Bread rolls
Works in the UK and the US. This version uses US words and measures (stove, cups, °F); the UK version uses hob, grams and gas marks. · UK version of this page
Real bread: mixing, kneading, rising and shaping – and the science of yeast.
- Makes 8
- About 2 hr 30 min
- Oven
- Best for: Grades 6–8 (ages 11–14)
- Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 500 g (about 4 cups) bread flour – contains wheat or gluten
- 7 g instant yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 300 ml (about 1¼ cups) hand-warm water
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Cup measures are approximate – weighing is more accurate. Need a different amount? Use the recipe scaler.
Equipment
- kitchen scale
- liquid measuring cup
- large mixing bowl
- clean dish towel or plastic wrap
- baking sheet
- oven mitts
- cooling rack
Safety first
- Wash your hands for 20 seconds.
- Clean and flour the work surface before kneading.
- Ask about allergies: bread flour contains gluten.
Allergens: Wheat (and other grains with gluten). Always read every label and ask about allergies before anyone cooks or tastes.
Method
- Put the flour in the bowl. Add the yeast on one side and the salt on the other (salt can slow yeast down if they touch). Add the oil and most of the water and mix into a soft dough, adding the rest of the water if it is dry.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface: push it away with the heel of your hand, fold it back and turn it. Keep going until it is smooth and stretchy.
- Put the dough back in the bowl, cover it and leave it somewhere warm until it has doubled in size.
- Punch the air out, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces (weigh them if you like) and roll each into a smooth ball. Put them on the baking sheet with space between them.
- Cover loosely and leave to rise again. An adult heats the oven to 425 °F (220 °C).
- An adult puts the tray in the oven. Bake for 15–20 minutes until golden. Tap the bottom of a roll: it should sound hollow.
- An adult takes them out with oven mitts. Cool on a rack.
What this recipe teaches
Mixing, Kneading and shaping dough, Proving dough, Using an oven safely. Steps marked “Adult” are done by an adult or closely supervised.
Try the interactive lesson
Step by step: a quick safety check, questions graded by Classfern, timers for each cooking step, then an honest look at how it went – a teacher or parent judges the cooking, and learners rate their own work. Photos of the finished dish stay at home.
Use the code your teacher gave you – never your name. Progress is kept on this device.