Activate Yeast: In the bowl whisk together yeast with warm milk and 1/2 teaspoon of the granulated sugar. Rest for 15 minutes until mixture is foamy. Set aside while you cook the cornmeal mixture.
Cook the Cornmeal: In a pan, transfer the cornmeal, 1/2 of the sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and water. Stir and cook in medium heat until it thickens. This will only take about 2 minutes. Once the mixture is thick, add the softened butter and stir until fully melted. Turn of the heat and continue stirring. Remove from the heat and let cool before adding to the flour.
Add Wet and Dry Ingredients: In the mixing bowl, pour the activated yeast. Add the bread flour, cooked cornmeal mixture, egg, remaining sugar and salt. Mix on medium low-speed (KitchenAid Setting 2) until combined, then switch to a hook attachment. Allow mixture to knead on medium-low speed until smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes. If the dough is too sticky add 1 tbsp of flour at a time, nut NOT too much. The dough should be slightly sticky, smooth and elastic. If too much flour is added the bread will be dense and heavy. A good measure of correct texture is a clean mixing bowl, while the dough still slightly sticking at the bottom.
First Rest Period, 60 Minutes: Remove the dough from the bowl and form into a ball. Grease the bowl bot the inside and the cover facing inside. This will help prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl and the cover. Transfer into a greased bowl. Roll the dough inside the bowl to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with bowl cover, plastic wrap or warm towel and allow to rest for 60 minutes in a warm place.*** TIP: To help the dough rise better, store it inside the oven which had been pre-heated to 110F. Once it reached the 110F, turn OFF the oven. DO NOT forget to turn it OFF, you only want the oven to warm up for the dough to rise, you do not want to dough to be baked. Some oven has a proofing setting, mine doesn’t, so this is my trick. Shape: Remove from the bowl and lightly push the dough down with the heel of the palm of your hands to knockout the air. At this stage, the dough should at least double in size. Divide the dough into 9 equal portions (or 12 for small portions) and roll each portion. For even size, use kitchen weighing scale if you have one. Roll each piece into a ball, cover and let rest for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the dough will slightly be fluffier. Flatten each piece to knock down the air and then roll again into a ball size. Roll the bottom and side in cornmeal leaving the top without cornmeal. Arrange in a 9-inch square pan lined with parchment paper.
Second Rest Period, 60 Minutes: Cover and let rest for another 60 minutes. Use the same trick in step 4.
Preheat oven to 350F during last 10 minutes of dough rising. If using the trick in step 4, make sure to remove the bread from the oven before pre-heating it to 350F.
Egg Wash: Gently brush top of the rolls with milk. Sprinkle cornmeal on top.
Bake: Bake in preheated 350F oven until top is golden brown, about 25 – 28 minutes. Check at 20 minutes and cover top with aluminum foil to avoid burning the top.
Cool: Leave in the pan for 5 minutes then remove from the pan and transfer in a cooling rack. Remove the parchment paper lining as well. This will prevent the bottom from getting soggy.
