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[title]Laurent Gras’s bite-size breads are the most addictive part of a meal at L2O. If you want to make this batch last, follow his lead: Don’t give more than two to each guest, unless they beg for extras.
Makes 50 rolls.
35 oz (7¼–7½ cup) bread flour
1.5 oz (about 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp) plus 1 tsp sugar, divided
7 oz (about 2 tsp) salt
.42 oz (2¼ tsp) dry yeast
24.5 oz (3 cup) milk
7 oz (13 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
5 egg yolks
Pinch of sea salt
1. Place first six ingredients (except 1 teaspoon sugar) in a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix for six minutes. Cover and let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Roll the dough into a 60-by-20-centimeter (roughly 2-foot-by-8-inch) rectangle. Taking the dough from the short ends toward the middle, fold it into thirds (much as you would fold a letter for mailing). Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
3. Unwrap it and reroll into a 60-by-20-centimeter rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds again, wrap it and put it back in the freezer for 30 more minutes. Repeat the rolling, folding and freezing process a third and final time.
4. After the final freeze, roll the dough to one-third-inch thickness and cut into one-and-a-half-inch squares.
5. Place the squares on a baking sheet, leaving a half-inch of space between them. Cover the squares with a moist towel and let them rise for one hour.
6. Once the dough has risen, mix yolks and remaining teaspoon of sugar together in a bowl.
7. Brush the top of each square with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
8. Bake at 375 degrees for eight minutes or until golden brown, then cool on a rack.
TIPS
• We’ve converted Laurent Gras’s grams to cups and tablespoons for convenience’s sake, but for the most accurate measurements, buy a scale. We found a good one at Wooden Spoon (5047 N Clark St, 773-293-3190) for $22.
• Cold apartments are death traps for rising dough. Create a warmer environment by letting the dough rise in an oven that’s been set to 200 degrees for one minute, then turned off.
$$$
AT L2O Two rolls come with the $125 degustation
AT HOME 20 cents per roll