Light Wheat Rolls

This past weekend I put on my apron and got to work in the kitchen. I got home from work at noon and had to have 100 rolls baked and delivered by five. My mission was simple, I volunteered to make dinner rolls for a wedding of a coworkers daughter (although the daughter is also a co-worker). At first count they were expecting 50 people and at final count the number almost doubled with 90 confirmed guests. I had a lot to do and not much time to do it. I chose this recipe from allrecipes because it had many great reviews and called for ingredients that I already had at home.


This recipe was very easy to follow and would be great for someone working with yeast for the first time. The dough rose quickly and beautifully and felt like the perfect consistency as I was shaping the rolls. Speaking of shaping the rolls. I thought that rolling the dough up and baking it in a muffin tin was a quite genius idea but since these rolls would be served at a wedding I decided to roll the dough up, flatten it on top to make sure it was even and bake it on a baking sheet. I chose a stone ground wheat flour to help add some texture to the rolls and brushed the finished product with melted butter with a splash of honey. I did manage to sneak a roll before I delivered them to the wedding and they were quite delicious.


Light Wheat Rolls
Adapted from AllRecipes.com

~makes approx. 24 rolls~

Ingredients
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 3/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 egg, beaten
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, melted (optional)

Directions
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
Mix sugar, salt, 1/4 cup melted butter, egg, and whole wheat flour into yeast mixture. Stir in all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Punch down dough, cover, and let rise in warm place until doubled again, about 30 minutes.
Grease 2 dozen muffin cups. Punch down dough, and divide into two equal portions. Roll each into a 6x14 inch rectangle, and cut rectangle into twelve 7x1 inch strips. Roll strips up into spirals, and place into muffin cups. Brush tops with melted butter. Let rise uncovered in a warm place 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and brush again with melted butter.

*If you would like to freeze the rolls, bake for 8 minutes, remove from the oven, allow to cool, bag, and freeze. Then when ready to use, thaw and finish the baking process.