Whole Wheat Buttery Dinner Rolls

It is early on a Sunday afternoon and I am sitting in front of my computer taking a well-needed and well deserved rest. Yesterday was hectic, even though on the weekend you are supposed to slow down a little. I spent most of the day driving to visit some new friends (and then back home, of course). Only then did I discover what seemed like an impossibility - I was out of bread! By then it was late, and, as I said, I was VERY tired. So it was off to bed and a few hours of sleep. This morning, still without bread in the house, I resolved that I had to do something, and fast.

So I turned to an old standby - a recipe you can put together quickly (about 3 hours start to finish) and you will have the most delicious dinner rolls you've ever tasted. Soft, buttery and they can be served while still warm. I have substituted about one third of the AP flour with whole wheat, just to add some fiber, and to intensify the wheaty flavor. But if you want, just use all AP flour. These rolls are guaranteed to pleasepretty much anybody.

Here's What You'll Need:

3 1/4 cups AP flour (or substitute 1 cup with whole wheat)
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tbs. butter, softened
1 Tbs dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. butter, melted

Here's What You'll Need To Do:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour(s), the sugar, salt and yeast.

2. Lightly beat the egg, mix in the softened butter, then add to the dry ingredients.

3. Add the water, slowly, while mixing by hand. Add just enough to make a slightly sticky dough. If you have used whole wheat flour, it may take just a little more water, as the whole wheat absorbs more.

4. Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface, and knead by folding and stretching, vigorously for at least 5 minutes. Ten is better. The final dough will be slightly sticky and very smooth.

5. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover and place in a warm spot to rise until doubled. This will take at least 1 1/2 hours.

6. Remove the dough from the bowl to a smooth surface and deflate. Divide the dough into about 10 equal pieces and place on a lined baking sheet. If you want to have softer rolls, place them closer together . Or if you prefer rolls that are just a little crustier, place them so they will not touch after the second rise.

7. Brush the rolls with melted butter, then cover and let the rolls rise for about 30 minutes.

8. About 15 minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).

9. Bake for about 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. If you wish you can brush them with more melted butter when they emerge from the oven and are still warm.

10. Cool on a rack. They can be served while still warm (and are absolutely delicious, with butter, jam, cheese, or really, just about anything!)

Dark Brown and Soft Restaurant Dinner Rolls

I don't get to restaurants very often. Not nearly enough, to tell you the truth. Still, when I do go, I always check out the bread basket. You know the one. The basket of rolls and other home-baked goodies they bring you before the meal. To eat while you wait for your order to arrive. Filled with dinner rolls, made with white flour, or whole wheat or even rye. And with all kinds of decorations, like sesame seeds and so forth. The ones that intrigue me are the rolls that are dark brown in color, with a not too chewy crust, and soft on the inside. And for a while now I have been looking for a recipe to 'duplicate' these rolls. At last I think I have found one... This recipe is adapted from one I found in a new cookbook I have acquired Whole Grain Baking from King Arthur Flour, another in a long line of really informative cookbooks from KAF. These guys really know baking! Their site is great, replete with recipes, forums and even video lessons, you should definitely check them out.

The rolls are soft, and very dark (thanks to the cocoa powder, which, btw, you can barely taste), and very attractive. However like all small breads, these rolls tend to dry quickly, and so should be eaten right away. That is never a problem!

Here's What You'll Need:
1 cup (250 ml) warm water
1/3 cup orange juice
4 Tbs (60g) softened butter or margarine
1/3 cup honey (or other sweetener like silan - date honey)
2 1/4 cups (250g) whole wheat flour
2 1/4 cups (270g) AP flour
1 3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbs (45g) sugar
2 Tbs (30g) cocoa powder
2 1/2 tsp instant yeast

Here's What You'll Need To Do:

Mix together ALL the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, mix thoroughly. If using a mixer, use the dough hook at medium speed for about 7 or 8 minutes.

