AI-generated image
Pain maison
Crusty bread rolls
Pain maison: small crusty Mauritian breakfast rolls
Every morning in Port Louis, Mahébourg and Rose-Hill, the boulangerie or a man on a bicycle delivers bags of pain maison: small, round white rolls with a thin, crackly crust and soft middle, split and filled with butter and cheese, with chilli-spiked gâteaux piments, or with leftover curry. They're a simple lean dough baked very hot. The common mistake is under-baking because they look golden early; give them the full time so the crust stays crisp after cooling. Chef's tip: spray the oven walls with water as the rolls go in; the burst of steam makes the shiny, cracked crust.
- Total time
- 140 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour
- ¼ oz instant dried yeast1 sachet
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups warm water
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour, ¼ oz instant dried yeast, 1 tsp sugar and 1 ½ tsp salt. Add 1 ¼ cups warm water and 1 tbsp sunflower oil and mix to a soft dough.
Step 2: Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, then cover and leave for 1 hour, until doubled.
60 minStep 3: Divide into 10 pieces and roll each into a tight ball. Set on a floured tray, 5 cm apart, cover loosely and leave for 40 minutes, until puffy.
40 minStep 4: Heat the oven to 450°F (400°F fan) with an empty roasting tin on the bottom shelf.
Step 5: Slash a shallow cross or line on each roll. Slide the tray in, pour a cup of hot water into the empty tin and shut the door quickly.
Step 6: Bake for 18–20 minutes, until golden brown and hollow-sounding underneath. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes before splitting.
20 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 200 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 2 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pain maison take?
- About 140 minutes in total: 120 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of strong white bread flour?
- Plain flour, same amount (the dough will be softer and rise a little less).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
ChipaCheese bread rings
In Paraguay you hear 'chipa, chipa!' called by vendors with big baskets on buses and street corners, and every family bakes it for Holy Week, when chipa is the food of Good Friday. Cassava starch, a little cornmeal, butter, eggs and a lot of hard cheese are kneaded into a dough scented with aniseed, shaped into rings or small rolls and baked in a hot oven, traditionally a domed clay tatakua. It's chewy, crisp outside and best warm with cocido (toasted yerba tea). Chef's tip: the dough should feel soft and slightly greasy; add milk a spoon at a time, as too much makes the chipa spread flat.
Paraguayan
Farari uttapamSamo and water-chestnut pancakes
Soft, thick uttapam for fasting days, made from a yogurt batter of samo (moraiyo), singoda (water chestnut) flour and rajagra (amaranth) flour, tempered with cumin and curry leaves and studded with cucumber, tomato, coconut and green chilli. Cooked under a lid, they're crisp at the edges and fluffy in the middle. Serve with yogurt and green chutney. Makes 6.
Indian
Brown soup rolls
Small, soft bread rolls made with half plain and half wholemeal flour, shaped long and baked until golden. They're best warm from the oven with a bowl of soup, and freeze well once cooled.