Ricotta, Rosemary and Olive Oil Bread Rolls Recipe

Is there anything better than soft, pillowy freshly baked rolls, straight from the oven slathered in butter? The smell alone is enough to have us salivating, and the addition of ricotta cheese and fragrant rosemary to these Ricotta and Olive Oil Bread Rolls makes them extra delicious.

They are lovely served simply with butter or olive oil as an accompaniment to a main meal and are also delicious as a lunch roll with rocket, roasted tomato and smoked ham.

The rolls will last for a couple of days in a bread container or bread bag. If you aren’t a natural baker don’t worry, these rolls are fairly foolproof but while they aren’t difficult to make they are a little time consuming as the dough needs time to rise before baking so plan in advance.

Ingredients (Makes 16 Rolls)

250 grams of fresh ricotta cheese

3 1/2 cups of plain flour

2 eggs

1/3 of a cup of warm milk

2 tablespoons of very finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 sachet (7g) of instant yeast

2 tablespoon of olive oil, plus additional for brushing

1 teaspoon of fine salt

1 teaspoon of sugar

Coarse sea salt

Method

Add ricotta, yeast, olive oil, milk, eggs, salt, sugar and rosemary in to a large bowl and gently mix through. Add flour and mix until a dough forms. Remove dough on to a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is elastic.

Place dough in a large, clean oiled bowl, cover lightly with plastic wrap or a wet tea towel and allow to stand in a warm spot for 1 and 1/2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.

Gently deflate the dough and shape in to a rectangle. Using a sharp knife, divide the dough in to 16 squares. Line a 30 x 20cm baking pan with a sheet of baking paper, lightly oil and add dough squares in rows about 1cm apart. Cover with plastic wrap or a wet towel and allow to rise in a warm spot for another 50 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 190C (375F). Brush rolls with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in oven for about 25 minutes until the rolls are golden. Remove from oven and serve warm slathered with fresh butter.

We have beautiful rosemary flowering in the ele garden at the moment so we served these rolls straight to the table topped with the rosemary sprigs. Enjoy!

Love baking? Try our delicious Lemon Drizzle Cake or our Homemade Spinach and Ricotta Rolls recipe.