Bake a batch of buttery Italian bread rolls made with BIGA. These BIGA rolls are filled with amazing flavor along with a soft and fluffy interior.
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Baking bread using BIGA, a pre-fermented dough, is a skill I learned after going to culinary school in Italy. BIGA is an Italian style of pre-ferment that's added to bread to give it amazing flavor, good texture, and predictability.
I'll show you how to make BIGA at home and how to make a batch of rolls from it. These butter rolls are great as a side dish for a weeknight dinner or as part of your Thanksgiving table.
While it's not necessarily traditional to eat Italian bread with butter, I still love layering these rolls with some delicious compound butter on top.
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What You'll Learn In This Recipe
- How to make Italian BIGA to incorporate in your bread.
- Some tips for baking bread at home, such as how to best store the rolls.
- Important baking terms like proofing.
Want to get even better at baking homemade bread? Grab my top secrets to bread baking with this free guide:
Ingredients You Need
Here are the ingredients you'll need for the BIGA butter rolls, along with a quick explanation of how the ingredients affect the bread.
- Bread flour: It's best to use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour if you want rolls with that perfectly chewy texture.
- Active dry yeast: Even though we're using BIGA, we still need a little extra rising power from the yeast.
- 2% milk: This ingredient helps to tenderize the rolls, giving them a soft and fluffy texture.
- BIGA: Be sure to prepare the BIGA ahead of time, before starting to bake the rolls.
- Granulated sugar: The granulated sugar helps to caramelize the rolls so they bake with a perfect golden brown crust.
- Unsalted butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter in this recipe so I can control the amount of added salt. If you used salted butter, you may need to omit the added salt in the recipe.
- Fine sea salt: This type of salt distributes evenly throughout the dough. I prefer it to kosher salt for bread baking.
How To Make This Recipe
This section will walk you step-by-step through how the bread dough is made. This will be helpful to check that the dough looks correct at every stage.
1. First, you'll need to make BIGA, a pre-ferment, that will add amazing flavor to these butter rolls. Mix flour and yeast in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-low speed while slowly adding the water.
2. Continue mixing until a shaggy dough forms, then bump the mixer up to high speed until the dough forms into one cohesive piece.
3. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl and cover with a tea towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 12 - 16 hours until the top of the dough has crusted over and is flat (if it’s rounded/domed, it needs to sit for a longer time).
4. Once the BIGA is ready, you must use it immediately. Cut off and discard a very thin layer of the crusty top of the BIGA then measure 1 cup (275 grams).
5. Add the flour and yeast to a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and pour in half of the milk.
6. Once a shaggy dough forms, add the BIGA. Then, finish adding the milk along with granulated sugar.
7. Add in butter 1 tablespoon (14 grams) at a time. Allow each piece of butter to fully beat in before adding a new piece. You can use a silicone spatula to flip the dough over periodically to help the dough hook catch and knead the butter.
8. You may still see some butter throughout the dough. Don't worry, it will continue to mix in. Add the sea salt, which will help the dough finally come together.
9. Bump the mixer speed up to high and mix until you hear a popping sound and the dough wraps around the dough hook. Flip the dough as needed to ensure all of the ingredients are fully mixed. The dough will be smooth and sticky.
Allow the dough to rise for 30 - 60 minutes until it has doubled in size.
10. Generously dust a work surface with bread flour and roll the dough into a rectangle about ½ inch (1 - 2 cm) thick. Use a 3 inch (7 cm) circle cookie cutter to cut about 18 rolls from the dough. Place the rolls on a light colored baking sheet lined with parchment paper at least 3 inches (8 cm) apart. Re-roll the dough and continue cutting rolls until no dough remains.
11. Lightly dust the top of the rolls with additional bread flour to ensure nothing sticks to the top. Cover with plastic wrap and proof at room temperature on the counter until doubled in size. These rolls proof (rise) best at room temperature so the butter doesn't get too warm and melt.
12. Finally, bake the rolls for 15 - 20 minutes in a preheated 350°F (180°C) oven until the rolls are golden brown.
Expert Tips
- In order to help the butter rolls last a long time, I suggest freezing them. It will help the bread stay fresh without changing the taste or texture.
- To freeze, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place rolls on the baking sheet and freeze, just until firm. Place the frozen bread in an airtight container in the freezer until you're ready to serve.
