Rolls with Crunchy Bits and Rosemary

I spotted these fabulous-looking rolls (buns? whatever) in the Swedish food blog Ett öppet fönster and knew I had to try them - I love throwing seeds and stuff in bread doughs, and the preparation method for this is somewhat unusual: you take the crunchy bits - flax- and sunflower seeds, coarse rye flour and wheat bran - and douse them in boiling water, let the thing stand for an hour, and then add the flour, yeast &c.

I didn't have all the stuff called for and didn't feel like further overcrowding my flour pantry, so I did some substitutions, and also had a few sprigs of rosemary threatening to wilt, so there are some differences between this and the original. I'm sure both are equally fabulous, though, and you can vary the seeds and brans according to what you have on hand (sesame pumpkin, anyone?).



Rolls with Crunchy Bits and Rosemary
adapted from Ett öppet fönster, makes 24 rolls

150 ml (5 fl oz) whole wheat flour
100 ml (scant ½ cup) oat bran
100 ml (scant ½ cup) linseed (also known as flaxseed)
100 ml (scant ½ cup) sunflower seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
400 ml (about 1¾ cup) boiling water

50 g (1¾ oz)fresh yeast
350 ml (1½ cup) lukewarm water
100 ml (scant ½ cup) honey
1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
1300-1500 (5½-6 cups) ml bread flour

Mix the first seven ingredients in a very large bowl. Cover with clingfilm and let stand for an hour.

Dissolve the yeast in the water and add to the seed porridge (which is totally meant to look disgusting at this point) together with the honey, rosemary and most of the flour. Knead until you have a soft, springy dough (adding more flour as necessary), about ten minutes by hand.

Cover with a floured kitchen towel and let rise for three hours. (Note: this is a huge, gigantic dough. It makes a lot of buns. When I make it again, I'll probably halve the recipe. I mention this because I had to leave my dough to rise on the table - I didn't have a bowl large enough to hold it.)

Gently deflate the dough and knead it a few times. Cut into 24 pieces and form into rolls. Let rise on a baking sheet until doubled, 30-45 minutes, then bake at 200°C (400°F) for about 15 minutes.

I had mine with some cream cheese and garden cress - the first thing I've managed to grow from scratch since I got my Boss Cat five years ago. Whee!