One particular bloom that I'm looking forward to is the sunflower. Can any growing plant represent summer better than that tall and brightly hued flower? There are certain people in every town that have fallen in love with the sunflower. You know you've found them when you walk or drive by their homes in June or July, and you have to stop to admire the hundreds of yellow faces staring back at you.
Although not quite sunflower season, I wanted to utilize sunflower seeds in hopes of hurrying summer along (we especially need help in Colorado). Ryan and I were making portobello mushroom steaks for dinner, and I thought a large, soft hoagie roll dotted with sunflower seeds would be perfect to house the marinated mushrooms and melted cheese.
These rolls were a snap to throw together. They rose quickly, and they made our entire house smell like toasted nuts and warm yeasty bread. The recipe below made four VERY LARGE hoagie rolls. Ryan was easily able to eat his, but I found myself wanting something a bit smaller. So use your discretion when dividing up your dougjh. Six rolls might be a bit more reasonable for a smaller stomach.
3/4 cups warm water
2 1/4 tsp Active Dry yeast
1 TBSP honey
1/2 cup warm milk
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds
3/4 cups whole-wheat flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Egg glaze: 1 large egg mixed with 1 T milk
1. If using active dry yeast: pour the water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar over the surface of the water. Stir to combine and let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 10 min. If using instant yeast, you don't need to wait for ten minutes.
2. In a large bowl, using a spoon or the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, combine the milk, oil, honey, salt, seeds, and whole-wheat flour. Add the yeast mixture and the unbleached flour, 1/2 cup at a time.
3. Using a dough hook on your stand mixker, knead the dough for 5 minutes to make a smooth, soft, and slightly tacky dough.
4. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover the plastic wrap.
Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, 45 min. to 1 hour.
5. Gently deflate the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
Grease or parchment-line 1 baking sheet. Divide the dough into 4-6 equal portions and shape each into an oblong oval.
6. Place the rolls 2 inches apart on the baking sheet, cover, and let rest until puffy and almost double, about 30 minutes.
Brush with the egg glaze.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake your rolls for 20-25 min. or until lightly browned.