It has been far too long since I made fresh bread, my friends. I’ve missed it. Jason has missed it. Let’s face it, you’ve missed it too. 😉 If you hadn’t already noticed, I now have a Bread page (link is below the header) where I’ll be putting all my bread making adventures. It’s also been a long time since I did a Whole Wheat Makeover post! So, essentially, this one is long overdue.

Now, I have made whole wheat dinner rolls before (check out my Fluffy White Wheat Rolls), but I’ve never tried them with just regular whole wheat flour instead of whole white wheat. I found what looked like a great recipe from Epicurious, made some small changes, and the magic was made.

I’d like to dedicate this post to the Notorious B.I.G. And I don’t mean this guy,

(Source)

I mean THIS guy.

We name our appliances…that’s not weird, right? Anyways this massive, awesome, piece of machinery is the industrial food mixer my parents got when my mom’s bakery business was still running from our house (more on that later, I’ve never told you all the story!). We named him Notorious B.I.G. after the rapper because…well, he’s quite obviously gangsta. There’s nothing he can’t face. It just seemed appropriate. Nowadays we break him out if we’re mixing a very large quantity of something OR if it’s a really textured dough, like something with a lot of whole wheat.

(Don’t know if you can tell from the picture, but the bowl itself holds 20 quarts.) I don’t know what I would do without Notorious. He can mix ANYTHING.

With the help of Notorious, I was able to make the best whole wheat bread I have ever made. Seriously. If you are looking for that ONE AMAZING RECIPE so you won’t have to go searching again, look no further. I have to figure out what it was about this recipe that worked so well so that I can duplicate it in other forms!

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls (adapted from November 2007 Bon Apetit)

• 3/4 c. + 2 T. milk
• 3/4 c. water
• 4 T. butter (or Earth Balance sticks)
• 2 c. + 2 T. whole wheat flour
• 1 c. unbleached bread flour
• 2 packets instant yeast
• 3/4 c. instant mashed potato flakes
• 3 T. sugar
• 2 t. salt
• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 c. quick-cooking oats

-Microwave the 3/4 milk and water until just bubbling. Add the butter and stir to melt it. Let the mixture cool to about 120 degrees.

-In your mixing bowl, combine the 2 c. wheat flour, bread flour, yeast, potato flakes, sugar, and salt.

-Add in the wet ingredients and vegetable oil and mix on low until well combined. Add in one egg yolk and mix on medium until the mixture forms a sticky dough (a few minutes).

Work it, Notorious.

-Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the 2 T. wheat flour and mix on medium-low for about 5 more minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic.

-Transfer the dough to a well greased bowl.

-Let rise, covered, in a warm place until doubled in bulk.

-Punch down the dough, divide, and shape into desired size rolls (should make 12-14).

-Let rise, covered, in a warm place until doubled in bulk.

-Whisk together one egg yolk and the 2 T. milk. Brush the egg wash over the rolls with a pastry brush then sprinkle the oats over them (I only sprinkled oats on half of them…kids are averted to “nuts” on their bread).

-Bake the rolls in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Cool in the pan 5 minutes before serving. Makes 14 rolls.

I love it when healthy things are also delicious and beautiful.

And of course I can’t complete a post without some pictures of Ashley. She is too darn cute to pass up.

Thanks for reading!

-Lauren