Rosemary Whole Wheat Rolls
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Dig out that six quart food grade bucket and add a mere ten ingredients, then apply a little bit of elbow grease and stir. Let sit on the counter for a few hours (where it will rise to glorious, fragrant heights) before popping it into the refrigerator. Go to bed that night knowing that while you wander through dreamland, good things are happening in that food grade bucket. Mysterious, yeasty things that will yield crunchy-outside, soft-inside rolls, baguettes or boules with a rich, rosemary-sourdough essence. No incantations necessary and no kneading required. Just patience.
Rosemary Whole Wheat Rolls
Yields 12 sandwich rolls, 4 baguettes or 2 boules
3 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 tbsp. instant yeast
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
3 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 oz. unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp. dried rosemary (or 3 tbsp. fresh, minced)
Whisk together the dry ingredients then add the water, olive oil, applesauce and rosemary. Stir or use your hands to mix everything together until there is no dry flour left. Mixture will be wet. Cover loosely and let sit for two hours. Dough will rise quite a bit. It’s ready to use at this point, but it’s easier to work with (and you’ll get tastier bread) if you put the dough in the refrigerator overnight – or even up to 10 days.
When you’re ready to bake, take a large baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Sprinkle a little bit of flour over the surface of the dough in the container, then remove half of the dough (for 6 rolls, 2 baguettes or 1 boule; leave the rest for another batch). Divide the dough into 6 roughly equal pieces (for rolls). Quickly shape the dough into balls using more flour as needed, and place on the prepared baking sheet. (If using a baking stone, instead of lining the inside of a baking sheet with parchment paper as described above, turn it over and line the outside bottom – this way you can easily slide the dough/parchment onto the baking stone.) Lightly sprinkle flour over the rolls and cover loosely with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rest for about 90 minutes.
A half hour before baking preheat the oven to 450F. (If you’re baking on a stone, place it in the oven at this time.) If not using a baking stone, just bake the bread on the prepared baking sheet. Bake rolls for about 25 minutes or until a rich brown on top. When you tap the bottom of a roll, it should sound hollow and feel firm.
Transfer rolls to a wire rack to cool completely.
(This beautiful recipe is adapted from the book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg, MD and Zoe Francois. I reduced the olive oil called for by half – subbing unsweetened applesauce for the remainder – and I omitted the egg white wash. You could spritz the tops of the rolls with water prior to baking, if you wish.)

I bet these smell amazing while baking!
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