I love making sculpted bread rolls, but I know that not everyone has access to the fancy bread stamps that I buy from Chefs’ Warehouse.
I thought it was worth experimenting to see if something similar could be made with cookie cutters. I tried using fluted round cutters (plain ones should be fine as well) and was really pleased with how the rolls turned out. The best results came from using two cutters in tandem – a single small one produced triffid-like protrusions from the middle of the rolls.
- 300g ripe, active sourdough starter (fed at a ratio of one cup water to one cup flour – for more information on how I feed my starter Priscilla, please see our tutorial here)
- 580g cold water
- 500g bakers/bread flour
- 500g remilled semolina flour (Semola Rimacinata di Grano Duro – if you can’t find it, substitute 00 flour or more bakers flour, and reduce the water to 550g)
- 18g fine sea salt
- fine semolina for dusting the bench and dough
1. In a large mixing bowl, use a clean hand to mix the starter, water, bakers flour, remilled semolina flour and salt together to form a shaggy dough. Scrape your fingers off and cover the bowl with clingfilm. Allow the dough to rest for half an hour.
2. After the rest time, give the dough a quick knead in the bowl – literally just a minute or so. Cover it again and allow to rest until it has doubled in size – depending on your starter and the temperature in your kitchen, that could take anywhere from 4 to 10 hours.
3. Dust the bench with fine semolina, and turn out the proved dough. Give it a few folds, then cut the dough into 125g pieces (you’ll end up with about 15 rolls). Shape each piece of dough into a tight ball and place it seamside down on a lined baking tray.
4. Dust the top of the rolls with more fine semolina, then place a small and a medium round cookie cutter on the top of each ball. With the palm of your hand, press firmly on both cutters are the same time. Push right through the dough to the tray. Carefully remove the cutters and repeat with the remaining rolls (make sure to dust well with the fine semolina to prevent sticking). Cover the rolls with a tea towel and allow them to prove a second time.
5. Preheat the oven to 240C with fan. Once the rolls have had their second rise, spritz the top of each roll with a little water, then pop the tray into the oven, reducing the oven temperature to 220C with fan at the same time. (As you can see from the photo below, I was also experimenting with other cookie cutter shapes – they didn’t work out as well.)
6. Bake the rolls for 20 minutes, then rotate the tray(s) and turn the oven down to 175C with fan. Allow a further 15 – 20 minutes baking time until the rolls are brown and crunchy.
The rolls aren’t quite as neat and tidy as the ones made with bread stamps, but they were great fun to make, and delicious to eat!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
These look and sound beautiful!
Thank you! They were fun to make too! :)
I love using semolina. These look fantastic.
It’s supposed to improve the keeping time of the bread as well! :)
Perfect timing – I wanted to make some rolls and these look like fun :)
They really were fun! Hope you enjoy playing around with them! :)
Neat! I’ll have to give these a bash. I’ve been rather envious of your bread stamps, but it never occurred to me that I could use cutters to get almost the same effect. Thanks Celia.
I’m sure you’ll do something very clever Anne, can’t wait to see it! :) I wondered if one of those cutters for apples might work – you know the ones that cut a core and wedges at the same time?
This is brilliant! I’m going to try this. Thanks, Clever you! Hugs, Maz
Have fun Maz! xxx
these look delicious! and are so cute!
They really are very cute – some of them turned out like little muppets.. :)
What fun!
Pat, it really was! Thank you! :)
Wow, they look fantastic! I shouldn’t catch up on awesome food blogs when I’m hungry!
Azita, I always think I’ll just be good today and not eat too much, and then I start the morning reading food blogs and I’m done for.. ;-)
They are so cute! What a brilliant idea using the cookie cutters!
Clare, I was so pleased with how they turned out! Bread stamps are hard to buy, and expensive!
What a clever idea Celia and very easy to duplicate without those most delicious bread stamps that you own. Cheers for the share :)
Fran, hope it works well for you! :)
So do I :)
Gorgeous! sue
womenlivinglifeafter50.com
Thanks Sue! :)
These rolls look great!
Leah, they were fun to make too. They were all eaten that day!
Semolina flour and bread stamps. I like learning something new, I must admit, though, that I’ve never thought about how those knot rolls got to be the shape that they did. :)
Mary, a lot of the knot rolls are actually shaped into a long sausage and then literally tied in a knot – it’s very clever! I think my stamps are a bit cheaty, but they’re a heck of lot easier! :)
They look amazing! When you say ripe starter, does this mean just before you feed it? You know I am getting hooked on your bread recipes. Made the semolina bread the other day – wonderful!
Chica, ripe as in bubbly, bouncy and ready to make bread! :)
Aha! Thanks :)
What a great idea! They look much more complicated than they are, always a bonus. :-D
Saucy, that’s important, they LOOK clever…hehehe.. :)
You are simply amazing! and, pun intended, you ARE on a roll…. ;-)
Hahaha…you’re too funny, Sally! Thank you! xx
Great idea Celia, more fun bread ideas!
Jane, I tried using an apple cutter as well with a bit of success – I’m now rummaging through my drawers to see if there’s anything else I can use! :)
Those bread stamps are amazing, and your rolls are so cute! in case I’d like to use the traditional fresh yeast how many gr. I’m supposed to use? maybe 10-12?
Try this:
500g bakers/bread flour
500g remilled semolina flour
7g dried/instant yeast (or one sachet) or 15g fresh yeast
18g fine sea salt
680g cold water
If you can’t find semolina flour, substitute more bread flour in its place and reduce the water by about 5%.
Hope my maths is right! :)
That’s great! thank you so much… I always have semolina at home! I wish I could find a bread stamp cute as yours!
As I mentioned in my post, it needs to be remilled semolina flour, not fine semolina, or the dough will be too wet. And the cookie cutters make a reasonable substitute. :)
Thank you again!
What a great idea! I’m going to try this on Sunday :)
Tandy, have fun! Looking forward to seeing how you go!
Once again, I’m impressed. I love to bake bread, and this recipe is so beautiful to look at!
Thank you – it was fun to do, and I love sculpted rolls!
Oh that is so simple! I love that you don’t need special equipment for it :D
I bet you have cookie cutters in every shape and size! I wondered if we could make heart shaped ones…
Very inventive, Celia. I did buy some roll stamps from Amazon here in the States. They’re not nearly as nice as yours, being made of plastic, but they’re all that I could find. I’ve yet to get good results with them but I’ve not made many rolls either. In fact, tonight I made 2 little baguettes. “Bart, Son of Priscilla” is working hard, keeping me supplied in bread. :).
John, my rosetta stamps is plastic as well, and it works quite well. It’s not as sturdy as the metal one though. I’m so happy to hear that Bart is keeping you in bread! xxx
Celia these rolls are amazing! I’ve GOT to get into sourdough bread this year.
Let me know if you want me to send you starter! Better still, come down and play in my kitchen! :)
Your step by step guides are always so useful. Something as simple as shape can transform the end result with food can’t it.
Sally, thank you. This was a fun experiment – I’m going to try different shapes next! :)
great idea – I am imaging some of my other cookie cutters like stars and flowers that I have in graded cutters or even hands. I’ve been baking sourdough bread for about 6 months now but never branched out into rolls – this makes me want to experiment
Johanna, they need to be in pairs really, as the rolls I made with just a single small cookie cutter ended up looking quite risque. :) Rolls are great fun to make! Here are my easiest rolls ever:
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2010/06/14/school-rolls/
Those are gorgeous!!! I’ve never used bread cutters before and now you’ve got me intrigued. :-)
Krista, it took me ages to realise that the fancy rosette rolls I was buying were made with a cutter rather than balls of dough assembled in a pattern! :)
Good job, Celia! You make bread at home so much more accessible to less experienced cooks. Thank you for stepping in and offering solutions to problems you don’t even have!
And these rolls are beautiful.
I salute you!
Heidi, you are so lovely, thank you! xx
What a great idea indeed Celia, you clever cookie! Xox
Becca, it’s all yours, can’t wait to see what you do with it! :) xx
They look so appealing Celia. The little top knots look as if they are made as a door handle to open the lid and reveal a stuffing of some sort. Thanks for the tip about using cookie cutters – I’m still a very timid slasher and scissors are my weapon of choice usually – but with this method – I could finally make my mark:)
Jan, scissors are a great way to slash as well! xx
What a brilliant idea!!!!!!! Aren’t you so clever :D
Sandy, thank you! :)
Those rolls look so yummy Celia. I know you have a tab on your blog just for bread and once my bread making skills improve l will be trying every recipe in there:-)
Jody, enjoy the course! Sourdough bread baking is addictive, be warned! :)
I was actually wondering whether cookie cutters would work. Great idea Celia these look great! I really need to make some bread!