First things first - these rolls are perhaps the best bread product I have ever had in my life.
Stage one - Sponge (leaven)
Water – 1 ½ c
Yeast – 2 ½ t
Flour – 1 c
Mix this up about an hour before you want to get started, this gets the yeast working. Leave it covered somewhere warm.
Stage two - Main Dough
Flour – 4 ½ c
Salt – 1 ½ T
Sugar – ¾ c
Milk – ¾ c
Egg – 1 egg
Water – ¼ c
Butter – ¾ c (diced up)
Add all the dry ingredients and mix together in a large bowl, then add in the sponge and the other wet ingredients and mix until it starts to pull together to form a dough.
Add in the butter then knead until a soft dough is formed - leave it to rest for 45 minutes
Cut the dough into bits and roll into round balls. Lay them out on a baking tray leaving a good space between them.
Use an egg wash to cover the dough, cover the dough (but not so it's touching it) and leave to double in size (about an hour or so).
Cook in a pre-heated oven at 425 degrees F for 12 - 15 minutes until cooked through
Easter Sunday is not much of a special day for us, what with the kids being grown and Dave being Jewish. But we had friends come for a farm visit with their children, so we spent the day with the farm critters, and dyed eggs and then hid them and found them (all of them). I forgot how exhausting it is to have small children around. 2:00 and I am ready for a nap!