Soft and Chewy Hoagie Rolls

This is one of those recipes that reminds me just how much I have left to learn when it comes to making bread from scratch! It's not something I do all that often, but man does the house smell amazing when I do! I have to be careful not to make bread too often because we don't eat that much of it unless I make it for something specific... like this recipe! 

These tender rolls were prepared for a batch of Fish Po'Boy sandwiches I shared last week. Deliciously yummy, warm, creamy sandwiches... drool... 

But, I digress. The rolls were perfect. Tender, lightly flavored, and they held up as sandwich bread perfectly. I should have kneaded them a little bit longer to get the dough a little smoother, and could have definitely been more careful with the way I rolled them out - but even though my rolls were very "rustic" they were still absolutely delicious! 

Soft and Chewy Hoagie Rolls

Ingredients
3 1/2 – 4 cups bread flour
1 1/4 cups plus 2 TBS – 1 1/2 cups warm water 
2 TBS sugar
1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) instant yeast 

1 tsp kosher salt
4 TBS cold butter, cubed

Directions

1. Combine 2 cups of the flour with 1 1/4 cups warm water, sugar, instant yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Turn to medium speed until mixture begins to combine into a wet dough. Add in remaining flour until dough begins to come together to form a ball. Knead about 3 minutes at this stage.
2. Add in the cubed cold butter and continue mixing on medium speed until the butter incorporates and a dough ball has formed and holds shape - add a little extra flour or water if needed. (I pulled the dough out and finished incorporating the butter, kneading by hand to ensure it blended fully). Knead on medium speed about 2-3 minutes total until a smooth dough has formed.
3. Remove dough from bowl and add a little olive oil to the bowl; return dough to bowl and flip to lightly coat in oil on both sides. Cover with a tea towel and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about an hour.
4. When well risen, punch down and knead a couple of times before splitting into about 6-8 pieces (depending on the size you want your rolls to be).
5. Lay a silpat or parchment paper on a baking sheet. Gently roll and shape your rolls (add a little bit of flour to the counter if needed to prevent sticking).
6. I split my dough into 7 pieces, and formed each into log shaped rolls and arranged on the baking sheet. My rolls weren't very smooth, you can roll yours until the tops are a little smoother if you don't want them to look too craggy / rugged in appearance!
7. Once formed, cover with a tea towel again and set aside to rise in a warm place for another 45 minutes or so, until puffy.
8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake in preheated oven 16-23 minutes, until golden brown and they should sound hollow when tapped. Internal temperature should reach 200 degrees.
   
9. Set aside to cool, and serve filled with your favorite sandwich ingredients! 

Recipe from The Kitchen Whisperer