The Fresh Loaf

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Aug 4 - Rolls can be baked while on crutches!

IceDemeter's picture
IceDemeter

Aug 4 - Rolls can be baked while on crutches!

Even though I have enough bread in stock to get us through the long weekend, I have been mighty restless with the enforced rest caused by my sprained foot.  I knew that I didn't feel safe with juggling the high temps for loaves while on crutches, but that stunning front page display from isand66 got me wondering about making some rolls...

With that in the back of my mind, I noticed that I had some pumpkin puree hanging out in my freezer for a while, so that image joined in with the rolls idea...

I spent some time wandering through blogs here and elsewhere, and found a lot of different pumpkin roll recipes, some yeasted, some sourdough, some dinner-roll or sandwich-roll style, and many versions of cinnamon / chelsea bun / sweet roll sort of thing.  There were a lot with dried fruits (a LOT with cranberries), and all of them were very sweet and included the stereotypical "pumpkin pie spice" (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and sometimes a touch of cloves). 

None of that really appealed to me, though.  "Sweet" and "pie" just weren't what I wanted in these rolls, so I got the leaven and the poolish going, thawed the pumpkin, and then went and hung out in my pantry sniffing things until I ended up with sage, tarragon, ginger, and lots of dehydrated onion bits...  I often use a mix of maple syrup and blackstrap molasses as part of the background for sweet-and-sour style sauces, so those got tossed in, too.  I had just finished making a batch of lemon curd, so it made sense to me to throw the remaining lemon zest in with the rest.  The flavour that I had in mind needed a good percentage of rye in there, and I wanted some durum and soft white wheat, so the base recipe started coming together.

I wasn't too sure how much stamina I would have for prepping these, so I decided on doing a hybrid with both levain and poolish, and used the refrigerator as needed.  These could easily have been done in a single day, but the three days that I took worked out just fine...

 

INGREDIENT

AMOUNT (g)

FLOUR TOTAL (g)

% WATER

WATER (g)

BAKER'S %

LEVAIN

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh Milled Rye

24

24

 

 

3.69

Water

24

 

 

24.00

3.69

Fresh Milled Durum

100

100

 

 

15.38

Water

80

 

 

80.00

12.31

POOLISH

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh Milled Soft White

100

100

 

 

15.38

Water

100

 

 

100.00

15.38

Active Dry Yeast (pinch)

0.5

 

 

 

0.08

DOUGH

 

 

 

 

 

Dark Rye

176

176

 

 

27.08

Pumpkin Puree

250

 

90

225.00

38.46

Blackstrap Molasses

20

 

21.9

4.38

3.08

Maple Syrup

20

 

32.1

6.42

3.08

Dry Milk Powder

60

 

 

 

9.23

Lemon Zest

5

 

 

 

0.77

Ginger, dried ground

4

 

 

 

0.62

Sage, dried, ground

4

 

 

 

0.62

Tarragon, dried, ground

4

 

 

 

0.62

Onions, dehydrated

32

 

 

 

4.92

Salt

10

 

 

 

1.54

All Purpose Flour

250

250

 

 

38.46

Active Dry Yeast (1/4 tsp)

1

 

 

 

0.15

Water

64

 

 

64.00

9.85

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Dough Weight

1328.5

 

 

 

204.38

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Flour

 

650

 

 

100.00

Total Water (Hydration)

 

 

 

503.80

77.51

Day 1:

Poolish build: 100g soft white + 100g water + wee pinch ADY, allowed to sit at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours, then either used immediately or refrigerated.

Levain build: 40g lively starter (20g rye + 20g water) mixed with 80g whole rye flour and 80g water, allowed to sit at room temperature overnight. (This time I used up some left-over levain from previous builds: 24g rye / 24g water and 100g durum / 80g water)
Soak: Mix together pumpkin puree with dehydrated onion, maple syrup, blackstrap molasses, lemon zest, sage, ginger, and dry milk powder. Refrigerate overnight for flavours to mix.

Day 2:

Pull soak, poolish, and leaven out of fridge and allow to come up to room temperature (about 2 hours).

Dough mix: Whisk together dark rye and AP flours with 1/4 tsp ADY. Mix in poolish, leaven, and soak in to shaggy mass. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.

Knead in the salt and keep kneading complete dough until reaches medium gluten development (just passes window pane), either using mixer or by hand. Add additional water as needed (this time was extra 63g).

Do stretch and fold mix every 20 minutes for first hour (more if needed), then leave at room temperature until dough has doubled in volume (pay attention - it could be as soon as an hour). I was too tired to finish them this time, so I popped it in to the refrigerator for overnight and it was just over doubled when I pulled it out 13 hours later.

Day 3:

Gently remove dough from bowl on to clean surface (weigh it as you remove it), then divide in to 16 even weight pieces. Cover and allow to rest for 10 to 20 minutes.

Shape each piece in to a tight ball (use lightly oiled hands and surface if the dough is really sticky or seems too dry), and place on to parchment lined baking sheet or in to a greased pyrex baking dish (for pull-apart style), leaving space for expansion. Glaze with milk, then cover with oiled plastic wrap and allow to proof until doubled in size (could be anywhere from 45 minutes to 4 hours - watch the dough!).  This time the dough felt quite dry, so I used oiled hands and shaped on oiled plastic film, which was then used to cover the shaped pieces.  Proof was 2-1/2 hours with my kitchen at under 70 deg F.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Once rolls are fully proofed, glaze tops again with milk, then drop temp to 375 degrees F and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on top and register 190 degrees F internal.

Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then finish cooling on rack.

I really wasn't sure whether I wanted slightly more "crusty" stand-alone rolls, or the softer and higher pull-aparts, so I settled on 9 in a 9" x 9" greased pyrex, with 7 done individually on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Both options were easy enough for me to handle with one hand, but I really should have steamed the individual ones and started them at a higher temp. 

The first "taste test" one was the "spare" 7th from the baking sheet --- and I couldn't wait for it to fully cool!  The husband drifted by as I sliced it, and we are in agreement that this more savoury version of a pumpkin roll is definitely a winner for us, and just calls out for turkey sandwiches with stuffing or a spicy hoisin style chicken...

They are all cooled now, and mostly sliced and wrapped and in to the freezer (with a few out to enjoy with dinner). 

All in all, it was a grand distraction, and definitely achievable without aggravating the injury.  The refrigerator is definitely my friend, and it sure is handy being able to choose sourdough or ADY or a combination in an amount that gives a whole ton of leeway in the schedule.

Keep baking happy!

Comments

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

I admire your perseverance! Those loook scrumptious!

IceDemeter's picture
IceDemeter

It was such a relief to actually be able to DO something!  Lazing around is wonderful when it's my choice to do that, but being told to just drives me nuts.

The beauty of these was being able to do little bits of work at a time, and rest when I needed to.  I didn't actually NEED more breads in the house, but at least I still feel like I accomplished something at least semi-practical!

Hope you and yours have a great long weekend!

Isand66's picture
Isand66

These look fantastic.  Love the combo of flavors.  How did the lemon flavor come through?

IceDemeter's picture
IceDemeter

The lemon is a bit more subtle than I had hoped, but is definitely still discernible.  I find that lemon sometimes becomes more bold with a bit of aging and mingling, though, so it might show up more tomorrow or the next day.

My husband and I really liked how the flavours came together, and he suggested adding in some lemongrass next time, too, since we have always enjoyed lemongrass with sage, and the sage is a really dominant note here.  I suspect that some heat from a pepper would go well with it, too, but I'm allergic so the ginger is as close to "heat" as I can add!

You've started me on a dangerous path with all of those flavoursome rolls of yours --- so many bakes, and so little time!

Scritches to all the fuzzies, and hope you and your have a great weekend!

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

I think twice even if I'm feeling a little tired, ha! Not you I see. With crutches n all you turn out these wonderful rolls and give a nice write up too. 

Lovely as always! 

Get well soon. 

IceDemeter's picture
IceDemeter

The good thing about making rolls and putzing away on the computer is that I can do them while still following doctor's orders for rest and elevation - and it sure helps to minimize the boredom of not being able to move around much!  It is a very different thing to be not feeling well or feeling tired, instead of feeling perfectly fine (except the flippin' foot hurts). 

Ah well - it is on the mend, so I'll be back to normal motion soon.  The trick now will be the same trick that I need to learn with baking: to be patient and not expect to be any good at it instantly!

Thanks for your kind words, Abe, and keep posting those tempting experiments and challenges of yours - they are teaching me a ton!

Best,
Laurie

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

to find this recipe...  http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/4862/sweet-potato-rolls

Wonder why it's not on the front page listed in the recipes.  Whoops, it is under Most Bookmarked recipes!  

I've used squash and pumpkin ....came close to using a bowl of cooked carrots... oven bake to dry it a bit.   

Your recipe scares me.... Those meds must be great!  

Here's hoping for a speedy recovery, Take care,

IceDemeter's picture
IceDemeter

Oh dear --- I know that I've come up with a bad recipe when the Queen of Fearless Baking tells me that it is a scary one!  I can't even blame the meds, since I haven't been taking any...

I guess that I got lucky that it turned out to suit our tastes ;)

I've actually bookmarked your version of blueberry rolls from that recipe (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/comment/192753#comment-192753), and have baked it using butternut squash.  I did drop the sugar amount and didn't have nuts to add, but it is one of my favourites, and turned out wonderfully.  I've been tossing around the idea of trying it with carrot, too --- and rolling in some caramelized onions and chopped ham and bacon and cheese...  One of these days!

Thanks for the well wishes, and all of your wonderful inspiration!

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

and cleaning my glasses and.... a strong cup of coffee....  it doesn't look so scary any more.  "Queen of Fearless Baking"  huh?  cool....   Believe it or not I get scared all the time, but my curiosity is stronger.    "What happens when....?"  

You are right in that the recipe does have a good amount of sugar, easy to cut back on.    Hubby is trying to keep me on a straight and narrow Austrian bread culture path.  Only one culture is rather limiting so I formulate when he's not in the kitchen.   And what do you do if the ingredients just aren't there?   Just yesterday...how does one make sweet rolls without any sugar?   Started looking around,  found a can of pineapple rings in the storeroom and used some of the liquid in the dough and crushed some of the rings into the nut filling.  I will have to remember that one.  Next time it might be a different canned fruit... how far can I change the formula before hubby says, "mmmm, no."   Anyway, the lab rats are happy.   

Isand66's picture
Isand66

A long time ago I followed a recipe from a book whose name I don't remember that used dates to sweeten the dough instead of sugar.  It was actually quote good.  Honey works well too :).

IceDemeter's picture
IceDemeter

as do figs, apricots, or prunes --- just puree them in to a paste and thin them out with water or other liquid.  I've often used them as the main sweetener in muffins or cookies or even cakes.  I haven't tried them in a yeast bread, yet, but it's on the (ever-growing) list!

Depending on the flavour profile that you want, using a puree of any sweet fruit or berry can be the main sweetener.  I've used honeydew melon, cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple, apples, oranges, kiwi fruits, most berries, and even cucumber as the only sweetener.

I always have maple syrup and honey kicking around, along with blackstrap molasses.  They all have their own character that they add in.

Always fun to try different things!

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

a package of dried bananas.  ....  

IceDemeter's picture
IceDemeter

bananas.  Those are a new one for me - have never tried them!  Are they sweeter than fresh, like other dried fruits? 

With your husband's aversion to non-traditional breads, I'm thinking you're going to have a heckuva challenge on your hands in figuring out how to sneak these in to a bake!  Although I guess there are a lot of yeasted desserts that these could fit in to quite nicely (if not overly traditionally)...

I honestly love regular bananas with rye (mind you, I love most things with rye), and could definitely see having some chopped up dried banana to give little zips of sweet in a mostly savoury potato rye roll (hmmm, ginger and onion with banana chips, with some coriander and a touch of caraway, maybe...)

You do come up such great inspiration! Thanks, and take care!

Best, Laurie