Rye Walnut Rolls

So this is my second entry into what was suppose to be a 4 part series throughout the month of February. This is all part of our Gourmet bread challenge and BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench. You could say that I was one batch behind. I keep threatening to catch up but that just may not be in the cards...


So this week I decided I just had to try the Rye Walnut Rolls. And why was that you ask? I had all the ingredients and did not have to leave the house to get anything!!!

Am I pleased with how these turned out? Somewhat. I may have messed up a bit. I DID NOT want 24 rolls so I halved the recipe. Now have more than a little experience with baking bread so this should not have been too bad but I was very distracted and even when I turned it onto my board to start kneading it was way too dry and I should have added some more liquid right then. Oh well. I eventually got the texture right but it was still a really tough dough to work with. I did not get the elasticity that I like when I am kneading bread. Also my timing was bad and I had an errand to run after I picked the girls up so I think they started to deflate from too long of a rise. Despite all of my errors these rolls turned out great. Nice sweet flavor from the onions in a nicely textured dough. T had one of these with roasted chicken, tomato and lettuce. Held up great to that!!!

When you are done here please be sure to head over to my baking buddies sites... Andrea of Andrea's Recipes; Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen (who also designed our cool badge!); Kelly of Sass & Veracity; Courtney of Coco Cooks; and Sandy of At the Baker's Bench ~ I'm sure they'll have something wonderful going on in their ovens too

Rye Walnut Rolls (Gourmet Magazine February 2009)

Makes 24 rolls.

Equipment

8 to 10-inch saute pan
sieve
medium bowl
stand mixer with hook attachment
2 baking sheets, lined with parchment or lightly greased
large mixing bowl

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 tablespoon salt, divided
1/2 cup (120 ml) olive oil
2 cups (480 ml) whole milk
1-3/4 teaspoons instant yeast (or 2 teaspoons active dry yeast)
1/4 cup (60 ml) warm water (105-115° F/41-46° C)
1 tablespoon honey or sugar
5-1/2 cups (660 g) unbleached all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup (128 g) rye flour
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup (56 g) walnuts, toasted, cooled, and coarsely chopped
egg wash (1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)
1/4 cup (34 g) poppy seeds or nigella seeds

Preparation

1. Heat the saute pan and cook the onion in the olive oil with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt until it’s soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain the onions in the sieve over the medium bowl. Add the milk and stir.

2. In the bowl of the stand mixer, mix the all-purpose flour, rye flour, pepper, yeast, and the rest of the salt. (If using active dry yeast, stir together yeast, warm water, and honey in large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast. Add flours and remaining salt to yeast mixture.)

3. Add the warm water and honey to the milk mixture, then pour into the dry ingredients. Mix on low until a soft dough forms. Turn the speed up to 2 and mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, up to 6 minutes. (To mix by hand, add the ingredients in order described to large mixing bowl. Stir with wood spoon until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a wooden surface that is lightly dusted with flour. Knead by hand until the dough is elastic and smooth, about 6 minutes.)

4. Add the onion and the chopped roasted walnuts, then mix again on low until everything is evenly distributed. (By hand: Pat the dough into a 9-inch square and sprinkle on the onions and walnuts. Fold the dough over to enclose the filling and pinch the edges to seal. Knead the dough to distribute the onions and walnuts throughout, about 2 minutes.) The dough will be lumpy. Push back in any pieces of onions or nuts that pop out, though this might be easier said than done.

5. Put the dough into a lightly oiled large mixing bowl and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Allow to rise in a draft-free spot at warm room temperature until doubled, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

6. Dust a work surface with flour. Punch down the dough, but do not knead. Divide in half and cover one half with plastic wrap. Roll the other half into a 12-inch (30.5 cm) log. Cut the log into 12 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place the rolls 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel. Make the rest of the rolls, place on the other baking sheet, and cover.

7. Allow to rise covered at warm room temperature until doubled, up to 90 minutes.

8. Place oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat to 375° F/190° C.

9. Brush the rolls with the egg wash and sprinkle with the poppy seeds. Bake for about 12 minutes, then rotate and switch the pans and bake for another 8 to 12 minutes, until golden brown.

10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack, then serve.

I am submitting this to Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench for her BYOB event as well!


As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com