This was one of my dad's recipes with handwritten modifications. It took me a bit to figure out which one was his favorite (and therefore, our favorite). We mostly use this recipe for onion rolls and occasionally for baguettes for appetizers. It doesnt have the super light interior of an artisan bread but you can create a nice crust. It's a wetter dough that doesnt allow for fancy scoring but that's just fine with us. The best part? It makes a lot of dough and it is happy to sit in the fridge for days until you want to bake again. It scales down quite nicely if you're unsure about making so much dough.
I usually make a half recipe as it makes plenty of rolls for us and we use another recipe for bread baking. I also add in a little sourdough starter sometimes (mostly for flavor).
2025 update: we tried it as pizza dough tonight. I made it a little thicker than a usual crust and it was a hit!
PopPop bread and rolls (and pizza!)
(makes a lot, a half recipe makes 14 rolls with some bigger for burgers and others smaller)
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 Tablespoons salt
4 cups water
5 1/2 cups flour (we like King Arthur all-purpose)
1 1/2 cups bread flour (again KA)
2 cups whole wheat (again KA)
2 Tablespoons diastatic malt powder (optional, helps with browning)
In a large bowl or your stand mixer, mix yeast, salt, and water, then add the flours. Mix by hand or with your dough hook until the flour is all incorporated. It's a wet dough, so it will be sticky (not marshmallow smooth). Cover loosely and let rise at room temp for 2-5 hours (I usually have to split it into 2 bowls since it will rise a lot).
You can choose to shape now or fridge it, tightly covered, for up to 2 weeks. We usually bake some and fridge the rest. If you are baking now, get a little bowl of water ready to keep your hands wet (update: I use floured hands and a floured work surface now). Put a sheet of parchment on your cookie sheet/baking pan. Rip off a chunk and shape it into your desired shape. If you prefer to work on the counter, then get the counter a little wet. Put your shaped dough on the prepared pan and let rest for 40 minutes covered (let rest for a full hour if you're using dough that has been in the fridge). If you want to add a little dried onions to the top for onion rolls or some seeds or salt, wait until after the 40 min rest. You can spritz them with a little water then top them.
20 minutes prior to baking, heat up your oven to 450 (with a baking stone if you have). Slide the parchment onto your baking stone or just put your baking pans on the rack.
Bake until well browned, depending on size, 20-30 minutes or until about 190 degrees inside. Let cool completely.
Variations: my dad has notes on making this recipe with different flours and most he declared "good" so if you're out of bread flour or dont like whole wheat, then try it your way. We have made them with milk instead of water, with only all purpose flour, with a few spoonfuls of sourdough starter, and with a few pats of butter. It's always delicious.
