I’m calling these semi-enriched. They’re also semi-sweet, but totally tasty and super soft. As an “optional extra” they can also have a crispy topping, something akin to a craquelin. I’m also calling them “breakfast rolls”, but who am I to tell you when to eat them? If only to put me in my place, please eat them for lunch or afternoon tea or maybe even with dinner.

Makes: 12 medium sized rolls

Time: Variable depending on choices taken and room temperature. You’ll need to set aside half a day, but much of that time you can be doing other things while the dough rises.

Level: No problem if you regularly make bread and not too difficult otherwise.

Need: A stand mixer is very useful, but not essential.

Ingredients

350ml liquid (I used 160ml milk, 160ml water & 30ml runny honey)
7g instant dried yeast
10g – 15g caster sugar (increase for sweeter roll.)
500g strong bread flour or Tipo 00
7g salt
50g soft butter
125g chopped dried apricots
75g flaked almonds
1 medium egg
About 20g ground almonds

Method

Prep: Line two large baking trays with parchment, dust with flour and set aside.

1. Measure the liquids into a jug and warm in the micro-wave to tepid. Stir in the instant yeast and sugar then set aside.

2. Tip the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer) and stir to mix.

3. If necessary warm the butter to soften it.

4. Make a well in the dry mixture then pour in the liquid and soft butter. Mix well, until a rough dough has begun to form.

5. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic. (6 – 8 minutes using the dough hook in a stand mixer, 12 – 15 minutes by hand.)

6. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Gently pull and stretch the edges of the dough over and onto the top of itself. Turn the bowl a few times while repeating this pulling and stretching technique. Turn the dough ball over. It should have a nice smooth and shiny rounded surface. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to prove for around 60 – 90 minutes depending on room temperature.

7. While the dough is proving, cut the apricots into small pieces and put them in a bowl with the flaked almonds.

8. When the dough has risen to twice its original volume, tip it onto a lightly floured surface.

9a. Choice 1: Flatten out the dough and spread the chopped apricots and flaked almonds evenly over the surface. Bring it into a ball, weigh the ball then divide into 12 equal pieces.

10a. Form each piece into a neat ball and place on the prepared trays well apart.

9b. Choice 2: Weigh the dough and divide into twelve balls. Scatter flour on your work surface and use a rolling pin or the floured heal of your hand to flatten each ball into a circle.

10b. Place a similar amount of chopped apricots and flaked almonds onto each round of dough then bring over the edges to enclose the mixture. Turn the dough ball over and tighten the outer surface using the palms of your hands in a cupping motion. Place on the trays, as above.

11. Place each tray inside a proving bag (i.e. a kitchen bin liner), inflate it, seal it and leave to prove again. This will be quicker than the first prove. After about 20 minutes, turn the oven on to reach 200°C / fan 180°C / 400°F / Gas 6.

12. Optional. Lightly beat the egg and stir in the ground almonds. You need to make a thick but spreadable paste. Brush this over the rolls. You could then cut two or three slashes on each roll with a sharp knife or razor blade. Or, take a risk and simply leave them uncut as the topping is likely to crack “interestingly”.*

*This is what I did and it turned out well. I’d like to say it was planned, but I actually forgot to cut slashes in the rolls.

13. Put the trays in the oven and bake for about 10 – 15 minutes. A few minutes before the time is up, I normally turn the trays around and/or swap them over onto different shelves – even though I use a fan oven.

I wish you every success with your bread making. I hope you give these tasty rolls a try. If you want to see more of my bread recipes click this link.