Friday, September 28, 2007

Amaretto Almond Rolls

Recently, I have been crazy about baking breads. Had been off cake for quite a while now.. probably a month?

Saw the recipe for Ameretto Almond rolls in the book 'The easy way to Artisan breads and pastries' by Avner Laskin. Hmm.... a double almond experience, who can resist trying it?

The end result was lovely!



Its a lean bread, not so sweet and is best eaten with some filling. Pop into the toaster prior to serving, this will crunch up the sliced almonds on top, then fill it with lettuce and ham and loads of mayonaise. My 4 year old loves it and can almost finish the whole roll! As he ate, he kept telling me 'Mummy, please make this again, OK?'. Such a sweet boy. :-)


Here is the recipe.
Ingredients
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1 cup cold milk
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 and 1/2 cups bread flour
1 cup ground blanched almonds
3 tablespoons real amaretto liquer
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1 egg, beaten, for brushing
brown sugar and sliced almonds for garnish
Method
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1. Mix all dry ingredients for a minute
2. Add wet ingredients i.e. milk, ameretto, egg. Mix till mixture comes together
3. Add butter, knead till a smooth, stretch-able dough is formed
4. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour
5. Punch dough, divide into 2 equal parts, then each part into 5 pieces, for a total of 10 pieces
6. Shape each piece
7. Place rolls 2 inches apart on baking sheet and brush with beaten egg.
8. Sprinkle a little brown sugar and a few sliced almonds on top and proof for 1 hour
9. Bake in preheated 190 degree celcius oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
In my case, I did not have ground blanced almond on hand. So I ground some almonds (with skin on) and replaced with that. Problem was the mixture was extremely watery, I had no choice but to add more flour, about 1/2 cup more. I later read that blanched almonds can absorb more water than almond with skin on.. so that may be the reason. In any case, the result was still pleasing.
If you do have a chance to follow the recipe exactly, please share your results.
Adious!

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