Ginger & Honey Wheat Rolls

When fresh bread is in my kitchen, it is the sign of a slow weekend. It means I organized my day and got up at a decent hour. It means I've put on something comfy that can withstand a little flour. It means I have enough time to intermittently return to the house for pre- and post-rising duties. It means I've got the time to while away the morning with ears full of NPR and hands full of bread dough.

Should you have a similarly slow weekend (or weekday), I recommend giving these ginger and honey rolls a go. They add to my series of whole wheat yeast doughs, an area where the recipes have accidentally been stacking up. I started with some whole wheat oat bread, then made some pita, and now I've got these rolls. There was also some wheat pizza dough in there somewhere, but I ate it before it had a chance to reach the blog. So here we have rolls, spiked with honey and ginger. They're entirely whole wheat, so the kneading process is important and lengthy—and also where NPR, or your preferred musical accompaniment, comes in. I also left the dough fairly wet. The honey makes it smoother, however, so the dough slides off the fingers quite easily as you knead.

The Yeast: Before and After

It is amazing what a bit of ginger does to this bread. These rolls just zing. The spice permeates each nook and cranny, lifting the deep wheat to a bright, tangy level. The other wonder about ginger is that it suits sweet and savory foods alike. This bread could make a mustard and cheese sandwich one day and peanut butter and jelly the next. The dough, I admit, is time demanding. It requires a long knead and two rises. Despite all this, however, it's fairly forgiving in terms of when you need to attend to it. The rising times are approximate, so the dough won't suffer if left a little long or cut a little short. I actually put my formed rolls in the fridge for a few hours, in lieu of giving them a shorter second rise. They emerged from the oven dense and delicious. You might make the dough earlier in the day and then pop them in the oven just prior to dinner time. Keeping them on a counter for a short second rise also works fine.

 

Adapted from Eat Cake for Dinner's Great Harvest Honey Whole Wheat Bread Copycat recipe

Ginger & Honey Wheat Rolls

Ingredients:

2 cups water

1 1/2 TBSP active dry yeast

1/3 cup honey

3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 TBSP ground ginger

Directions:

--Heat water in a medium pan until warm, but not scalding hot. Pour into a bowl over yeast and honey. Stir to dissolve honey, then let sit for 10 minutes until yeast has proofed.

--In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and ginger. Add yeast mixture and stir with a spoon until dough begins to come together. Using floured hands, knead dough for at least 20 minutes, until the dough feels springy. Dough should remain fairly wet, but you can add more flour if it is impossibly sticky.

--After kneading, shape dough into a ball and let rise in a warm spot for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled. Gently punch dough down.

--Grease or coat with cooking spray a 10 x 15 inch baking pan. Separate dough into golf ball-sized pieces. Roll into rough balls, flatten slightly by pressing between palms, and place on sheet. it's fine if the rolls touch each other. Here, you can let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, or until doubled. Alternately, refrigerate for 2-5 hours. I did the latter for 5 hours.

--When dough has doubled, or after a few hours of refrigeration, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If pan is in fridge, remove while the oven is heating up.

--Bake for 20 minutes. Rolls should sound hollow when tapped. Let cool for 1 hour before removing from the pan (this avoids the risk of tearing the rolls out and leaving the bottom half stuck to the pan).

Makes about 15 rolls.