Eat This While You Read That: Sam Robb

A Sweet Roll Recipe

For an explanation of the special feature pairing a book with food, check out all the ETWYRT recipes!

This month I’m pairing Sam Robb’s A Sense of Murder with the sweet knot rolls he mentions in the book. You should grab the book, gather your ingredients, and let’s get baking!

Today the recipe is a little complex, but I’ve kept it casual. This dough is forgiving, so don’t fret over it, just follow along and the end result will be delicious. I’ve even done a video of the whole process if you like!

Sweet Knot Rolls

Sponge

• 1/2 c bread flour

• 1 tbsp yeast

• 4 tbsp water

Mix together and set aside in warm kitchen for about twenty minutes.

Tangzhong

• 3 tbsp bread flour

• 1/2 c milk

Heat, either on a stovetop in small pan, or in the microwave by 20 second segments, stirring, until thickened into a paste.

Dough

Combine the sponge, and cooled tangzhong, with:

• 1/2 c milk

• 4 tbsp softened butter

• 1/4 c sugar

• 1 tsp cardamom

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tsp lemon extract

• 3 c bread flour

• 1/4 c potato flour (starch)

• 1 tsp salt

Once combined, continue to knead the dough for about 7-8 minutes (the stand mixer is ideal for this). Turn into an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise for about one to one and a half hours depending on how warm your kitchen is, or until it is roughly doubled in size.

Punch down, cut into desired size, and form between hands into short lengths, tie into a loose knot. Place knots on a pan lined with parchment paper (or greased) and allow to rise for another thirty minutes to an hour. During this final rise, preheat your oven to 350F. Bake rolls at 350 for right about 20 minutes, until touched with golden brown on top. Move to a cooling rack after brushing them with butter.

Best served warm.