Rolls

Ingredients

• a quart or three pints of ferment
• an ounce of butter for each pint of ferment
• the whites of three or four eggs
• an additional half-ounce of butter for each egg

Method

1. 1

   Add butter to the roll-sponge, then work in the egg whites and flour gradually.

2. 2

   Shape into rolls and place in a pan to rise.

3. 3

   Bake until done, testing for doneness by pressing the soft part.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Cooking and castle-building (1880) by Emma P. Ewing, Marietta McPherson Greenough, page 11. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

rolls we have here a quart or three pints of ferment, into which we stir flour, the same as for bread. In every case be careful to have the flour warm, so that the fermentation may not be checked. Should you, at any time, find the fer- ment or sponge has received a chill, and is slow in its action, add the necessary warmth, not by placing it over a hot range, or close to the stove, where the heat will be extreme at some points, but by putting the bowl containing the sponge in a pan of warm water, and stirring it until the whole mass of dough becomes of an even temper- ature. When this roll-sponge is thick enough to be worked by the hand, add to it an ounce of but- ter, or lard, for each pint of ferment. If you desire to have rolls light and spongy, work them at least half an hour in the bowl, adding flour very grad- ually. Then place the dough upon the moulding- board and knead it well, adding flour only as is necessary to prevent it from sticking to the board and hands. The appearance of blisters upon the dough is an indication that it is well worked. Havinir washed and warmed the bowl, and greased STILL DABBLING IN DOUGH. 33 it with sweet lard or butter, return the dough to it, and let it rise. When light, loosen the dough from the edge of the bowl and it will come out clean. If the greasing is omitted, the dough ad- heres, and must be scraped from the bowl and then rubbed from the fingers by means of flour. This covers the moulding-board with little hard w^•lds, unfit to be worked into bread at this stage. " Bring the dough quickly, with a few pressures, into a compact roll, and lay it aside. Cut from it a piece the size of a small loaf, and divide this into eight or ten parts ; mould each in a round shape ; and then, by rolling quickly back and forth under your hands, bring it into a long roll- form. Give the ends an extra roll, which points them slightly. Place at one end of the bread-pan, and proceed in like manner to fill the pan with rolls. It is well to flour the sides of the rolls where they touch each other, as that will keep them from running together ; and, when baked, they are easily separated. Cover, and when very light, bake the same as twist. They are nice re- heated. To ascertain if they are done, test them the same as bread ; and if you are still in doubt, separate one from its fellows and press the finger against the soft part. If it retain the impression of the finger, it is not done. When baked suffi- ciently, all bread, when the finger is pressed 34 COOKING AND CASTLE-BUILDING. against it, will rebound as soon as the pressure is withdrawn. " When you wish to astonish your friends with a marvel of delicate lightness in rolls, add to the dough, when worked nearly enough to go on the moulding-board, the whites of three or four eggs, beaten to a stiif froth, and an additional half-ounce of butter for each egg

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.