Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

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!

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Tortillas

Nothing is good as homemade tortillas. They are so soft and so good to eat right off the stove smothered with butter.  Yummy!

Tortillas

4 cups white flour
2 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup of oil or shortening
1 1/2 cups ice cold water

In a very large bowl, add all of the dry ingredients together. Use a large whisk to mix all of the ingredients.

Add the oil or the shortening to the flour mix. Use the whisk or a pastry cutter to incorporate the oil into the flour. The flour will start to look like crumbs.

Add 1 cup of the ice cold water to the flour mixture.  Stir with a wooden spoon.  Add the remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time until you get a nice workable dough ball.  Knead the dough ball.  If it is sticky just add a bit of flour and knead some more until all the flour has been mixed in. If the mixture is too dry, wet your hands and slowly knead the dough. (I always use 1 1/2 cups of water but some days the weather will be humid or it will be raining and I will have to adjust the flour or add a tiny bit of water).

The dough ball won’t be smooth.  It will be a little rough-looking.

Let the dough sit for at least ten minutes.

Now break off pieces of dough that are about the size of a golf ball. You should 24 (more or less) tortilla balls.

On a clean and lighly floured surface, sprinkle a little bit of flour on top

Roll out each ball with a rolling pin.

My little tortilla ball with my Daiso head-knocker (aka Japanese Rolling Pin!)

I find that rolling once and turning the tortilla a one-quarter turn after each rolling will result in a circular tortilla. Practice makes perfect! My tortillas used to be shaped like the state of Texas! Keep rolling the tortilla out until it is about 6 inches in diameter.

As you roll out each tortilla, set them on a large rectangular tray slightly overlapping. I roll out all of the tortillas first and then cook them.

On medium heat, use a large, ungreased cast iron skillet, non stick pan, or any other thick bottomed pan to cook your tortillas.

This is my thick cast iron "tala" on which I cook my tortillas.

Cook the tortilla until it puffs up.

The bottom will have little brown spots.  Turn it over and cook for another minute. Cook all the tortillas this way.

Keep the cooked tortillas in a hot pot or basket and lined with a clean tea towel and then cover keep warm.

Enjoy!