Wheat Rolls

When making minestrone, I decided I needed a good roll to go with it. One that was hearty enough to stand up to the soup but still soft and delicious to make my insides melt. I went to the Sister's Cafe to see what good bread recipes they had. Listed under their "Grandma's Recipes" was Grandma's Dinner Rolls. I don't know about you, but something about good old fashioned yeast breads made by a grandma sound way better than any bread made by some young hipster. So I figured it had to be a good recipe.

As originally listed, this recipe provides:
114 calories
0.8 g fat
23.1 g carbohydrate
0.7 g fiber
3.3 g protein

I made a few changes. I made sure to use skim milk and substituted about half of the flour with whole wheat. I'd love to tell you made made a whole bunch of difference... but it didn't. It only saved me 7 calories, 0.2 g fat and gained 1.1 g fiber. Not a big deal. But tasty, nonetheless. Oh yeah, I also made them into clover shaped rolls instead of butterhorns... but I just did this because I'm lazy.

Wheat Rolls - VERY SLIGHTLY BETTER

2 rounded Tbsp yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 cup warm skim milk
1/2 cup sugar
6 Tbsp shortening
2 tsp salt
4 eggs
3.5 cups whole wheat flour
3.5 - 4.5 cups white flour

Beat together yeast, water, milk, sugar, shortening, salt and eggs until smooth. In an electric mixer with a dough hook, add flour one cup at a time until dough forms a ball, cleaning off the edge of the bowl. Knead 5 minutes (or 10 minutes by hand). Let rise until double.

Punch down dough and let rise until double again.

Punch down again and divide into three parts. Decide how you are going to shape your rolls. For some ideas, check out these shapes from Real Mom Kitchen. No matter how you choose, make sure you are creating 36 rolls. I used the clover shape in my muffin tins.

Let shaped rolls rise a third and final time. Watch carefully as they will rise very quickly. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned. Do not overbake!

These rolls will freeze well if you allow them to cool completely and then freeze promptly.

Makes 36 rolls. Per roll:
107.7 calories
0.6 g fat
22.4 g carbohydrate
1.8 g fiber
3.6 g protein