Continuing the months theme of "basics done well", I decided to try another batch of bread. The core recipe is identical to the basic bloomer I did a couple of weeks ago, but I changed some of the preparation to try and get a better looking product.
First off, rather than do the normal "prove in a warm place", I made the dough up on a Friday evening, and let it prove overnight in a cold kitchen (about 12-16'C). I was slightly concerned that I was going to come down in the morning to a yeast explosion, but what I found was a bowl
of well risen dough!
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F9S3W5BEbXY/VwIwMy_loEI/AAAAAAAAg64/hvHw2QO5r4cHZVnlJRXBWe-bSz5YTIPpQ/s200/IMG_20160402_070611-01.jpeg)
I then set about shaping the rolls... I knocked the dough down, split it into 12 equal portions by weight, then folded the dough to get a surface tension to the ball, before doing the "roll in a cupped hand" thing that you often see TV bakers doing. I only seem to be able to do that with my left hand, the right one doesn't want to do it. I find that having a small amount of flour on your hand, and none on the surface helps, as you get a recent rotation to the ball.
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PEF3R0V9tjY/VwIwMxAUYbI/AAAAAAAAg64/9QI7D76AL3sgkbHzkYIag_fhuBnBh-V2Q/s200/IMG_20160402_101304.jpg)
once they buns were shaped, I left them to prove again (once more in a cool'ish room), until they had doubled in size. After that I dampened the skin with a pastry brush, sprinkled them with flour, did a single cut across the top and put some poppy seeds in there for a bit of contrast.
They went into the oven for 18 minutes at 220'C, with about a pint of water in a tray at the bottom. The end result was a delicious bun with a good crust. Really pleased with them, as there was a good consistency across the batch, and very good texture. I had some bacon sitting around, and they went very well with that!
First off, rather than do the normal "prove in a warm place", I made the dough up on a Friday evening, and let it prove overnight in a cold kitchen (about 12-16'C). I was slightly concerned that I was going to come down in the morning to a yeast explosion, but what I found was a bowl
of well risen dough!
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F9S3W5BEbXY/VwIwMy_loEI/AAAAAAAAg64/hvHw2QO5r4cHZVnlJRXBWe-bSz5YTIPpQ/s200/IMG_20160402_070611-01.jpeg)
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e17xb3BAZYI/VwIwM697MxI/AAAAAAAAg64/PbGWHJ7Y_6w1ZUpTXPFbcyOeaS_bJRHag/s200/IMG_20160402_073801-01.jpeg)
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PEF3R0V9tjY/VwIwMxAUYbI/AAAAAAAAg64/9QI7D76AL3sgkbHzkYIag_fhuBnBh-V2Q/s200/IMG_20160402_101304.jpg)
once they buns were shaped, I left them to prove again (once more in a cool'ish room), until they had doubled in size. After that I dampened the skin with a pastry brush, sprinkled them with flour, did a single cut across the top and put some poppy seeds in there for a bit of contrast.
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-plvIJ0hY8sY/VwIwM23Yg9I/AAAAAAAAg64/FVD-LNXYRrQiaJmVW3Z-Vh0dsSfnYU3uA/s200/IMG_20160402_103609-01.jpeg)