Harvest Grain Dinner Rolls

“crunchy on the outside, soft and fluffy from the inside”

In the supermarket next to my house, there’s an in house bakery department where twice a day they take out bread rolls fresh from the oven, hot, crunchy from the outside, and incredibly soft on the inside. For quite some time, I found myself rushing from work just to get in time to buy one of those bread rolls before they’re sold out. Maybe it was the smell that was so mesmerizing – I just knew I had to have them. So, after I didn’t get in time a few times, frustrated, I asked myself, “why don’t I make my own homemade dinner rolls?”

Honestly, at first, I was intimidated and thought it was going to be an overwhelming process, but as I learned along the way, making homemade dinner rolls can be easy and very rewarding! This harvest grain dinner rolls recipe is enough proof for that.

Don’t let the time scare you, because most of it is you minding your own business while the dough sits comfortably at room temperature and slowly rises. To make this recipe, you’ll need a large mixing bowl, baking sheet, and parchment paper, as well as the few ingredients listed below – pretty simple, right?

The first step is to simply pour all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Start with the dry ingredients, then gradually stir in the water. After two or three minutes of mixing, the dough will start to get its texture, which means it’s time to transfer it on a lightly floured surface and knead.

Kneading simply means working the dough by folding, throwing, and beating it until you get a smooth and elastic texture, which can be a little sticky. However, if you have one, you can also use a mixer with a dough hook.

Once you get the desired texture, grease the large mixing bowl and place the dough in it. Let it rest and rise for an hour – you’ll know it’s ready when the dough has almost doubled its size. If that’s the case, roll it on a lightly floured surface and form a long cylinder. Cut it into 16 pieces equal in size.

Take a baking sheet,  line it with parchment paper, and spray it with cooking oil.

After this, make balls out of each piece of dough and line them up next to each other on the baking sheet. Leave the dinner rolls to rest for another hour.

Don’t forget to preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F) before you bake the dinner rolls.

While the oven heats, brush each dinner roll with a thin layer of melted butter and sprinkle a mix of the seeds you’ve used to make them. This is completely optional, but I love it when the bread has whole seeds on its crust.

Bake the dinner rolls for 20 to 25 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready once the top start to brown, and they have a golden shine.

Serve while they’re still warm and enjoy! You can store the ones that remain in a cool and dry place (well wrapped) for up to 4 days, or freeze them for up to 30 days.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup rye flakes
• ¼ cup whole oat groats
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• 1 tsp flax seeds
• 1 tsp sunflower seeds
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 cups of water

Instructions

• Take a large mixing bowl and whisk together all the ingredients. First, combine the dry ingredients then gradually add water as you stir.
• Place the mixture on a floured surface and knead until you get a smooth and elastic dough.
• Place the dough in a greased bowl and let it rest at room temperature for at least an hour – until it almost doubles in size.
• After an hour, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut it into 16 pieces. Make a ball out of each piece.
• Take a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Spray it with cooking oil.
• Place each ball of dough into the baking dish, one next to another, and let them rest at room temperature for another hour.
• Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
• Brush the dinner rolls with a thin later or melted butter and sprinkle with a mixture of the seeds you’ve used so far. (optional)
• Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
• Once the dinner rolls get a nice brown color on top, remove from the oven.
• Serve and eat.
• Store for up to 4 days at room temperature or up to 30 days if frozen.