Fluffy Whole Wheat Rolls

It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!! >_<

Seriously these are fluffy. I think I've found my go to bread recipe for all soups and stews. Woohoo!

I gotta try making this into a loaf. Or a giant bread bowl for my French Onion Spinach dip. OMG or even use it as a soup bowl. I wonder if the bottom would be sturdy enough. Or make mini french bread-ish loaves for sandwich making. Or add some spices/herbs to make it into a fancy kind of bread. Oh the possibilities...


Fluffy Whole Wheat Rolls
(makes 16 small rolls)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 Tbsp instant yeast
• 2 Tbsps sugar
• 2 Tbsps canola oil, plus more for greasing
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten + 2 Tbsps water (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl (I used my stand mixer's bowl), stir together warm water, yeast and sugar. Let stand for a couple of minutes while you get everything else together.
2. Add in the oil, salt, whole wheat flour and 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Using the dough hook on your stand mixer, mix on low. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn it on medium speed and let it knead for about 8 minutes until smooth and elastic.
3. Pull the dough ball up using one hand and the other to lightly oil the bowl. Turn the dough around to coat in oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until the dough doubles in volume, about an hour. In the mean time, two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
4. After an hour, uncover the dough and punch out all the air. Separate the dough into halves until you get 16 equal sized pieces. Form into round balls and place 8 onto each of the parchment lined sheets, spaced evenly apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth and let it rise while you preheat the oven to 400F. This should take only a few minutes but if you have time, let the rolls rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. (Optional) In a small bowl, mix egg with 2 tablespoons of water and brush on top of rolls before baking to have a nice shiny top.

It's practically winter here and cold most of the time, so it's hard to find a warm place to let any dough rise. But I always have my microwave! It's the best place for keeping your dough when you want it to proof. Just cover it with a damp cloth, shut the door, set the timer and remember not to touch that microwave door for the next hour. As long as the door stays shut, it is THE BEST place for the bread to rise. It works every time. ;)

You can also just stick all the bread rolls onto one parchment lined baking sheet if you don't mind the sides sticking together.

Oh oh and the water temp. I'm too impatient/lazy/whatever to bother testing the temperature for the water. My rule of thumb is to just stick a clean hand or a couple of fingers into the water. If it's just a little warmer than me, then it's good to go. Human beings tend to be about 96F degrees and the water is supposed to be 110F degrees, so if it's a little warmer than I am, then I'm golden. This method hasn't failed me yet!