It was a bit chilly and breezy early this morning and the weather outside was just so beautiful with a brilliant blue, cloudless sky. It was a perfect day so I was immediately in the mood for some homemade bread.
Some people are intimidated by the thought of making bread. It is not hard whatsoever! I find it so very peaceful and relaxing and the end results are homemade goodness created lovingly by you…just imagine your home filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread and the compliments you will received for all your “hard” work!
When I first saw the delicious-looking pictures for these dinner rolls I knew I just had to make them. I have been wanting to make these for quite a while now and have just got around to baking them today. The original recipe for this is from the “For the Love of Cooking” blog. But Pam’s recipe for whole wheat dinner rolls was meant for a bread machine and since I don’t have one I had to experiment.
The results? A perfectly (good for you) luscious, soft, melt-in-your mouth bread that you will want to make every day. It’s so easy!
For starters you will need:
1/2 cup of warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
In a medium sized bowl, add these three ingredients and mix. Store in a nice warm place while it grows to double (or triple) its size. This will take about 15-20 minutes.
While you are waiting for the yeast to activate, gather these ingredients:
1/2 cup warm milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg warmed to room temperature
Mix these three ingredients in a large bowl.
In another bowl you will need the following ingredients:
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup whole meal flour (or whole wheat)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Mix these three ingredients together.
By now, the yeast will have doubled in size. Add the yeast mixture to the bowl with the milk, egg, and butter. Stir well.
Now add the flour mix to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix well to form a dough ball. If the dough ball is a little dry , you might need to add some more milk at this point. Add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you get a nice workable dough ball.
On your counter top or table top, spread a little flour so that you can knead the dough. This is the fun part. Hopefully you have a window where you will be kneading the dough so you can sing and watch what’s going on outside.
Knead the dough for at least 15 minutes. If you don’t know it, you are incorporating air into the dough helping it to expand and rise…and yeast just loves to be massaged
Now you will have to add your dough ball (which will be nice and smooth from all that massaging kneading) to a big bowl. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the bowl and smooth it all over. Add the dough ball and just turn it once to oil the other side. Cover with cling fling and a clean dish towel and set it out in a nice warm place. I set mine outside. Leave it to rise until it has doubled in bulk (about 1 1/2 hours).
Punch the dough down. Butter a 9×13 inch glass baking dish (don’t use oil…the dough will just suck it up). Divide the dough into 15 smaller pieces and place into the baking dish. Brush each roll with melted butter.
Cover and let rise about an hour until it has doubled in size.
Bake in a 375F oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. You can brush each finished roll again with melted butter and serve hot. Enjoy!
If you should find you have any leftovers, these keep well in the fridge and can be heated up in the microwave for a few seconds. They will still be as delicious!