Knotted Onion Sage Rolls Recipes

GREEN ONION, THYME AND SAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• Put the flours, yeast and salt in a large bowl (or stand mixer bowl). Make a well in the center and pour in the water. Mix everything together well (by hand with a wooden spoon or, if by machine, with a dough hook on medium speed) to make a smooth, soft dough ball, 2 to 4 minutes. If doing by machine, continue to knead on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. Otherwise, put the dough on a clean work surface sprinkled with a little flour and knead for about 10 minutes.
• To test to see if the dough has been kneaded enough, form into a ball with a nice taut top. Put some flour on your finger and then prod the dough to make a small indent. If the dent springs back all the way, this means the dough is kneaded enough. If not, then knead a little bit more.
• Put the dough on the work surface (sprinkled with a little flour if you haven't already done so) and then flatten it out with a rolling pin to about an 8-inch round, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Put the green onions and thyme in a pile in the center and then bring the sides of the dough up over the filling to enclose. Flip it over so the seam side is down and roll it out to the same size again. Once again, gather the edges up and over, but then knead the dough by hand to incorporate the filling ingredients evenly throughout. You may need to dust with a little more flour as you go if the green onions make things a little damp.
• Divide the dough into 10 equal-size pieces and knead each one into a ball with a nice taut top. Put the rolls, seam-side down and spaced apart, on a large nonstick baking sheet. Spray the rolls with a light spritz of cooking spray and then cover with plastic wrap so that it is airtight, but not too tight as the bread needs to grow.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and leave the bread on a chair about 3 feet away from the oven for 45 minutes, or until the bread has almost doubled in size. To test that the rolls are ready, remove the plastic wrap, put some flour on your finger and prod the side of the dough to make a small dent. The dent should spring back about halfway. When it does, it is ready. If necessary, leave it to rise a bit longer.
• Once ready, brush the dough balls with the beaten egg and lay 3 sage leaves in whatever decorative fashion you like on top of each one. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped underneath. Once ready, remove from the oven and serve warm.

GEORGINE'S FLUFFY ROLLS

Steps:

• Combine milk, shortening, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; set aside and allow to cool.
• Mix yeast with 1/4 cup lukewarm water in a large bowl; set aside until yeast dissolves and little bubbles begin to appear on the surface, about 10 minutes.
• Pour cooled milk mixture into yeast. Stir in eggs and gradually add flour, stirring with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir, then use your hands to knead in the flour (dough will be sticky, so grease your hands with a little butter). Brush a small amount of butter on the inside of a large bowl and on one side of a sheet of waxed paper. Place dough in bowl, cover with buttered waxed paper, and lay a clean damp dish towel on top. Set aside to rise until doubled, at least three hours.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until elastic, then roll out to 1/2 -inch thickness. Cut dough with a 3-inch biscuit cutter, dip each round into melted butter, and fold in half. Line up, round edges up, sides touching, in a baking pan. Cover with buttered waxed paper and a towel, and set aside to rise, at least 2 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Rolls are best served warm.

KNOTTED ONION SAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• Saute onions in olive oil until soft, but not brown. Set aside and cool. In a large bowl, stir yeast into water to soften. Add milk, shortening, honey, salt, 2 cups flour and cooled onions. Beat vigorously for two minutes. Whisk sage and whole wheat flour together and add to onion mixture. Stir to incorporate. Gradually add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding flour a little at a time, until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Put dough into an oiled bowl. Turn to coat the entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a tightly woven towel and let rise until doubled, about one hour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide into 36 equal pieces, Shape each piece into an 8-inch strand and tie it into a single knot. Place about three inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. (These knotted rolls are also attractive if placed into well-greased muffin pans.) Cover with a tightly woven towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes. About 10 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the rolls reaches 190 degrees. Immediately remove rolls from baking sheets and cool on a rack. For a shiny, soft crust, brush the tops of the rolls with olive oil.