Whole Wheat Onion and Parmesan Rolls

 

I was clearing out a pot for planting winter items and pulled a massive green onion.  I had kind of been hanging onto it because it was the last mature one, but it was almost the size of a leek.  That's a lot of salads, so I decided to put some of it in rolls.

Ok, wow, for an impromptu side bread, these were really good rolls.  I did make them too big.  A standard dinner roll is one or two ounces.  Twelve ounces of dough should have been eight rolls, not four.  They were more like hamburger bun size, and I ended up cutting them in half.  And now that I'm saying that, using these as sandwich rolls isn't a bad idea.

I made these all by hand, since it was such a small batch.  It merely adds a few minutes to the kneading process.  I like kneading and feeling when the dough is right.  I find it much more effective than putting a specific volume or weight of flour in the mixer and hoping for the best.

1/2 C 100ºF water
1/2 tsp yeast
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp honey
*1/2 C whole wheat flour
about 1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
*1/4 C finely diced green onions
*1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese

1.  In a medium bowl, stir together water, yeast, oil, and honey.  Allow to sit until foamy, 5-10 minutes.

2.  Add 1/2 C whole wheat flour and stir into a thin dough.  Add 1/2 C all-purpose flour and the salt and stir into a wet, shaggy dough.  Stir in onions and cheese.  It's going to smell yeasty but look like biscuit/drop scone dough.

3.  Generously flour a work surface and scrape the dough onto it.  Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes, adding enough flour so the ball doesn't stick to everything, but not so much that it feels heavy. You should end up with roughly 12 oz by weight of dough.

4.  Rub the inside of a bowl with about a teaspoon of oil.  Turn dough in bowl to cover all sides.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place (100-110ºF) until doubled, about 1 hour.

5.  Punch down dough and let rest 10 minutes.  Divide into 1 or 2 oz portions by weight.  Shape into a sphere, then flatten slightly and place on a lined baking sheet.  Allow to rise again 30 minutes.

6.  Preheat oven to 350º.  If desired, brush rolls with oil

or butter.  I sprayed them lightly with water and sprinkled them with a tiny bit of salt.  Bake until lightly browned and sound hollow when tapped, about 20 minutes.  Cool on sheet 5 minutes, then remove to a rack for at least 10 before putting them in a serving basket.  Can also be frozen once completely cooled.

Makes about 8

Difficulty rating  :)