Light Wheat Sourdough & Poppy Seed Rolls

I made these Sourdough Rolls for an All American luncheon. I thought about bringing a dessert, but rolls are always in fashion and definitely All-American.

The menu was Southern fare for sure. We had fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, potato salads, pasta salads, green salads, and desserts galore, including classic banana pudding and chess pie, oh my! 

Biscuits are usually the bread of choice with fried chicken, but these sourdough rolls were a nice change and went well with the other menu items. I made the rolls the day before which helped with my schedule. I’m glad I opted to make them instead of dessert. Now, I don’t have leftover dessert in my kitchen tempting me every time I go in there. I have a few rolls for a tuna or egg salad sandwich for lunch. Or, I might just eat them drizzled with orange butter. Oh yeah!

 

 

Light Wheat Sourdough & Poppy Seed Rolls

Adapted from Classic Sourdoughs by Ed Wood and Jean Wood

Makes: ~18 Rolls

Ingredients:

Rolls:

• 3 cups culture (720 mL) culture proof (see process)
• 3/8 cup (90 mL) oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white whole wheat flour (I used home-milled flour)
• 3 T water (if you’re not using home-milled flour, you might not need the extra water)

Glaze:

• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons milk (I used almond milk)
• Poppy seeds

 

Process:

Step 1: Activate the culture (sourdough starter):

I used my original starter for these rolls. It hadn’t been fed in awhile so it needed some attention.

Step 2: Create a Culture Proof

Refer to the Easy Sourdough Bread in a Pot post for the process of activating the culture and creating a culture proof.

After proofing for 6 hours at 80 degrees F. my culture proof was ready for the next step.

 

Step 3: Mix the Dough

Pour the culture in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the oil, salt, sugar, and egg.

 

Add the flour a cup at a time until the dough is too stiff to mix.  I used a Danish Dough Whisk for this part.  Home-milled grains soak up more liquid so I added about 3 tablespoons of water.

 

Step 4: Knead the Dough

I finished mixing the dough in the bowl with my hands, then let it rest for about 10 minutes before kneading.  It soaked up the water during the (autolysis) process.

 

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead in the remaining flour until the dough is smooth and supple.

 

Step 5: Shape the Rolls

Divide the dough into 18 equal balls, place on a greased baking sheet and flatten slightly.  My dough balls weighed about 75 grams each with a little left over for a small roll for the baker.

 

Step 6: Proof the Rolls

Cover with plastic wrap and proof for 1 to 2 hours at 85 degrees F.

 

Step 7: Prepare Rolls for Baking

Beat the egg together with the milk and brush the tops of the rolls with the mixture.  Sprinkle with poppy seeds.  Make a cross slash in the tops of the rolls.

 

Step 8: Bake the Rolls

Bake the rolls in a preheated over at 425 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until brown.

 

Step 9: Cool on Wire Rack

 

Step 10: Enjoy

I served these rolls with the Orange butter from the April 2012 issue of Cooking Light. See below.

 

Orange Butter

• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon of grated orange rind

Combine butter, honey, and orange rind and stir well. Spread about 1/2 teaspoon of the butter mixture on each roll. This amount serves 4.  I increased it to serve 18.

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

Kimmelweck Rolls

The BOM (Bread of the Month) for the Artisan Bread Bakers FB Group is Kimmelweck Rolls. A Kimmelweck or “Weck” Roll as they are commonly referred to, is a hard roll that resembles a crusty Kaiser roll, but is topped with caraway and coarse salt instead of poppy seeds.

I had never made this type of roll before so I decided to give it a shot. I made a light wheat version by adding white whole wheat flour. These rolls are really easy and don’t require too much hands on time. I enjoyed making them. It was a relaxing activity for a Sunday afternoon.

Weck rolls are traditionally served as “beef on weck” but I had mine with egg salad and some sweet gherkins. It was an interesting combination of textures, but I enjoyed the flavors.

 

Kimmelweck Rolls

Makes: 8 Rolls

Adapted from: http://www.jewishfood-list.com/recipes/bread/rollskimelweck01.html

Ingredients:

• 2-1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 envelope)
• 1 cup lukewarm water (95°F to 110°F)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tbsp. salt
• 1 tsp. honey
• 2 large egg whites, 1 reserved for egg wash
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 2 cups unbleached bread flour, extra for kneading
• 1 tbsp. water
• Coarse sea salt crystals and caraway seeds, for sprinkling

 

Directions:

Sprinkle the yeast over 1/4 cup of the lukewarm water in a small bowl. Set aside to proof until bubbly, about 5 minutes.

 

Combine the remaining 3/4 cup lukewarm water, the oil, sugar, salt, honey, and 1 egg white in a large mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add 1-1/2 cups of the flour and mix until smooth. Add the yeast solution and slowly stir in an additional 1-1/2 cups of the flour.

 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough for 5 to 7 minutes, until smooth and elastic but still slightly tacky to the touch, adding only as much additional flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking.

 

Transfer to a large greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

 

Punch the dough down, cover the bowl again, and let the dough rise a second time, for about 30 minutes.

 

Return the dough to the work surface and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth round, then flatten the rounds slightly.

Place on a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet, well spaced to allow spreading. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.

 

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Combine the remaining egg white and the 1 tbsp. water in a small dish and blend.

Brush the rolls lightly with the egg white wash. Score the rolls with a lame or sharp knife by making 4 crescent-shaped slits that radiate out from the center.

 

Sprinkle the rolls with the coarse salt and caraway seeds and spritz, with water.

 

Bake for 5 minutes. Quickly open the oven door, spritz the rolls again with water, and close the oven. Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes more, until browned and crisp. Cool the rolls on wire racks.

 

These rolls definitely live up to their reputation of being hard and crusty. If you’re looking for a hard roll, this might just fit the bill.

 

This is a versatile dough. You can make Vienna Bread or salt and pepper sticks out of the same dough. I debated about whether to make the rolls or the bread sticks. I think this dough would be good for bread sticks. Maybe next time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy