My Kissing Dinner Rolls

These rolls got me more excited than I should be. I mean, it's really just a slab of dough come together. But the aroma, taste and texture were pretty awesome. 

I was not too hopeful that they would turn out to be anything good as I had trouble dealing with a really sticky dough. But when they proofed well and puffed up after just a few minutes in the oven, they got my undivided attention. 

The aroma was amazing and I couldn't stop sniffing at them. I wanted to make calls to every dinner guest to ask them to come over, like right now!

What really won my heart was when I saw these rolls kissing! Aren't they the cutest buns on heaven and earth. Such loving creatures. I must remember to make them on Valentine's!

And my favourite part in baking these - shredding them apart and seeing the soft texture especially when hot!

I got this recipe from ehow.com some time ago and have tested it a few times. It seems the original post has been removed. It's a good thing I copied them down. Here goes.

Caution: You need time and patience and you must not give up if it doesn't succeed at first try. Dough may be difficult to handle - way too sticky!

You will need:

Electric mixer (or be prepared to knead dough by hand)

Damp cloth

Large dry cloth

Baking tray

Baking paper

Ingredients (yields 12 rolls):

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup hot water

1 pack dry yeast (I used 11g instant yeast)

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups plain white flour (I used 1 cup white and 1 cup organic rye flour which has higher protein and fibre, and lower carbo and saturated fats)

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup margarine (I used butter instead. Say no to trans fat!)

Method:

1. Mix dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

2. Add in remainder of the ingredients and mix well.

3. Once a ball forms, cover bowl with plastic wrap or damp towel and allow to rise. (Mine didn't form a  nice ball and I had to add another half cup of flour to make it drier. I let it rise till double in volume.)

4. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough. (I used my electric mixer and kneaded for a good 10-12 minutes.)

5. Line baking tray with parchment paper. Divide dough into 12 balls and flatten slightly on baking tray. Cover with cloth. Allow rolls to rise. (I took my dinner and came back to see they have doubled in size. Give them time to rise before you bake them.)

6. Preheat oven to 205 degrees Celsius.

7. Bake for 15-20 min or until light golden brown on top. Tap buns - they should sound hollow and not dense when ready. 

8. Remove from oven and after a few minutes of initial cooling time, wrap rolls in a large dry cloth. This will aid in keeping the crust soft.