Garlic, herb and Parmesan bread rolls

These garlic, herb and Parmesan rolls are soft, fluffy and full of flavour. They’re lovely served warm with parsley butter, but also go beautifully with salads and grilled meats. With plenty of garlic and herbs in the dough and a golden, cheesy Parmesan topping, they’re perfect for summer barbecues and outdoor get-togethers! 😉

Makes 15 rolls.

Ingredients for the bread dough:

• 400 g strong white bread flour (plus 2–3 tbsp for dusting)
• ½ cup (125 ml) lukewarm milk
• ½ cup (125 ml) lukewarm water
• 50 g butter, melted and cooled*
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ tsp sugar
• 10 g dried yeast or 20 g fresh yeast
• 2 tsp Herbes de Provence
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

You will also need:

• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 40 g grated Parmesan

Mix the flour with the dried yeast (if using fresh yeast, prepare a yeast starter first). Add the remaining ingredients and knead the dough, adding the melted butter towards the end. Knead for long enough to make the dough soft and elastic. Transfer to a lightly floured bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (approximately 1½ hours).

Once risen, briefly knead the dough again and divide it into 15 equal portions (approximately 50 g each). Line a 33 × 22 cm baking tin with baking paper. Shape each portion into a ball and arrange in the tin, leaving a little space between the rolls – they will expand and touch as they rise and bake. Cover tightly with cling film and leave in a warm place for approximately 40 minutes, or until doubled in size. Just before baking, brush the rolls with the melted, cooled butter and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Bake the garlic, herb and Parmesan rolls at 200°C for approximately 22 minutes. Remove from the oven, leave to cool slightly and serve.

Method for bread machine users:

Place all the yeast dough ingredients into the bread machine in the following order: liquid ingredients first, then dry ingredients, and finally the yeast. Select the ‘dough’ programme (kneading and first rise). Once the programme has finished, remove the dough, knead it lightly, and continue according to the main recipe above.

*You can use 40 ml sunflower oil instead of the butter.

Enjoy!