Prep Time: 20 minutes total + resting
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Keywords: bake bread nut-free soy-free sugar-free vegetarian flour egg seeds
Ingredients (10 rolls)
For the sponge
- 3/4 cup / 180 ml water
- 2 grams (slightly more than 1/2 teaspoon) instant yeast
- 100 grams King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour
- 15 grams sprouted whole-wheat flour (I use stone-ground from Capay Mills or King Arthur Flour)
- 10 grams Ultragrain all-purpose flour (or King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour)
For the dough
- 25 grams millet
- 15 grams sunflower seeds
- 20 grams pumpkin seeds
- 20 grams hemp hearts
- 1 large egg, possibly from pastured poultry, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons / 30 ml olive oil
- 70 grams whole-spelt flour (I use stone-ground from Capay Mills)
- 150 grams whole-wheat flour (I use stone-ground, hard red whole-wheat flour from Beck’s Bakery)
- 1 teaspoon / 5 grams sea salt
- a bit more all-purpose flour to dust your work surface
For the topping
- Poppy seeds or sesame seeds
Instructions
Make the sponge
Pour the water into a mixing bowl, add the yeast and stir to dissolve. Whisk in the flours to make a batter. Cover the bowl with some plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature for about 30 minutes, at the end of which you should see tiny bubbles (yeast at work).
Soak the seeds
In the meantime, put the millet and all the seeds in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak for 30 minutes, then drain (some water will remain in the seed mix and that is fine). Stir the seeds into the sponge.
Make the bread dough
Add to the sponge and seed mixture the egg, the olive oil, the spelt and whole-wheat flours. Mix well with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together in a shaggy mass. Sprinkle the salt on the surface and let the dough rest, covered, for 5-10 minutes.
Lightly flour your work surface. Transfer the dough on it and knead until smoother (a minute or two). The dough will be a bit sticky: use a dough cutter to help you knead. Avoid adding flour: during fermentation the flours will absorb water and by the time you cut it and shape it into rolls, the dough will be easy to manage.
Fold the dough and place it into a clean, oiled bowl. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. Better still, make the dough in the morning and bake the rolls the following morning or later in the day. The slow rise in the refrigerator allows a more complex flavor to develop.
Shape the rolls
When ready to cut and shape, prepare a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, and also a small bowl with water and another bowl with poppy seeds. Take the bowl with the dough out of the refrigerator, uncover it and flip it onto a lightly floured work surface. Scrape all the dough from the bowl. Cut the dough into 10 pieces, each weighing 70-72 grams.
Shape each roll as follows: Flatten the piece of dough then fold the corners towards the center, then fold again inward into a small bundle. Flip it seam side down on a piece of clean work surface and roll it with lightly flour hand to shape it into a tight ball. [This short video shows my hands rolling a larger piece of dough, but should still give an idea.]
Holding the roll by the seam with your fingertips, dip its top surface quickly in the water, then roll it gently on the poppy seeds. Place the roll on the lined baking sheet, seeded side up, about 2 inches / 5 cm apart from the others.
Repeat until all the rolls are shaped. Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap and place the baking sheet in a warm place until the rolls have doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hour, depending on the ambient temperature. Check the rolls’ progress and when they are 15-20 minutes from being ready to be baked, turn on the oven to 375 F / 190 C.
Home stretch
Bake the rolls for 15 minutes, or until nicely browned. The internal temperature will be close to 210 F / 99 C. Take the baking sheet out of the oven then transfer the rolls onto a rack. Let cool completely. Enjoy!