I love bread. Almost all bread. But there is a special place in my heart for sweet, tender, yeasted doughs that yield to the knife with just the merest hint of resistance and accept the butter graciously.
Turkish breakfast rolls are one such bread. I love them, I wanted to make them, and I found a very easy recipe which proved to be not only easy, but fairly quick, and a great success too.
This is very important to me because I am not a confident baker at all, especially when it comes to yeasted doughs. I always desperately want it to work, and it’s never quite how I want it to be.
THIS WAS.

The original recipe was all thanks to Christi at the now defunct Honey and Butter blog. Christi was married to a Turkish chap, and had the most brilliant recipes and photos on her site. I am very sad to lose her.

Acma (Rich Turkish Breakfast Rolls)
1 1/2 cups hot milk
1/2 cup olive oil (I used extra virgin because that’s what I always have)
1 medium egg, separated
3 tbs sugar (I used golden caster)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs yeast (1 7g sachet of dried)
500g strong white bread flour
Separate the egg yolk. That is for glazing the rolls later.

Beat the egg white a little and mix with the milk, oil, sugar, salt, yeast and flour. I mixed it all in with a dinner knife, and then kneaded it for a couple of minutes, just to bring it together.

Set aside, covered,  to rise for 1 hour. I left it for 4 hours, and it was still fine.

Divide the dough into egg sized pieces. This made 12 rolls, each was about 78g. Yes, I weighed them.

Shape each into a rope and twist. I DID NOT DO THIS.

Bring the ends together and seal. OR THIS.

I just shaped them into balls using this method by Richard Bertinet (from 12.15 minutes though I could watch him for hours.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOjSp5_YiF0

The dough is incredibly well behaved, and lets you shape and roll with no sticky problems.

Place the rolls on a baking sheet. I use a non-stick silicone liner because they are so useful and truly non-stick.

Brush with the reserved egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds.

Let rise for 30 minutes. Squeak excitedly when they actually rise.

Bake at 375/Fan 170C for 15 minutes. USE A TIMER.

Squeak again when they attain oven spring.

Remove, and let cool on a rack.

TELL TWITTER AND FACEBOOK ALL ABOUT IT  EXCITEDLY!

The finished article. Slightly sweet, rich but not too much. Fluffy and light but substantial enough for sandwich fillings.

Next time I could fill these with cheese and parsley, or a sweetened tahini filling – the possibilities are endless.

Thank you Christi, wherever you are!
—————————————————————-
07.05.2014 UPDATE
This bread has been on my mind since the last time I made it, so today I baked it as a loaf, in the hope that I could get it out of the forefront of my cooking brain.
It worked extremely well as a loaf. Soft and airy, almost brioche-like in texture, but without all the butter and eggs. I baked it for 18 minutes at 170C fan.

Here, have some photos, before I eat the whole thing.