My husband Dan and I don’t eat burgers very often but when we do, I like to sandwich the patties between homemade bread rolls with all the fix-ins for us to enjoy. Dan certainly prefers my bread over shop-bought and often asks: “is it from Evans bakery?” to which I often reply: “yes” – although I am honest if the bread is shop-bought.

Below is my go-to recipe for bread rolls, enough for four people. If you have more mouths to feed, double the quantities. The recipe can be adapted to suit your own tastes, so for example you could knead in mixed seeds, chopped olives or sundried tomatoes or even herbs to the dough before its second proving.

Ingredients (makes 4)

• 250g Strong bread flour (I like French flour)
• 1 tsp fast action dried yeast
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 165 ml Lukewarm water

Method

1. Put bread flour in a large bowl. On one side put the dried yeast and on the other the salt (the two should not come into contact with one another initially or you will kill off the yeast). Stir together well with your fingers or the blade of a dessert knife.

2. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in about half the lukewarm water. Mix together with your fingers or the dessert knife. Gradually add more water  – you may not need all the water* until you can bring the dough together into a pliable ball. You do not want it to be sticky but if you overdo the water, just gradually mix in a little more flour.

3. Place the dough ball on a clean, floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth. Form it into a ball and place it in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place or with an ambient temperature for at least an hour or until the dough has doubled in size. Don’t panic if it takes longer than an hour. Just leave it to prove as long as you need to until the dough has doubled in size.

4. Sprinkle some more flour on a clean surface and ‘knock back’ the dough by kneading again. If I am using spelt flour which is lower in gluten,  I tend to only knead it gently to ensure a good second rise. At this point, weigh the dough and divide the weight into four balls. I always weigh each of these balls too, to make sure they are even in size.

5. Roll each ball between floured hands and flatten slightly. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, cover with a clean tea towel or oiled plastic wrap and leave for at least 20 minutes or until doubled in size. This may take up to 40 minutes to an hour.

6. Meanwhile, set your oven temperature to 230C/210C fan/450F/Gas 8. Brush the top of each roll with a little beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds.

7. Bake rolls in the oven for 25-30 minutes** until golden brown and hollow-sounding when you tap on the base.

8. Leave on a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!

COOK’S NOTES

* The ideal flour-to-water ratio for bread is 65 ml water to 100 g bread flour though ratios can vary and can be between 58 ml and 62 ml depending on the type of flour/grain you use.

For 8 rolls, double the ingredient quantities. So, for example, 500 g flour instead of 250 g, 2 tsp yeast, 1 tsp Kosher salt, 325 ml water.

If you do not want to bake the rolls immediately, you can place them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours and then set aside to allow the dough to relax at room temperature and finish rising, before baking as normal. I find this method is also more tummy-kind.

** Remember oven temperatures vary and your bread rolls may take a little longer or shorter to bake so keep an eye on them in the last few minutes.

For floured rolls, omit the egg wash and poppy seeds and instead dust the tops with a little flour before baking. You can also vary the seed toppings with sesame seeds or multigrain seeds.

For savoury doughs, why not add some chopped olives, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chopped rosemary or mixed seeds at Step 4?!

For a baguette or small loaf of bread knock back at Step 4 and then form into your baguette or loaf and leave to prove for 40 minutes to an hour or until doubled in size. Bake at Steps 6 and 7 for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and hollow-sounding.

For a large loaf, double quantities and bake as above for 45-55 minutes until golden brown and hollow-sounding.