There’s probably not a single person on the planet who hasn’t watched or seen The Great British Bake Off. Either for the extravagant creations or the silver fox that is Paul Hollywood. The man himself has now brought out a range of ready to bake rolls meaning you can be the star baker, with little effort.
They’re fairly dinky in size and I’d probably need two for a decent lunch. The rolls have been created using a simple yet effective recipe that can literally be popped into the oven whenever you are feeling peckish. The packaging is also pretty clever and delivers freshness without the need to rely on preservatives or additives.
Whilst cooking they filled my kitchen with the delightful bread baking aroma, I swear I’d buy some just for that smell sometimes. You really can’t beat it.
I tried them just with good quality butter, then with some smoked salmon and cream cheese to see how they tasted. On their own they are a little bland. I felt they had been under seasoned and lacked a bit of something that I would expect from a par-baked roll. With fillings they were much better as the texture is really good – light and fluffy with a ‘just cooked’ crusty shell.
There’s three different varieties – flour dusted wheatsheaf crusty rolls, mixed pack of poppy and sesame seed topped rolls and mixed pack of multiseed with blended and topped rolls. I preferred the mixed pack of multiseed and enjoyed the blended rolls for that bit of added crunch.
I’m not really sure what I was expecting but I was a little disappointed. As head baker of some of the most exclusive hotels in the world I thought these would be the answer to wowing friends and family when entertaining. They’re okay, good in fact. But not really any different to other par-baked rolls already available in the supermarkets. The only real difference is the Paul Hollywood endorsement. If you’re a fan it’s worth giving them a go and I like the new option when buying par-baked rolls, usually the only option is a white baguette. This gives more choice and they’re much more versatile.
They retail at £1.49 a pack and can be bought in Tesco, Waitrose and Budgens.
Items sent for review purposes.
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