Hearty Herb Multigrain Rolls

Ingredients

• Starter:

• ¼ cup cold water
• 1/8 tsp Dry Yeast
• ½ cup Bread Flour

• Dough:

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• ½ tsp Dry Yeast
• 1 tsp firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
• 2 ½ cups + ¼ cup Bread Flour
• ¾ cups Whole Wheat/Graham Flour
• 2 Tbs roasted sunflower seeds
• 2 Tbs black sesame seeds
• ¼ cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts
• 2 Tbs fennel seeds, toasted
• 1 ½ Tbs dried Italian herb blend, toasted
• ¼ cup of corn meal
• 4 Tbs unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

1. For the starter: In the bowl of your stand mixer, stir together the cold water and yeast. Add ½ cup of bread flour and stir to combine. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let sit overnight.
2. For the dough: Add the lukewarm water, yeast, sugar, salt, and 2 ½ cups of the bread flour and the whole wheat flour to the starter. With the hook attached to your stand mixer, knead at medium for 6 minutes. Stopping occasionally to press down and incorporate any flour or little pieces of dough in the very bottom of the bowl.
3. Stop mixing and add the sunflower seeds, black sesame seeds, walnuts, fennel seeds, and dried herbs. Start the mixer back on its lowest setting and incorporate the seeds and herbs into the dough. You will have to stop every few seconds to press the seed/nut/herb mixture into the dough to ensure that everything is incorporated.
4. Re-cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise about 1 ½ - 2 hours or until doubled in size.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until a smooth ball forms. Dampen a tea towel with very warm water and wring it out so that it’s barely damp. Drape the towel into a medium bowl and sprinkle lightly with flour. Sprinkle the top of the dough with a little flour and wrap the sides of the towel over the ball. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise another 1 ½ hours.
6. About 15 minutes before your dough is done rising, place a Dutch oven with an ovenproof lid in the oven on the lowest rack and preheat to 450 degrees F.
7. Place the dough back on a lightly floured surface and, using a sharp knife, divide the dough into 12 pieces of equal weight. The dough should weigh about 2 lbs which means each ball should be about 2.5 oz. Roll the pieces gently around your hands to form 12 smooth balls.
8. Remove the Dutch oven from the oven, sprinkle the corn meal lightly all over the bottom, you may not need the entire ¼ cup. Place the rolls on the bottom, lightly touching each other. Using sharp shears cut a ¼” deep “X” on the top of each roll. Put the lid back on the Dutch oven and return to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Check doneness by using an instant read thermometer inserted in to the middle of the center roll. It should be 190 degrees.
9. Brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter. Return to the oven, uncovered, change the heat to broil and cook about 3-5 minutes until golden brown.
10. Remove rolls all in one piece and place on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes. Serve warm with jam, honey, or soft cheese.