Homemade French Bread Rolls

I was SO excited to make my own French Bread Rolls.  I figured I could make them and my family could use them as hamburger buns!  We picked up all the ingredients and some "bulk yeast"--who knew you could buy it that way?!  Well, it turns out that there is a BIG difference between nutritional yeast and baker's yeast.  Nutritional yeast does not contain active yeast therefore will not make your bread rise--OOPS!  Live and learn, right?
Well, I had the whole batch mixed up and put in a warm place to rise--but it didn't.  That's when I pieced it all together.
I searched on the Internet and found that you could substitute baking soda for the yeast in a 1:1 ratio and add a teasoon of lemon juice.  The baking soda was to be mixed with the dry ingredients and the lemon juice was to be mixed in with the liquid ingredients...yeah, that was a problem for 2 reasons.  One, I had already mixed the batch of dough together, and two, I had no lemon juice or lemons in the house.  Out of desperation I juiced an orange and used a teaspoon of that.  Worse case, I would toss the rolls and be out the cost of the ingredients.  Luckily, they didn't turn out so bad!  They could have been a bit "fluffier" and "lighter", but they were definitely edible.  My two biggest critics, my kids, actually liked them--hooray! 
Here is the recipe I used (and botched up) from Food.com!  I'm sure that it will turn out even better if you actually have the correct ingredients on hand!

French Bread Rolls to Die For

1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups bread flour

Directions:Prep Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 50 mins

1. Mix together warm water, yeast and sugar and let stand for about 10 minutes.
This is what it should look like except with ACTIVE yeast! 

2. In large bowl, combine yeast mixture with oil, salt and 2 cups of the flour.

Oh, and I had trouble finding organic bread flour, so I used this Arrowhead Mills flour! 

 

3. Stir well to combine.
4. Stir in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

I had some help!

 

6. Lightly oil a large bowl and place dough in and turn to coat with oil.

 

7. Cover with cloth and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Twirl and perform ballet while waiting!

 

8. Deflate the dough and turn out onto floured surface.
9. Divide dough into 16 equal pieces and form into rounds.
10. Place rolls onto lightly greased baking sheet at least 2" apart.
11. Cover rolls with cloth and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.
12. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake rolls for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

And with all my adjustments, voila!  Here is the finished product!!!

And here is how they looked served with Organic french fries (not homemade) with a mini grassfed beef patty!  Oh, and yes that is Organic Ketchup WITHOUT high fructose corn syrup!!

Enjoy!
=o)
Jen