I've been so busy lately that it feels as though I've sacrificed a lot. Perhaps way too much. One of the things I haven't done in a while is bake bread- one of my favorite kitchen activities.
Enough was enough. I dove head first into the kitchen this afternoon, armed with enough patience, a little frustration (good for the final result) and a glass of wine.
Here's the result of my efforts:
Corn Rolls with Cumin
Makes 6 rolls
350g flour
150g fine polenta
1 ½ tsp salt
7g packet of yeast
125 ml whole milk
2 tbsps olive oil
175 ml warm water
2 tbsps whole yogurt
1 tsp cumin seeds
beaten egg
Combine the flour, polenta, salt and yeast in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the milk, oil, water and yogurt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and knead the dough in the bowl. Transfer the dough either to a floured work surface or to your kitchen machine (with dough hook attachment). Knead the dough until it is soft and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball.
Rinse the large bowl with hot water, brush with olive oil and drop the ball of dough into the bowl, turning it over once so that the other side is also coated with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Set the dough in a warm place and allow the dough to rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
Punch down the dough and knead it, just a little, while it's still in the bowl.
Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Divide the dough in half and divide each half into three pieces. You'll end up with six pieces of dough. Form each piece of dough into a bun, arrange on the baking sheet and cover with a clean tea towel. Allow to rise for another 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Brush the rolls with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the cumin seeds.
Bake the rolls for 12-15 minutes or until golden.
Serve warm with a pat of butter.
