There are a few recipes in the MSBH that, taken all by themselves, would justify the price of the entire book. This is one of those recipes – it is fantastic. The rolls are soft, hearty, healthy, go perfectly with soups and stews, and have a unique and satisfying flavor thanks to all the seeds and grains.
There are quite a few different ingredients, but nothing the frequent bread baker wouldn’t already have in her kitchen, save the flax seeds. I especially like the addition of flax seeds, however, along with the fennel seeds, black pepper, and honey. Wow! Yum. I need to bake with flax seeds more often.
I let my big mixer do the initial mixing and kneading. Here all the wet and dry ingredients come together. The dough is finished off with more flour.
I do the final few minutes of kneading with my hands. This is the point at which you add the love.
The kneaded dough rises in an oiled bowl until doubled in size.
After rising, it’s portioned into 16 individual rolls. I just eyeball this sort of thing – with an even number of rolls, you just keep halving your dough lump until you have the desired number.
The lumps are rolled into, well, rolls and placed in a sun-formation in a well-oiled pan. I used springform pans, but cake pans would have worked too. Then they proof until about doubled in size.
Once proofed, they are brushed with an eggwash and sprinkled with fennel seeds, sesame seeds, sea salt, poppyseeds, and I think that’s it.
In the oven they go. Once baked, it’s just a matter of letting them cool enough to eat.
I love how pretty they are. The flax seeds make them so interesting.
