(Vegan) Bread Machine Hard Rolls

I love making homemade bread.  There's nothing quite like the smell of it baking in the air!  A while back I found a recipe for homemade, dairy-free bread here and have been using that to make almost all of my loaves (I just omit the sugar with no ill effects to the finished product).  Occasionally I try other types of bread recipes, but there's really nothing like that "go-to" recipe for me (if it ain't broke, don't fix it?).  Since, for some reason, I'm shy about trying out the other eleven functions on my bread machine besides the "basic" cycle, I usually end up just using sliced bread for meals that would typically be eaten on a roll.  Maybe I just hate reading directions. ;)  Starting this blog has inspired me though to branch out and actually try to make hard rolls!   I have made *bagels* once or twice before and they came out really good, so I don't know why I don't try different things more often! 

This recipe is loosely adapted from Vegan Start's Bread Machine Bagels.

Bread Machine Hard Rolls

(Makes 6 small rolls)

Ingredients 

3/4 cup of very warm water

1 tsp salt

2 cups bread flour

1 1/2 tsp of yeast

Put all ingredients in bread machine in the order listed and set on "dough" cycle. (My bread machine takes 1 hour 30 minutes to make the dough). Once ready, separate the dough into 6 chunks, roll into balls and pat down to 3/4-1 inch thickness (you can use a cookie cutter if you want an exact circle, but it's not necessary). Place dough rounds in boiling water for 2 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

The rolls actually turned out a tad on the small side for what I had in mind.  I was hoping for more sandwich type rolls, but these would be perfect dinner rolls.  Next time I will just break the dough into 4 chunks and make 4 rolls so they turn out bigger.   They tasted really good though.  They have a nice crunch when you bite into them, yet they're light and airy on the inside like you might expect a roll to be.  I ate my veggie burger from my previous post on one of these rolls, so they can be used for sandwiches despite their size.  

Here are some pictures of the process:

My West Bend bread machine & bread basket

The dough after the bread machine finished its cycle

Boiling the dough rounds in water

This recipe pretty much makes itself if you have a bread machine.  There really is minimal effort and it's worth it if you want wholesome, homemade bread!  I can still smell it in the air!  :)