This is my standard recipe on VOAHANGY for making soft bread rolls: you can shape them any way you wish and turn them into hamburger buns, hot dog rolls, even pizza dough! I occasionally tweak some of the ingredients too: milk can be replaced with water, the texture won’t be as soft. For a more wholesome taste, substitute 1 cup of wholemeal flour for the plain flour.

I use my breadmaker on board to make the dough then shape it and let it rise outside and bake in the oven. Of course the kneading can be done manually or in a food processor, the only difference being that you start with the solid ingredients then add the liquid ones.

Makes 8 hamburger or long rolls, 1 very large or 4 individual pizza bases.

Ingredients:

500g (4 cups) plain flour
280ml (1 1/3 cup) milk
50ml (4 tbsp) olive oil
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp bakers’s yeast (SAF style)
1 tsp salt

1. Assemble all liquid ingredients in the breadmaker’s tin first. Add salt to the milk mixture, so it doesn’t come into contact with the yeast (it will kill it otherwise). Add flour and yeast. Secure the tin in the machine, then put on the QUICK DOUGH cycle (45mn)
2. When the dough cycle is completed, take out of the breadmaker, turn out on a floured surface. Divide the dough in 8 portions and shape into hamburger or long rolls (for pizzas, divide into the number of bases required, and shape into thin discs).
3. Place the dough onto a lightly oiled baking tray, let rise for another 20-30mn (it will double in volume).
4. Pre-heat an oven to 180deg (up to 220deg depending on your oven, mine heats from the bottom and will burn the rolls if too hot!). Bake for 15-20 minutes.
5. Enjoy!

If you don’t use a breadmaker, replace step 1 with the following:

1. Dissolve the yeast in a little warm milk and leave for 10mn. In a large bowl, place the flour, the yeast mixture, salt and olive oil. Start mixing, adding the milk gradually until you end up with a soft ball. Knead for 15 minutes, you will obtain a smooth, slightly sticky ball. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place for 40 minutes ( on the galley bench is good enough while in the tropics, in colder climate, use the inside of the oven or wrap in a towel!) When the dough has risen, punch it to deflate, knead briefly on a floured surface, and proceed as in step 2.