Raisin rolls レイズンロール

This is another baking by my wife. This recipe started as a loaf of raisin bread but she converted to rolls so that we could take them to work for breakfast.

She usually bakes several kinds of breads at one time and whatever we can't eat gets frozen. Frozen rolls can be readily microwaved to return their original glory (or very close to it). The bread rolls she makes are all in equal size because she weighs the dough before forming it. This is something I would never be able to do; I don't have the patience.

I asked my wife to fill in the recipe and the rest.

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup butter
4 cups flour (with 2 more in reserve to add make the dough the right consistency)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs of sugar
1 1/2 tsp of salt
2 packages of active yeast
3 eggs at room temperature
several handfuls of raisins (to taste)(I used 4-5 handfuls; an amazing amount of raisins can disappear into this bread).

Put the flour in the bowl of a mixer with a dough hook attached. Put milk, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan and heat until salt and sugar are dissolved and the milk is scalded. Cool by adding 1/2 cold water. Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water with some sugar added and wait for it to foam up (proof). Add the yeast and milk mixture to the flour with the mixer of speed 2. Add flour until a smooth dough is formed. Then knead for 7 minutes. Add raisins and continue kneading for 3 more minutes.

Put in a warm greased bowl turning to grease the top. Cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down (#1) and make rolls weighing about 2 1/4 oz (# 2).  Put into a heavily greased baking dish (#2 and #3) and let rise again while oven preheats to 375 degrees. Cook for about 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown (#4 and #5).

These are lovely breakfast rolls. The bread is slightly sweet with little bursts of additional sweetness from the raisins. These are particularly good slightly warm with some butter.