Cheesy Dinner Rolls

Cheesy Dinner Rolls

I finally got back to baking. I love baking bread, love working with dough. So getting back to baking makes me happy. One can call bread baking my happy place.

Yesterday was a rainy day here in Northern California. I was planing to make soup, and needed to have a good healthy dinner roll to serve with the soup. Thats why I whipped up this cheesy dinner roll, filled with good seeds and fibers. I used blue cheese in mine because, I had it in my refrigerator, but feel free to use any semi-hard cheese in yours. 

Makes 12 rolls.

Ingredients:

• 375 ml lukewarm water
• 30 g live yeast (2¼ teaspoon dry yeast)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 350-375 g all-purpose flour
• 150 g whole wheat flour
• 100 g mixed seeds (I used rolled oats, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 40 ml olive oil
• 200 g blue cheese

Topping:

• egg wash
• mixed seeds

Directions:

In a large bowl (the one for the stand mixer) dissolve (live yeast) sprinkle (dry yeast) over the warm water. If using dry yeast, add the sugar, this will help to wake up the yeast. Let stand for about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, and stir until just combined. Let the dough rest for about 10-15 minutes. This lets the flour absorb all the water completely, and helps activate the natural enzymes in the flour, and improves the gluten development in the dough.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the dough and knead the dough for about 8-10 minutes, until elastic, add more flour if the dough gets to sticky. 

Let the dough rise for about 60 minutes or until doubled in size. 

Pour the dough unto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough in 16-18 balls. Insert a piece of the cheese into each ball, and make sure to close the dough completely, to prevent any leakage.   Place the balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet a few inches apart. 

Let the rolls rise for another 30-40 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).  

Brush the rolls with beaten egg and sprinkle with mixed seeds. Toss about a cup of water in the bottom of the oven when you have put the rolls in the oven, quickly closing the oven door. This will produce steam, and give a better rise to the rolls.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until deep golden brown.

Let the rolls cool on a wire rack. 

Serve the rolls with dinner.

Enjoy!

Dinner Rolls with Sun-dried Tomatoes

Dinner Rolls with Sun-dried Tomatoes

I really love to bake bread. I love the feeling of the soft bouncy dough. The sweet smell of fresh baked bread makes me think of my mom. She baked the best birthday rolls/buns and a great whole milk bread (sødmælksbrød), sadly the recipe are lost forever, but I can still remember the smell.   

Making bread can be a daunting project, but with a little preparation it's surely manageable. This recipe is fairly straight forward. The stand mixer is doing all the hard work. These rolls can be changed up. Add your favorite herbs, leave out the sun-dried tomatoes or add some chopped olives. The options are endless.

Ingredients:

• 50 g live yeast or 4 teaspoons dry yeast 
• ½ teaspoon sugar - if using dry yeast
• 600 ml warm water (when using live yeast, not hotter than 38℃)
• 900 g bread flour (save 25-50 g to mix with the sun-dried tomato)
• 1 teaspoon (7 g) salt
• 1 tablespoon flat-leaved parsley, minced
• 60 g sun-dried tomatoes, minced
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

Sprinkles:

• Egg wash
• coarse salt
• puppy seeds
• sunflower seeds   

Directions: 

In a large bowl (the one for the stand mixer) dissolve (live yeast) sprinkle (dry yeast) over the warm water. If using dry yeast, add ½ teaspoon sugar, this will help to wake up the yeast. Let stand for about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, and stir until just combined. Let the dough rest for about 20-30 minutes. This lets the flour absorb all the water completely, and helps activate the natural enzymes in the flour, and improves the gluten development in the dough.

Chop/mince the tomatoes and parsley and mix it with the reserved flour.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the dough and knead the dough for about 10 minutes, until elastic, add more flour if the dough gets to sticky. 

Let the dough rise for about 60 minutes or until doubled in size. 

Pour the dough unto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough in 16-18 balls. Place the balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet ½-1-inch apart in a circle pattern. The balls will grow into each other while rising and baking. This will give the rolls the soft sides.

Let the rolls rise for another 30-40 minutes, until the rolls are “grown” together. 

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃). Place a baking sheet on the bottom shelf of the oven. Place 2 very wet kitchen towels on the baking sheets. This will fill the oven with steam, while heating.

Brush the rolls with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse salt, puppy seeds and or sunflower seeds. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until deep golden brown.

Let the rolls cool on a wire rack. 

Serve the rolls with dinner.

Enjoy!