Honey Wheat Rolls

Here's the only wheat roll recipe you'll ever need.  These are soft and flavorful with a nice high rise I love out of pan rolls.  Butter-and-jelly them, sop them in gravy, use them as slider buns, or really just eat them plain.  If you happen to have any left (unlikely), they're also really delicious with sausage and fruit for breakfast. 

Honey Wheat Rolls (print recipe)
Makes 16 rolls

1 packet "highly active" active dry yeast, or 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast, or 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 cups King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat Flour or King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup instant mashed potato flakes or 1/4 cup potato flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

1.  If you're using active dry or "highly active" yeast, dissolve it with a pinch of sugar in 2 tablespoons of the lukewarm water. Let the yeast and water sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, until the mixture has bubbled and expanded. If you're using instant yeast, you can skip this step.

 2.  Combine the dissolved yeast with the remainder of the water and the rest of the ingredients. Mix and knead everything together—by hand, mixer or bread machine set on the dough cycle—till you've made a smooth dough. If you're kneading in a stand mixer, it should take about 5 to 7 minutes at second speed. In a bread machine (or by hand), it should form a smooth ball.

3.  Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise, at room temperature, till it's quite puffy but not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 90 minutes to 2 hours. Rising may take longer, especially if you've kneaded by hand. Give it enough time to become quite puffy.
4.  While the dough is rising, lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, or two 9" round cake pans.

5.  Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface. Divide it into 16 pieces, or 24 pieces, depending on whether you want larger or smaller rolls.

6.  Shape each piece into a rough ball by pulling the dough into a very small knot at the bottom (think of a balloon with its opening knotted), then rolling it under the palm of your hand into a smooth ball.

7.  Place the rolls in the 9" x 13" pan, or put eight rolls in each of the round cake pans, spacing them evenly; they won't touch one another.

8.  Cover the pans with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the rolls to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. They'll become very puffy, and will reach out and touch one another. While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.

9.  Bake the rolls for 15 minutes, and tent them loosely with aluminum foil. Continue to bake until they're mahogany-brown on top, but lighter colored on the sides, an additional 10 to 13 minutes.

10.  Remove the rolls from the oven, and after 2 or 3 minutes, carefully transfer them to a rack. They'll be hot and delicate, so be careful. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread

I should start a new tag/label called "Classics" - the important basics everyone needs at least one good recipe for.  Lemon Bars.  Chocolate Cake.  Cinnamon Rolls.  Whole Wheat Bread - that's what kind of recipe this is.  Homemade wheat bread is comforting beyond description.  Ed tells stories of coming home from school as a teenager on baking day:

"Mom baked bread twice a month - she made 6 to 8 white, the same number of wheat.  My brothers and I would come home and there'd be fresh, hot bread - we'd slice it, slather with butter and jelly - the four of us easily demolished two loaves in one sitting.  Mom had to shoo us out to save some for the rest of the week."

That's what kind of bread this is.  I like to eat some warm, then toast it for breakfast the next few days.  I also like to pretend I'm a pioneer woman, turning out fresh bread for my kinsfolk, with creamy butter from the churn, and a pitcher of milk to dip it in.

Many "classic" bread recipes make 2 to 3 loaves, so please note: this makes one.  Obviously simple to multiply - might as well, if you're making one anyway.  And if you've got anyone like Ed in your family, you'll need to, just to get a slice, yourself.

Whole Wheat Bread (print recipe)

Makes 1 loaf

1 to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water*
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey, molasses, or maple syrup**
3 1/2 cups (14 ounces) King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/2 tsp instant yeast, or 1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 2 T of the water of the recipe
1/4 cup nonfat dried milk
1 1/4 tsp salt

*Use the greater amount in winter or in a dry climate; the lesser amount in summer or a humid climate

**I recommend honey or maple syrup, unless you really love molasses

1.  Mix and knead all of the ingredients together to make a soft, supple dough.  Adjust the dough's consistency with additional water or flour, if necessary.

2.  Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or large measuring cup, cover it, and allow it to rise until it's puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours.

3.  Shape the dough into an 8" log.  Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, cover the pan loosely, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 to 2 hours, or until the center ahs crowned about 1" above the rim of the pan.

4.  Bake the break in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes to prevent over-browning.  The finished loaf will register 190 degrees on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center.

5.  Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.  If desired, rube the crust with a stick of butter; this will yield a soft, flavorful crust.  Hello.

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

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3 years ago:  Texas Sheet Cake