- If you're serving these rolls for dinner, first warm them in the oven. Before serving the rolls, heat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a light colored baking sheet with parchment paper and place room temperature rolls on top. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until warmed through and slightly crunchy on the outside.
- Want to pair these rolls with some butter? Try my sweet compound butter recipes with three different flavors.
Recipe FAQs
If you're using a KitchenAid mixer instead of a bread mixer, you'll have to have some patience when making this butter bread dough. If you're having trouble with the dough hook catching and kneading the dough, especially after you add the butter, use a silicone spatula to flip the dough over periodically to help the dough hook catch.
Yes, this dough is naturally sticky. Use a generous amount of flour when you are rolling out the rolls and also sprinkle additional flour on top before proofing the rolls.
If you don't have a cookie cutter, you could use a glass to cut out the rolls. Or, if you don't care if the rolls are round, you can cut them into squares with a knife or bench scraper.
Yes, this bread recipe was specifically developed using BIGA. If you skip this part of the recipe, the butter rolls will not turn out correctly.
If your rolls are flat, they are likely overproofed. Don't worry, they will still taste good!
That being said, if you want to fix that problem for next time, keep an eye on the rolls while they are proofing. If they sit too long, especially in a warm environment, before baking, they can become overproofed and they will bake up flat.
Also, be sure to check that your oven is at the proper temperature. If it's too cold, the rolls will not properly rise when cooked. I always love using an oven thermometer to double check that my oven is properly heating.
More Italian Bread Recipes
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Italian Butter BIGA Rolls
Equipment
- tea towel
- 3 inch (7 cm) circle cookie cutter
- light colored baking sheets
Ingredients
BIGA
- 2 cups bread flour
- ¾ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons water (60°F or 15°C)
Butter Bread
- 3 ¼ cups plus more for dusting bread flour
- ¾ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon 2% milk (70°F or 21°C)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature and cut into 1 tablespoon (14 grams) pieces
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
Instructions
For the BIGA
- Mix flour and yeast in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium low speed. Slowly add in water.
- Once a shaggy dough forms, bump the mixer speed up to high and continue mixing until the dough forms into one solid mass, about 1 - 2 minutes. If your mixer is having trouble mixing the dough, switch to the dough hook.
- Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl and cover with a tea towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 12 - 16 hours until the top of the dough has crusted over and is flat (if it’s rounded/domed, it needs to sit for a longer time).
- Once ready, you must use it immediately. Cut off and discard a very thin layer of the crusty top of the BIGA then measure 1 cup (275 grams).
For Butter Bread
- Mix flour and yeast into a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment on medium low speed. Slowly add in half of the milk. Once combined, add 1 cup (275 grams) BIGA and mix.
- Slowly add in the remaining milk and mix until the dough looks cohesive.
- Add granulated sugar; mix until combined.
- Add in butter 1 tablespoon (14 grams) at a time. Allow each piece of butter to fully beat in before adding in a new piece. You can use a silicone spatula to flip the dough over periodically to help the dough hook catch and knead the butter. Scrape down the side of the mixer bowl as needed.
- Add in fine sea salt; mix until combined.
- Bump the mixer speed up to high and mix until you hear a popping sound and the dough wraps around the dough hook. Flip the dough as needed to ensure all of the ingredients are fully mixed. The dough will be smooth and sticky.
- Roll the dough into a tight ball, then place in a mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 60 - 90 minutes. Rise time will vary depending on the temperature of your environment.
- Generously dust a work surface with bread flour and roll the dough into a rectangle about ½ inch (1 - 2 cm) thick. Use a 3 inch (7 cm) circle cookie cutter to cut about 18 rolls from the dough. Place the rolls on a light colored baking sheet lined with parchment paper at least 3 inches (8 cm) apart. Re-roll the dough and continue cutting rolls until no dough remains.
- Lightly dust the top of the rolls with additional bread flour to ensure nothing sticks to the top. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and proof at room temperature on the counter until doubled in size, about 30 - 60 minutes. If your environment is very cold, you can place the rolls in a warm, draft-free spot. Be sure the rolls do not overproof and become flat.
- Heat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Remove plastic wrap and bake rolls for 15 - 20 minutes, rotating halfway through baking, until lightly golden brown.
- Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack and cover with a tea towel. Allow rolls to cool to room temperature.
Pam
I love using BIGA in my bread baking! This recipe turned out delicious and was easy enough to make with my KitchenAid. Thanks so much!