Sweet Wheat Dinner Rolls

In addition to making Hot Cross Buns for Easter, I also adapted the recipe to make some decadent dinner rolls.  I'm pretty sure that even the most staunch white-bread enthusiast couldn't turn these down!

Sweet Wheat Dinner Rolls

Sponge:

7 oz. whole wheat flour

2 1/2 tsp. yeast

1 c. buttermilk (room temperature)

Dough:

16 oz. white bread flour

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter (softened)

5 eggs, beaten (cold)

sponge

Mix the ingredients for the sponge.  Cover and allow to sit for 2 hours.  

In a mixer, beat together the eggs, butter, salt, and sugar.  Add the sponge.  Gradually add the remaining flour (and extra if necessary).  After the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl, mix on medium speed for 5 minutes.  Turn onto a floured surface and knead briefly.  Cover and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.  

Punch the dough down, and divide it into 2 oz. portions.  (Work in quarter batches, and keep the remaining dough covered so that it doesn't dry out.) Roll each portion into a ball and place on a parchment-lined baking pan about 1" apart. Lightly spray with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise for 1 hour.  

Preheat the oven to 350 ˚F.  Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half way through.  Cool completely on a wire rack before serving. Makes 2 dozen rolls.

I tried to reproduce the Great Harvest Honey Bunny with a bit of extra dough.  Apparently that takes some practice...

Hot Cross Buns

As of two weeks ago, I had never attempted to make Hot Cross Buns. This seemed a bit ironic (as I am both a bread-baker and a Christian) so I thought I'd give it a try for Easter. The key elements of this recipe are the butter (lots of it!), eggs (5 of them!), and the addition of allspice. The resulting rolls are rich, slightly sweet, and wonderfully aromatic. A small amount of icing on top launches them into the 'irresistible' category.

Hot Cross Buns
from Crust and Crumb by Peter Reinhart

Sponge:
3 1/2 oz. white bread flour
2 tsp yeast
1 c. buttermilk (at room temperature)

Dough:
19 1/2 oz. white bread flour
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. allspice
1/2 c. unsalted butter (softened)
5 eggs, beaten (cold)
sponge

Mix the ingredients for the sponge.  Cover and allow to sit for 2 hours.  

In a mixer beat together the eggs, butter, salt, and sugar.  Add the sponge.  Gradually add the remaining flour (and extra if necessary). Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes once the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl.  Turn onto a floured surface and knead briefly. Cover and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.

Punch the dough down, and divide it into 2 oz. portions.  (Work in quarter batches, and keep the remaining dough covered so that it doesn't dry out.) Roll each portion into a ball and place on a parchment-lined baking pan about 1" apart. Lightly spray with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise for 1 hour.*  

Preheat the oven to 350 ˚F.  Brush the tops of the buns with a mixture of egg yolk + 1 Tbsp. water.  Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half way through.  Cool completely on a wire rack before decorating the tops with icing. Makes 2 dozen buns.

*Alternatively, you may let the dough rise for 30 minutes, then wrap the pan in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it overnight.  Remove the pan from the refrigerator about 1 1/2 hours before baking, allowing the buns to warm to room temperature first.  

Under Construction

As Easter approaches, I've got some recipes that I'm working on. Here's a preview of my hot cross buns:

Stay tuned!  Hopefully I'll have more details to post in the next couple of weeks.

Sesame Loaf

This is my creation of the weekend.  It has an enjoyable nutty flavor and makes a good change-of-pace sandwich bread.  Happy baking!

Sesame Loaf


2 c. water
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 pkg. (2 1/4 tsp) yeast
2 tsp. salt
1 c. rice flour
1/4 c. sesame seeds
4 c. white bread flour

Mix together the dry ingredients. Add these to the wet ingredients and, using a mixer with a dough hook, mix thoroughly (adding more flour if necessary) until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Let rest 5 minutes. Knead again briefly, then cover and let rise for about an hour or until nearly double in size. Punch down, then shape into a loaf and place into a greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise for an hour or until nearly double in bulk. Bake at 350 ˚F for 25 minutes, then brush the top of the loaf with an egg yolk + 1 Tbsp. water mixture. Bake for another 10-15 minutes until the bottom and sides of the loaf appear slightly golden. Cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing.

