Dark “Steakhouse” Rolls

By RoketJSquerl

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups warm water
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 3/4 cups (about 12 1/2 ounces) unbleached bread flour
• 1 3/4 cups (about 7 3/4 ounces) whole-wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• Yellow cornmeal, for sprinkling on rolls

Details

Servings 10
Adapted from abreadaday.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Combine all of the dough ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix until you’ve formed a smooth, slightly sticky dough.

2. Let the dough rise in the mixer bowl, covered with plastic wrap, for 1 hour. It won’t have doubled in size, but should be just a bit puffy.

3. Divide the dough into 10 even pieces (about 4 ounces each), and shape the pieces into oval rolls. Coat each roll, top and bottom, with some yellow cornmeal. Place them on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, and allow them to rise, covered, in a warm place, for 90 minutes to 2 hours. They won’t have doubled in size, but will appear puffy; when you gently press your finger into the side, the indentation will rebound quite slowly.

4. Bake the rolls in a preheated 350°F oven for 24 minutes, until the bottoms appear slightly browned (you’ll have to carefully pick one up to look), or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a roll reads about 200°F. Remove the rolls from the oven, and cool them on a rack.