Rye Yeast Rolls

Soft and fluffy yeast rolls made with rye flour, onions, and caraway seeds.

What goes better with corned beef than rye bread? How about rye rolls? I've recently found a new love for yeast rolls. I guess I can credit my not so great oven with this new development. My oven doesn't maintain even temperature while baking so my usual baking methods don't always work. I started baking bread on an airbake pan and that seems to work (it helps to distribute the heat more evenly). It doesn't work as well with crusty rustic bread but for soft bread and rolls it's perfect. Another of yeast rolls' perks is that they are relatively quick for yeasted bread. You use about double the amount of yeast than for other bread and the rise time is half (or less). Not only are yeast rolls quick but they are super soft and delicious. These rolls are no different. I added some onion and caraway seeds so they have the same amazing flavor as my favorite deli rye. I served these alongside corned beef and cabbage, but they would also be great for sandwiches or sliders.

What goes better with corned beef than rye bread? Rye yeast rolls. [Tweet this]

Rye Yeast Rolls

Ingredients:

320 grams water (lukewarm)
11 grams active dry yeast
48 grams dark brown sugar
267 grams bread flour
266 grams rye flour
53 grams butter (room temperature)
5 grams salt
*40 grams dried minced onion re-hydrated in 40 grams water
3 grams caraway seeds (about 1 tsp)

*You can let the onions rehydrate overnight, Or I used boiling water and let it cool for a few hours or once re-hydrated put in the fridge to speed the cooling process (the onions should be room temperature to lukewarm when you add them to the dough)

Mix sugar and water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water and swirl to mix. Cover with a towel and let stand for 15 minutes.

(After 15 minutes the mixture should be foamy if not your yeast might be dead--start over with new yeast. If using instant yeast skip this step and just add the yeast with the flour.) Add the rest of the ingredients and stir with the paddle attachment until all of the flour is hydrated and a ball forms.

Switch to the dough hook and knead for about 8 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and very tacky. It should pull from the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom.

Lightly oil the same bowl. Roll the dough around in it to coat all sides with oil, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise up to an hour until the dough has doubled in size.

Divide the dough into about 20 pieces of about 50 grams each. Roll each piece into a ball and place on a(n airbake) cookie sheet. Place each dough ball fairly close together. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise another 15-30 minutes until they have risen almost double and grown into each other.

Bake in a preheated oven at 400F. Bake for 15-20 minutes until dark golden brown. Allow to cool until able to handle, pull apart, and enjoy warm. (they are also great reheated for a few seconds in the microwave or cold)

If you don't eat all of the rolls the first day they keep best frozen. Just pull out of the freezer about 1-2 hours before you want to eat them.

Enjoy.