Nora's Irish Soda Bread

I don't know who Nora is, but when I pulled her recipe off of the internet a year ago, I was really impressed with it.  This recipe is a little different from those typically posted here because it isn't a yeast bread.  Instead, this quick bread (read: EASY!) is made by reacting baking soda (basic) and buttermilk (acidic) to make the bread rise.  Unfortunately I've tasted a lot of really bad soda bread.  It does not keep well, and if the dough is overworked, a game of kickball might put the resulting loaf to better use.  This recipe (while not exactly traditional) produces a really moist, wonderful loaf.  Note that I use regular, all-purpose flour.  This helps to reduce the formation of gluten, which would make the bread tough.

Mix Dry Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 c. all purpose flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 8 oz. raisins, softened (soak in hot water, drain)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp caraway seeds (optional)

Mix Wet Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 3 Tbsp. melted margarine

Combine wet and dry ingredients; knead together on a floured surface. Add to a greased, floured 9" pan. Cut an "X" in the top. Bake 55-60 minutes at 350 ˚F.

Note:  This will make one big loaf or two smaller ones. You may, scale the recipe up by 0.5 to make two larger loaves.

Golden Raisin Loaf

Today, I decided to keep things simple.  No fancy syrups.  No long fermentation times.  Just a plain wheat loaf with an occasional burst of sweet golden raisin.  I'm imagining that this will be really good toasted with a little bit of butter for breakfast tomorrow.  Of course, I also thought about making to-go french toast sticks... but that would be less simple!

Golden Raisin Loaf

1 c. golden raisins
2 c. water
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. agave nectar (or honey)
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. yeast
2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. white bread flour

Soak the raisins in warm water for about 30 minutes.  Then, using a mixer equipped with a dough hook, combine the raisins, water (try using the raisin soak water), canola oil and agave nectar.  Add the whole wheat flour, yeast, and salt at low speed.  Next add the white flour in 3-4 portions, until the dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl.  Turn this out onto a floured surface and knead gently until the dough reaches a smooth, elastic consistency.  Let rise, covered, for about 1 hour, until doubled in bulk.  Punch  down and knead again briefly.  Then shape the dough into a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan.  Allow it to rise for 1 hour before baking at 375 ˚C for 35 minutes.  Turn off the oven and let the bread remain inside for an additional 10 minutes.  Remove the loaf from the oven and the bread pan.  Allow it to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

Last week I had a request for bread that contains no white flour, is vegan, and has no added 'sugary substance'. This recipe is one that I made a couple of times during my blogging hiatus in December.  It draws inspiration from Peter Reinhart's book Crust and Crumb and mostly fits the bill.  While it does not have any added sugar, honey, or syrup, it does contain raisin water.  Raisins are a fantastic source of natural sugar, and raisin juice concentrate can be found in some grocery stores.  I chose to make my own.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

Sponge:
16 oz (about 4 c.) whole wheat flour
2 tsp instant yeast
1 c. cool water

Mix together the sponge ingredients in a large mixing bowl. (It will form a thick paste.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the sponge to ferment at room temperature for 4-6 hours. It should rise and then fall.

Raisin water:
2 c. raisins
4 c. warm water

Soak the raisins in the water for one hour. Then, puree the combination in a blender or food processor. Strain the puree and collect the liquid. Discard the pulp. Place the liquid in a saucepan, bring it to a boil, then simmer for about an hour. Upon cooling, this will result in a thick syrupy brown liquid.

Dough:
8 oz (about 2 c.) whole wheat flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. yeast
1/2 c. raisin water
6 oz. (about 1 c.) cooked wild or brown rice
16 oz (about 4 c.) sponge (from above; use all)

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, yeast, raisin water, and cooked rice.  While mixing, gradually add portions of the sponge. Mix thoroughly to combine, and add flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, adding more flour as needed. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes, then knead again briefly. Lightly grease a bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl, spray it lightly with cooking spray, and cover it with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 1 hour (or until about doubled in bulk).  Punch the dough down and divide it in half.  Knead each half briefly, shape into a round, then gently roll into an oblong loaf.  Place onto a greased cookie sheet.  Let rise for 30 minutes.  Then, bake at 350 ºF for 20 minutes.  Rotate the loaf for even baking.  Then bake another 20 minutes. Turn the oven off, and allow the loaf to remain inside for 10 minutes more.  Cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing.