Use this recipe for light and fluffy whole grain sandwich rolls. They are great with Black Bean and Couscous Patties, veggie burgers or egg salad.
Makes 8 large sandwich rolls.
Ingredients:
- 1 c buttermilk
- 1/2 c warm water
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 3 egg whites (divided use)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable shortening
- 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
- 2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
- 1 c all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp raw sesame seeds
Directions:
- Heat the buttermilk and water to 110 degrees F. Pour in a small bowl, stir in yeast and sugar, and allow to stand 10 minutes, or until a creamy foam forms on top.
- Using an electric stand mixer, beat 2 of the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Remove to a holding bowl.
- To the same electric mixer bowl (no need to wash egg white residue from it), add the yeast mixture, shortening, salt, and the whole wheat flour. Beat with dough whisk on low first, then medium for five minutes.
- Remove bowl from stand mixer and mix in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Gradually add as much of the all purpose flour as needed to form a slightly sticky dough.
- Turn onto a floured surface. Knead and fold for 5 minutes, adding more flour or water as necessary to make a satiny, elastic dough.
- Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Form each into a ball, rotating and turning the outer rim into the center back repeatedly and then rolling the ball in your palms. Flatten the balls into discs. Place side by side in a buttered 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan.
- Slash the top of each disc diagonally with a sharp knife. Brush all with the remaining egg white (lightly beaten). Sprinkle tops with sesame seeds.
- Cover loosely with a sheet of wax paper and allow to rise in a warm spot for 45 minutes, or until nearly doubled, preheating oven to 425 degrees F during the last 10 minutes of the rise.
- Bake about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool in pan 15 minutes before turning rolls onto a rack to cool further.
I used an 11 x 7 x 2 inch pan for this recipe, because I am using a small counter-top oven these days, and that is all that fits in it. As you can see in the photo, my rolls came out a bit high and stuck together. They still made great open-faced burger buns!