 If kneading by hand, then knead for longer, like about 12 minutes. The dough should be soft and smooth, and just barely sticky.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover and let it rise until doubled, about 2 hours.

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide into about 10 equal-sized pieces. Place the rolls on a parchment covered baking sheet and cover to proof again, about 45 minutes.

About 20 minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Bake the rolls for about 15 minutes, until just slightly browned on the bottom. Cool on a rack.

Back to My Roots (Sort of...) - Scottish Baps

So actually, I am not Scottish. Not really. But I was born in Nova Scotia, and you can imagine I have met one or two Scots in my day. In high school my English teacher had us sit in alphabetical order and the middle row was made up entirely of MacDonalds! And that's not counting the MacNeils, Camerons, and McInnes. What can I say, Nova Scotia (New Scotland in Latin) is aptly named.

This bread, is extremely popular there, especially for meat sandwiches. It is served hot, or at room temperature. They can be frozen for months and re-heated just before serving. I can honestly say these are some of the tastiest sandwich rolls you'll ever eat.

Here's What You'll Need:

about 5 cups of AP flour
1/2 Tbs. instant dry yeast
1 1/2 oz (about 50 g) butter (or margarine) softened
2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup warm milk (or substitute)
1 cup warn water

Here's What You'll Need To Do:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast and salt. Cut in the butter, then break it up so it is pea-sized and grainy.

2. Add the warm milk and water and knead to form a soft dough. Continue mixing until the dough is very smooth, almost silky.

3. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turn to coat, then cover and let it rise until doubled, about 2 hours.

4. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (roughly 3 1/2 oz. or 100 g). Roll into a ball, then flatten each into a rough ellipse.

5. Cover and let rise until doubled again, about 30 minutes. In the meantime preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Just before baking, brush each roll with milk (or substitute) then sprinkle with flour.

6. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until a nice golden brown. Cool on a rack. Yum!!!

Time to Experiment Again - Tehina Rolls

I like to collect cookbooks. It's a fact. I probably have a couple of hundred 'traditional', i.e., hardcover cookbooks all displayed in maybe half a dozen different bookcases all over the house. And that's not counting the ones I've downloaded in all kinds of formats, from PDF to epub. That makes a couple of hundred more. Oh, and let's not forget my recipe collection safely stored in MasterCook (maybe 100K recipes, only some collected by me, OK only most collected by me). And everyday, I get email from more websites with recipes for ..,. well you name it. In my own defense, I don't save then all. But I do save some of them. The collection is growing.

Which only begs the question, if I have all these recipes, how come sometimes, like today, I just want to try something new. Something I haven't read about, or seen elsewhere. Something that just sounds like it should be good, so why not? That's how this recipe came about. I was going through the fridge, and came upon an unopened container of tehina, with added garlic and parsley. It just had to work, so I tried it. I wasn't wrong :).

Here's What You'll Need:

3 cups AP flour
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. instant yeast
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 cup + 1 Tbs. warm water (about 265 ml)
1/4 cup (about 60g) prepared tehina paste (with or without the added garlic and parsley)
about 1 tsp. dried garlic flakes, crushed

Here's What You'll Need To Do:

1. Place the dry ingredients (flour, salt, yeast, sugar) in a large bowl, or the bowl of a mixer, and stir to mix.

2. Add the water and the oil and mix to form a slurry, then add the tehina paste. Knead this soft dough, adding a little flour if you need to so it isn't too sticky until a rough dough form. Knead this dough for about 10 minutes until smooth. In a mixer, it will clean the bowl completely.

3. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.

4. Form the dough into rolls (or leave it as is and form a loaf). Let this rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. About 15 minutes before the end of the second rise, pre-heat the oven to 350 F (180 C).

5. Bake rolls for about 15 minutes or until a light brown. A loaf will take longer, about 25 minutes (on turbo) or 30 minutes with a regular setting. The house smells amazing! Oh, and with pastrami, it's to die for.