Caraway Seed Bread Rolls

I've got some obsession with trying new things as of recent. I've made my first full sized cake, my first layer cake, my first red velvet cake, my first rainbow cupcakes, my first filled cupcakes and my first macarons all within in the last month or two.

Wow! Suddenly that sounds like a lot! But actually, the first 3 were all achieved in one cake, so I'm a bit of a cheat : ).

Still, to add to my never ending list of new things, last weekend I made my first bread rolls. And to tell you the truth, they were ridiculously easy.

And pretty tasty too!

They were a little bit flatter and denser than I had hoped, but actually I quite liked that. They're also really small, more of a snack than a meal!

That said, two of them with a bit of melted cheese and tomato relish were a pretty good lunch the next day!

I made them for an athletics event we went to (by that I mean Mum, Dad and my younger sister). It was AMAZING! We were about 3 metres away from the pole vaulters and there were runners and jumpers and throwers, all at world class level, all going at once!


So, if you ever get the chance to go to the Sydney Track Classic, go! It was an experience I don't regret!

Caraway Seed Bread Rolls

(Based on: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Rye-Dinner-Rolls-with-Crisp-Tops-352316)


Ingredients

1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 scant cup warm water (105-115°F), divided

3/4 teaspoon sugar

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting

1/3 cup light or dark rye flour

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Method

1. Stir together yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, and sugar in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)

2. Stir flours, salt, and remaining scant 3/4 cup water into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and knead with lightly floured hands until dough is elastic and smooth but still supple and slightly sticky, 6 to 8 minutes. Form dough into a ball.

3. Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft- free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 2 hours.

4. Punch down dough (do not knead). Remove from bowl and fold into thirds like a letter. Divide into 16 pieces and roll each piece into a ball, transferring to a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and loosely covering with plastic wrap (or towel). Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

5. Lightly brush each ball of dough with some of egg white. Gently lay a round of rye-crisp dough, egg-wash side up, on top of each roll. Bake rolls until golden-brown, about 20 minutes. Cool to warm or room temperature.


Mia :)