Sage Dinner Rolls

» Ok, so maybe I'm not so great at getting with the whole "seasonally relevant" blog posting, but I made these for Thanksgiving and got rave reviews, so I need to share. However, there's no reason why they wouldn't go fabulously with Christmas Dinner as well, or for no apparent reason with Monday Dinner. The sage flavor really compliments the whole Thanksgiving feel though, so they're perfect alongside beautiful goldeny-brown turkey. Ok, now I'm getting hungry for Thanksgiving food again. Anyhow, here's the recipe:

Sage Dinner Rolls

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients:

» 1 package or 2.25 t. dry yeast

» 1 T. honey

» 1 1/4 c. warm water

» 2 1/2 c. bread flour, divided

» 1 c. whole wheat flour

» 3 T. rubbed sage

» 1 1/2 t. salt

» 1/4 t. black pepper

» 2 T. olive oil
» cooking spray
» cornmeal for dusting


Preparation:
» In a large bowl, combine warm water and honey. I run the bowl under hot water to warm it up, otherwise it cools the warm water down right away and the yeast won't grow. Stir the honey around to dissolve it, then add the yeast. Stir briefly, then let set 5 minutes, or until all multiplied and frothy. If it doesn't get all frothy, dump it out and try again. Your dough will not rise if the yeast didn't catch.
» In a medium bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups of the bread flour with the wheat flour, sage, salt, and pepper. Add flour mixture and oil to the yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms (I pretty much do this part entirely with my hands). Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, or about 8 minutes. While kneading, add enough of the remaining flour, a bit at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands.
» Splash a bit of olive oil in a large bowl, and place your beautifully kneaded dough in, rolling it around to make sure it's covered in the oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch the dough down and recover it; let it rest 5 minutes (rising is tough work, it needs a break).
» Cover a baking sheet with cooking spray, then sprinkle liberally with cornmeal. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and shape each into a ball. I kind of fold them in on themselves and put the pretty smooth part on top and the not so smooth part on the bottom. Place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Cut a deep X in the top of each roll using kitchen shears or a very sharp knife. Cover and let rise at least 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
» When the dough is nearly done rising, preheat oven to 350°.
» Bake for 20 minutes or until puffed and beginning to brown. Remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.


Enjoy!




» Original recipe from Cooking Light, November 2007