Converting a Loaf to Rolls

[Kim Shook]

I want to make this bread as rolls. Can I just shape them into rolls in step 7 instead of placing in a loaf pan and let them do the final rise? If so, do I let them rise for the same amount of time or less? Thank you!

[robirdstx]

Hi Kim, when I make Reinhart's Classic White Bread, whether as a loaf, burger bun, or roll, they do the final rise until nearly doubled in size. The only variation PR notes in his recipe is to bake the rolls & buns at a higher temp, for a shorter period of time, than when baking the loaves. HTH.

[Kim Shook]

Thank you, ma'am!

[Badiane]

I'd say that you can form them into rolls at step 7, then wait for them to rise until they are nearly doubled...how long that will take is anyone's guess, but I'm guessing it will take about the same amount of time as a loaf, give or take.

[Wholemeal Crank]

If the dough were chilled before it was shaped, the rolls would warm and thus rise faster than the loaf, but otherwise the rolls should rise just as fast as the loaf.

Baking temp/time is affected by the size, shape, & density (in the pan) of the rolls. A deep pan packed with rolls that merge together as they rise needs nearly the same baking time as a single loaf, and doesn't need a hotter oven; a flat sheet of thin small rolls that stay separate while rising and baking will bake a lot quicker.

[tino27]

The first time you go from loaves to rolls, as the others suggested, you will have to play around a bit with times and temperatures. However, one thing you can rely on is the internal temperature of the dough to be the same. Whatever the internal temperature of the loaf is when it is finished (anywhere from 190-205, depending on whether it is an enriched dough or not), that should be the same temperature you shoot for in the rolls.

[Kim Shook]

Thank you all so much. I'm going to be making these tonight and feel much better about my chances of success!

[Kim Shook]

Thanks again for all the advice. My rolls worked perfectly. We had my MIL over for dinner last night and I wanted to make them ahead of time and freeze them. I made them on Tuesday night and thawed them yesterday morning. The dough worked out very well as rolls. Great crust and a good interior.

Close up:

I really love the color that the turmeric gives the bread.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Those look delicious. Glad they worked out so nicely.

[ChrisTaylor]

I have to bake some bread for work. Purely because it's ideal for the situation, I want to make dinner rolls--perhaps small enough to fit on the palm of your hand--instead of regular-sized loaves. The recipe I'm working from is the base recipe in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (altho' I'm making some small modifications to a couple of batches). Aside from reducing the baking time, is there anything else I need to be aware of or modify (i.e. more/less moisture?