maple glazed shallot rolls

By gocatgo

it is a completely whole wheat roll that is soft, has a nice toasty crust and is filled with sweet shallots, accented with hints of pepper, cinnamon and cumin.

Ingredients

• bread base
• 1 c warm water
• 2 1/2 tsp active yeast
• 1/3 c maple syrup
• 3 tbsp + 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 c + about 1 c whole wheat flour
• maple glazed shallots
• 3/4 lb shallots
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 c maple syrup

Details

Servings 8
Adapted from sweetbeetandgreenbean.net

Preparation

Step 1

mix the yeast, warm water and maple syrup a bowl with a large bottom. let the mixture sit in a warm place until it becomes frothy (about 15-20 minutes).

add in the 1 tsp salt and 3 tbsp oil, then slowly sift and stir in the 2 and 1/4th cups whole wheat flour until it forms a soft dough. right around the last 1/4th cup it should become solid enough to spoon out of the bowl onto a well floured surface. cover the top with an additional 1/2 c and gently knead, adding more flour until it no longer sticks to your hands.

coat a large bowl with 2 tbsp olive oil and gently lift the ball of dough into the bowl. roll it around so it’s evenly covered in oil. cover with a lid, plastic wrap, or a towel and place in the fridge for the first rise, at least 6 hours. it’s best to do this at night and leave if until the morning.

several hours later it should have at least doubled in size. grab the ball of dough as it deflates. wrap the edges around to the back and pitch them together to make a small, tight, round ball of dough. coat it in the oil that’s already in the bowl, cover and let sit out for another few hours, at least 4-5.

cut the ends off of your shallots and remove all of the skin. then slice them so they make several concentric rings. you could use any type of onion in this recipe, because they are cooked they will become soft and sweet.

heat up the 1/4 cup olive oil on the stove over medium heat in a large skillet. once warm add in the shallots and spices and cook for about 5 minutes, until the shallots are soft and translucent. then add in the maple syrup and cook for another 5 minutes until it cooks off a little.

let the shallot mixture cool thoroughly until it’s cool enough to handle. turn the ball of dough out onto a floured surface and dust lightly with additional flour. press evenly into a rectangle and put a spoonful of the shallot mixture in the center. dust with flour and begin folding the dough over and over, and pressing it out. if any little pockets of shallots squeeze out simply cover with a little flour and fold them back into the dough. continute until the dough is managable, then repeat with another scoop of the shallots, leaving about a 1/2 cup of the mixture to put on top of the rolls.

finally, pull the edges of the dough back and pinch together so it’s an even, round ball. cut through the dough in half, then again, until you have 8 even wedges of dough. you’ll notice pockets of the shallots mixture, this is great because those will stay delicious sweet pockets of flavor in final product.

carefully pull the solid floured edge of the dough over the rest of the roll so it is a small, evenly round little ball. repeat with all 8 of them, then top them off with the remaining shallots.

let them rise again, this time in a warm place, for about an hour. once they are fluffy and large, bake them at 400F for 12-15 minutes, or until starting to brown to your liking.

they are best just out of the oven; warm, soft and full of delicious, sweet shallots. but keep them in a air-tight container if you don’t plan on using them right away. they would make great buns for burgers!