I’d been thinking about my Challah Sammich Rolls. I like ’em, but the butter and egg had me considering alternatives.
Which got me to thinking about my go-to dead-simple bread machine bread; Sweet Honey French Bread – which I have adapted into Honey Rye Bread, and removed the bread machine bit for a bit of added flexibility.
Which got me to thinking about honey rye rolls…
INGREDIENTS
•1 tbsp olive oil
•1-1/3 cup warm (110º) water
•1-1/2 tsp honey
•2 tsp yeast
•2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour + 1/4 cup
•1/2 cup rye flour
•1 tbsp sugar
•1/2 tsp salt
•Melted butter or olive oil (optional)
Combine the olive oil with the honey and the warm water in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and sprinkle with the yeast.
Let rest for about fifteen minutes until the yeast has bubbled and foamed in the bowl.
Combine the 1/2 cup of rye flour with 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, the sugar and the salt in another bowl.
With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in 1/2 cup scoops and continue mixing until the dough begins to pull into a ball – you may need to add that last 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour here to make it come together.
Increase the speed to medium and knead the dough in the mixer for nine minutes.
The nice part about this bit, aside from the fact that my mixer has a built-in timer, so’s I can punch in the number, hit start, and go away for a while; is that once the dough is well and truly kneaded, it will have basically cleaned the sides of the bowl, allowing me to re-use that bowl without a lot of washing, for the next step.
Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and shape into a ball.
Add some olive oil to the mixing bowl and return the dough to it, flipping the dough to coat all sides with the olive oil.
Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm spot for 90 minutes or so, until the dough has doubled in size.
Note: if stuff happens and you cannot get back to your dough when that 90 minutes is up, no worries. Just punch it down when you do get back and carry on. If stuff really happens, and you have to stop working on the dough, just place it in a lightly floured zipper bag and stash it in the fridge until you can get to it. Let the chilled dough come up to room temp before carrying on.
Once your dough has doubled nicely, punch it down and transfer it to a lightly floured board.
I went with the method I’ve been using to make challah hamburger rolls, which is that I rolled the dough out on the board and then used a three inch circle cutter to form the rolls.
Using two disks to make each roll, I ended up with ten rolls total – nine made with the cut disks and one ball roll made with the leftovers.
Arrange the rolls on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with a kitchen towel, then set them aside in that warm spot to rise for 45 minutes or so – this image is after the dough has risen.
Heat the oven to 425° after the rolls have been rising for 30 minutes.
Pop the rolls into the hot oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are a rich golden brown.
Brush the rolls with a bit of olive oil or melted butter, then remove to a rack to cool.
These should stay fresh in your bread box for a day or so, or you can stash ’em in the freezer until needed.
I am planning on jalapeño cheeseburgers with LOTS of sautéed onion for me, and mebbe the leftover rolls stashed in teh freezer for The Book Club to try at our Sunday gathering.