Ali Bakes: Twisted Snail Rolls

I had never baked with yeast.  Until Saturday.  The big day was going to be Friday, but my surprise for Brian's arrival didn't line up quite right--and I was ok with it, since that meant he'd be around to supervise me while attempting to bake with yeast.

And apparently, I did it kinda wrong.  Luckily, my misstep of not using warm water to 'activate' the yeast didn't affect the lovely snail rolls, but Brian was surprised when the dough didn't really rise much at all.  Ah well, better luck next time, right?!

Might I say that these rolls were DELICIOUS, and they resembled one of my favorite creatures:  the snail!  (That's right, I say 'resembled' because they are now all gone...)  Also, pairing them with some good cheese and a delicious dry red wine makes for quite the dinner spread.  Maybe...one like you see below?


 Seriously though, that was one of my best decisions ever.  (And I think Brian would agree!)  We even had his and her cheeses:  Grueyere for him and Gouda Peppadew for me.

So let's see your own snail-making, yeast-baking
skills at work!  Your hard work will pay off--trust me!  Teamwork may be needed, however.  Brian and I captured in-action shots of him keeping an eye on the rolls in the oven and me cutting/preparing the lovely rolls!  Dream team right there.

Twisted Snail Rolls

*adapted from soulkitchenrecipes.com

Ingredients:

4 cups flour

150 ml milk

150 ml water

20 g yeast

50 ml oil

1 ½ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

olive oil

dried dill

sea salt

Instructions

In a bowl, whisk together warm water, sugar, and yeast.  Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes.  In a large bowl add the flour, salt, milk, oil, and then add the yeast mixture after the initial 10 minutes.  Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.  Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rest about one hour.

After the dough has risen, divide it in 8 equal parts of dough and roll out each part into a rectangle of about 25 cm x 15 cm.  Next brush the dough with olive oil.

Cut the dough into strips about 2 cm wide, leaving a small amount at the top to hold the strips together.  Starting from the shortest end, diagonally roll the dough until you get a long roll, and then twist it around to shape it into a snail shell.

Lay the snail rolls on a baking sheet and let the buns rest for about 30 minutes (if the shaping process takes that long, then skip to the next step).

Sprinkle sea salt and/or dried dill on the top of the rolls and bake in the oven about 15 minutes at 390 degrees or until golden brown.  Let cool for a
few minutes and then enjoy plain or dip in olive oil or balsamic vinegar.