bread baking question

[nomadmom]

I have a recipe for dinner rolls that calls for all-purpose white flour and regular whole wheat flour.  I've made them before, and they came out great.  I'd like to make them again, but the only flours I have in are *bread* flours.  I know it seems backwards, but would it be o.k. to sub the bread flour for the regular?

[SpuglyRoo]

It should be fine.  I'd try to be very careful not to overwork the dough and I might reduce the amount of flour by a teaspoon or so for each cup of flour, but they should still be good.  They might be a bit more chewy than the ones made with regular flour.

[Llyra]

I think you might get a very slightly different texture-- with more "chew" to it-- but it should work just fine, even if it is a bit different. Honestly, I think it would taste BETTER, but I like a bit of chew to my rolls.

[ollyoxenfree]

I agree that the rolls will probably be a little chewier. Unless you want/need a really tender, soft texture, you can probably substitute without too much noticeable difference. 

Last weekend I made cinnamon buns using a sweet roll recipe with bread flour instead of AP flour. The dough calls for a fair amount of sugar, melted butter and eggs, so I don't know how that compares to your dinner roll recipe (probably yours has less sugar and no eggs?). 

Anyway, the buns were a big success. They were a little chewier than usual, but still tender. I was careful not to over-knead and with the rising times. 

[nomadmom]

Well, I made them.  You all were right, the only difference was the texture.  With the regular flour, they were tender, but the bread flour made them heartier -- more like a sandwich roll than a dinner roll.  They're equally good, just different.  Ollyoxenfree, yes, the recipe uses only a small amount of sugar, and no butter (uses oil) or eggs.