under the rolls.

Place the smooth dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet, cover with a piece of plastic wrap that has been sprayed with non-stick oil. Let the rolls rise until they double in size – in a warm kitchen this may take 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 400°F

Once the rolls have risen, glaze them gently with egg yolk and sprinkle with seeds. The egg yolk helps the seeds stick and gives a nice shine to the finished roll. Brush the egg yolk on with a brush, being careful not to deflate the risen roll.

Bake the rolls in a 400°F oven for 12-15 minutes; 10-12 for the small rolls and up to 20 minutes for the larger rolls.

Verify internal temperature has reached 210°F and then cool the rolls on a rack. Be sure to space them so they don’t become soggy while cooling.

The final internal temperature should reach 210°F for any size.

Once the rolls have cooled, slice them open and fill with your favorite sandwich filling. The rolls are tender, absorbent to hold juicy fillings without getting messy, taste really good and look fantastic.

Once you see how easy it is to make these sandwich rolls, you’ll make them again and again.

BBQ Chicken Sandwich on a Sandwich Roll with Cabbage and Kale Slaw and Sweet Pickle Chips

BBQ Chicken Sandwich on a Sandwich Roll with Cabbage and Kale Slaw and Sweet Pickle Chips

Plain White Sandwich Rolls

Ingredients

  • 1 cup non-fat milk
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 2 ounces butter, melted
  • 1 room temperature egg, beaten
  • 4 1/2 cups bread or AP flour
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Follow the same directions as the multi-grain rolls.

Use different toppings or slash the tops of some rolls for different looks.

If you use dried minced onions or dried minced garlic on the top of the unbaked rolls, be sure to soak the dried onions or garlic in a small amount of water before using as a topping. If they are not hydrated, they will burn and taste bitter.

Try adding cheese or shredded zucchini in place of butter to the recipe.

Use them as dinner rolls, give a bag to your neighbor.

To me one of the best parts of a sandwich is good bread. This is a great start.

Try them and let me know what you think and if you tried anything different.

Sandwich rolls

Sandwich rolls

Pâté de Fruit et “Pâté du Vin”

These gleaming tender fruit gems known as “Pâté de Fruit” are delicious and irresistible. There are so many different recipes for these fruit geleés. If you want a real quality product, use a recipe that includes glucose syrup and pectin rather than gelatin.

These are considered quite a special gift and if purchased, this quality could be expensive.

Remember “Chuckles” candy from your childhood? Those are similar to fruit geleé but they had gelatin.

Gelatin, in my opinion, leaves the geleés much too “tough” and bouncy. The whole concept is for the geleé to have a slight tooth that melts into a pool of exploding fruit or wine flavor. There should be nothing to chew, just a lovely melting in your mouth and the slight crunch of the coating sugar.

The actual time required to make these isn’t much but it needs your full attention for about 20-30 minutes.

You have to whisk constantly while the mixture is on the heat. Then act fast after you remove it from the heat because the geleé mixture sets quickly.

Have everything you need ready to pour. After you pour the cooked mixture into the desired mold, let it sit for at least 8 hours, or longer, to set.

Do not refrigerate. Refrigeration will melt the sugar on the geleés.

So, Here’s how you do it

Please weigh all ingredients.

If you don’t have a small digital scale, go buy one. It is essential if you are serious about baking. They are not expensive but you can pay as much as you want to for one.

Wine or Fruit Geleé “Pâté de Vin/Fruit”

  • 3 ounces unsweetened applesauce
    • Spread it out on a parchment lined sheet pan. Place it in a preheated 200°F oven for 30 minutes. This is to evaporate some of the moisture out of the applesauce. Scrape it up with a bench scraper or spatula and put it into a heavy bottomed sauce pan with the following ingredients:
  • 8 ounces wine OR smooth and strained fruit puree (raspberry, strawberry, mango, passion fruit, pineapple, etc.)
  • 1 ounce light Karo syrup made without High Fructose Corn Syrup or use glucose syrup
  • One  3-ounce package liquid pectin or 3 ounces powdered pectin (not the one for low sugar)
  • 12 ounces granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 8 ounces granulated sugar for dusting the finished geleé

While applesauce is drying in the oven, prepare the mold you want to use. Spray it with non-stick pan spray or line it with parchment paper. Leave an overhang to make removing the geleé from the pan easy.

Blend the wine or fruit puree with the applesauce, syrup, liquid pectin in a heavy bottomed sauce pan.

If using powdered pectin, mix it with a small amount of the sugar to help prevent clumping.

Over high heat, while whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a boil.

Add half of the sugar, once it melts and nears boiling, add the remaining sugar.

Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Whisk constantly to avoid scorching and clumping.

Add the lemon juice.

Working quickly, pour into desired molds, smooth with a spatula, cover with an oiled parchment paper and let sit for 8-12 hours.

If you made one pan, remove the geleé to a cutting board and cut into desired shapes.

If you used candy or silicone molds remove them carefully from the molds.

Dip each geleé into sugar to coat. Serve or place in an airtight container and hold them at room temperature for several months.

If you like these and enjoy making fruit geleés, check out  Passion Fruit Geleés by Savory Simple.

Our recipes area similar and she has cups and tablespoon measurements on her recipe for Passion Fruit Geleé.

Enjoy making and eating these tender morsels of Pâté de Fruit or Pâté de Vin. I think they are quite special.