Dough Balls

homemade dough balls
Children love dough balls.

You can dip them in garlic butter or Nutella, serve them with cubes of cheese or munch them on their own, warm from the oven.

These dough balls can be made very quickly when you're short of a snack or needing an accompaniment to a meal.


Dough Balls
(Can also be made into dough-sticks)

200g/7 oz/1⅓ cups strong plain flour
½ tsp instant dried yeast
1 tsp salt
126ml/4 fl oz/½ cup water

NB: The concise version of this recipe, (along with loads of other delicious bread recipes) is available in The Recipe Book - which is a great-value, ever-growing collection of bread recipes with FOREVER FREE updates. Check it out!

Anyway, I was saying...

Combine the ingredients in a bowl to create a sticky dough.

homemade dough

Leave the dough to rise until it has doubled in size.

Knead the dough on a floured surface then use a sharp, un-serrated knife to chop the dough into 16 pieces.

Shape each piece separately by kneading it lightly then tucking the ‘corners’ into the middle, forming a round ball shape.

how to knead dough balls

The ‘tucked in’ part of the dough will be at the bottom of the ball, giving you a nice smooth shape on top.

Place the dough balls onto a greased baking tray and leave them to rest for a few minutes before baking.

homemade dough balls

Don’t worry about extra rising time for this recipe. Dough balls can be baked almost immediately as they do not need to grow much.

Bake at 240oC/450F for 6 minutes.

Eat while warm and soft.

homemade dough balls

Want More?

A super-quick version of this recipe is available in my guide to Freshly Baked Bread In 20 Minutes.

You can find more delicious bread recipes here.

Gain confidence and improve your technique here.

Learn more about the science behind bread making and understand the keys to success here.

39 comments:

  1. They are now a firm favourite here :) Had them with garlic butter and yesterday and did a few by kneading in a little bit of leftover grated cheese (the last of the Christmas cheeseboard). Delicious.

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  2. Roughly how many dough balls does this make?

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    Replies
    1. 16 small doughballs, but you could use this dough for bigger doughballs or rolls, so long as you lengthen the cooking time accordingly.

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  3. how do i just make dough because i can not find it on ny website and this is the closeest to it.

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  4. I can't find instant dried yeast, do I use just instant or dried?

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    Replies
    1. The short answer is Yes! Either will do. For a fuller answer - more help about different types of yeast and how to use them - look at this:
      http://www.homemadeloaves.co.uk/2012/08/yeast-different-types-and-how-to-use.html

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  5. Tried this recipe on a whim, absolutely love it! definitely using this in the future and would recommend it to anyone and everyone. Thank you very much!

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    Replies
    1. Brilliant! Thanks for your comment, it made my day :)

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  6. We have made them but we shall try them later!!!'!!!!!

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  7. Big hit in our house thanku for receipe

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  8. Is it 126 grams of water all 126 millilitres of water?

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  9. For water, 1g = 1ml. Millilitres and grams are interchangeable.

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  10. 4grams of salt is far too much.

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    Replies
    1. Feel free to adjust to your personal taste

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  11. Just made these with my 10 year old daughter. Really simple to make and absolutely delicious. She's already eaten about 10 and is asking if we can make another batch tomorrow. Would definitely recommend these.

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    Replies
    1. Great! They are a favourite of my children too!

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  12. I'm thinking of adding olives/sundried toms to the dough. Would this work, and when would I add them? I guessing after the first prove? Thanks

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    1. Lovely! Yes that would work. Maybe easier in at the start though. Enjoy!

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  13. Can u make these without the yeast

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    1. No. For some quick bread without yeast please try
      http://www.homemadeloaves.co.uk/2015/03/tortillas-for-chilli.html

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  14. Do I use strong bread flour?

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  15. Strong best but plain or even self raising will work. White or wholemeal.

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  16. How long do you need to leave the dough to prove for?

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    1. With dough balls, you can get away with little or no proving, though under-proved dough does crack when baked (not that it matters if your priority is quick bread). A full prove will give you more perfect results (beautifully rounded doughballs) and could take about 45 minutes depending on your room temperature. The test for fully risen dough is a little prod, after which the dough will spring back quickly. If you're aiming for speed, a ten minute prove will do (or none if you're really pushed for time).

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    2. That's great thank you :) I can't wait to make these

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    3. Hope they work out well for you!

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  17. Can I use these instead of store bought frozen dough balls that are required for Land of Nod? I cant find the frozen ones anywhere.

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    Replies
    1. Yes I think so, though the frozen ones may be only par-baked so you should consider that when thinking about cooking times.

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  18. Hi there Rachel, I made this recipe with dinner tonight and it worked so beautifully! The best bread I have ever made - ever! Thanks so much for sharing your experience and knowledge with the world!
    Sohret Hussein

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  19. How long do you usually knead for, please? :) Love this recipe but mine seem to be very flat and dense at the moment!

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    1. Not long: 10 mins is 'text book' but I'd say under five is more typical for me, unless I've got a good audiobook and time to spare.
      Tiny dough balls won't appear to rise much. You could try letting them prove for longer. If they're under-proved, the worst that can happen is mis-shapen dough balls, so no big deal. They'll still taste great :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for asking, Oliver. That would be fine. Maybe you could post your blog site URL here so we can pop over and visit?

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  21. yum!! Thanks for the recipe! and for the great tips on avoiding crumbly bread! Keep doing your thing!!!

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