Swiss Soft Rolls

1. Oil 2 baking sheets and sprinkle them with flour or streak them with oil and line them with parchment paper.

2. The steps are described using a standing mixer with flat beater and dough hook attachments, but mixing by hand is also an alternative. If using a standing mixer, measure all the dry ingredients, except for the salt, into the mixer’s bowl. Using the flat beater attachment, mix everything together well.

3. Add the salt and mix again.

4. With the mixer set on a low speed, add the eggs, one at a time.

5. Slowly add a little over half of the water.

6. Increase the mixing speed and add the softened butter.

7. Increase the mixing speed again and continue adding the remaining water slowly.

8. Replace the flat beater attachment with the dough hook and knead the dough until it is elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

9. Shape the dough into rolls. (The one in the photo is formed from a piece of dough weighing about 50 grams and this is a good average size for these rolls.) To shape, roll each piece into a ball, pinching the dough together at the bottom to tighten the surface of the ball.

10. Place the balls on the baking sheets, either oiled and floured or lined with parchment paper. With scissors, cut a cross in the top of each of them.

11. If you want to complete the rolls right after making the dough and forming it into balls, spray the balls with water and let them rise until they have about doubled in size. They do not have to be covered. (Rising times vary. A good estimate is about 1 and 1/2 hours.)

12. While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 500ºF. When the rolls have risen, spray them with water again and sieve some flour over them.

13. Place a pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven, and a tray of rolls on the middle rack. Turn the oven temperature down to 400ºF and bake the rolls for 5 minutes. Open the oven door and spray the rolls. Bake another 5 minutes and spray the rolls again. Bake for a final 5 minutes. (Bake 1 sheet of rolls at a time if 2 trays will not fit together on the same oven rack. Standing at room temperature won’t harm the rolls that wait.) Remove the rolls to racks. Total baking time is 15 minutes.

Note: The rolls may be formed, and the crosses cut in them and then, instead of leaving them to rise and then baking them, they may be placed in the freezer on the prepared baking sheets. When the rolls are frozen hard, cover them with plastic wrap, and leave them in the freezer until the day you want to bake them. The rolls will thaw and rise in approximately 4 hours, but once risen and ready to bake, can wait at room temperature longer than that before going into the oven. (This dough isn’t delicate.) Just before putting them into the oven, spray the rolls with water and sieve flour over them. Then, bake according to the instructions above.