Fennel and Poppy Seed Rolls#BreadBakers

Its disheartening at times that some bakeries sell seeded breads that are expensive only to find the seeds only on top and none inside the loaf. Seriously, its like me getting a plain bread and sprinkling some seeds on top. Here in Mombasa, there is only one ‘the bread place’ and its a bit pricey. Occasional indulgence in the variety they offer is allowed. Sometime back we tried out their seeded bread and it was absolutely delicious,with seeds inside and outside the loaf.  I like that slight bite you get from the seeds with each morsel of bread.

When I suggested the theme bread with seeds, I had so many recipes in mind that I wanted to bake. However, the one that stole my heart was the fennel and poppy seed one. Both are my favorite seeds. Seriously can one really have a favorite seed? I like them all sesame, nigella, cumin, mustard, fennel, fenugreek, pumpkin, flax, sunflower, chia. I’ve yet to taste hemp. The choice of seeds are endless.

These tiny tiny seeds are packed with so many health benefits.  They are called the nutritional powerhouses. Each variety has its own health benefits but all are full of minerals, some are rich in protein like hemp, chia and pumpkin seeds. Chia and flax seeds are rich sources of Omega -3 which reduces inflammation.There are numerous ways to include this little powerhouses in your daily diet, sprinkle on your porridge, salads, in your gravies and curries, in baked goodies with them inside the dough or batter.

I made brioche like rolls. Slightly sweet and soft. The sweet smell of fennel baking all over the house was heavenly. In India we tend to use two types of fennels, light brownish green ones that look a bit like cumin seeds and green ones. I prefer the green ones as I feel they are more aromatic and flavorful. We enjoyed the warm rolls with some butter and tea. Next day the toasted rolls went well with the soup.

FENNEL AND POPPY SEED ROLLS

Makes 8-10 depends on the size you want

3½ cup plain flour, bread flour, all purpose flour

2¼ tsp dry active yeast

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp fennel seeds, lightly toasted on a pan

1 tbsp poppy seeds

3 tbsp butter, room temperature

1 cup warm milk

1 egg, whipped

Topping:

1 egg

fennel seeds

poppy seeds

extra flour for dusting

extra butter for brushing

1. Take ¼ cup of warm milk form the measured amount.
2. Add 1 tsp sugar to it from the measured amount. Stir and sprinkle the yeast over it.
3. Mix and cover. Let the yeast ferment for 10 minutes till its all frothy.
4. In a mixing bowl, add flour, salt, remaining sugar, seeds and mix well.
5. Add 2 tbsp of butter and rub it into the flour.
6. Mix remaining milk and egg together.
7. Add the egg milk mixture to the flour and bring the flour together into a dough.
8. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes.
9. Dust the worktop with some flour and knead the dough till its smooth and silky.
10. In between keep on adding small portions of the remaining butter so that the dough  doesn’t stick to your hands. Don’t be tempted to add too much flour.
11. Shape the dough into a round ball. Rub some butter over it.
12. Grease the bowl with some butter. Place the dough in the bowl. Cover and let it rise in a warm place till its double the size. Mine took about 1¼ hours.
13. Dust the worktop lightly with flour.
14. Remove the dough from the bowl and deflate it gently.
15. Divide it into 8 parts using a sharp knife.
16. Roll one part into a rope about 12″-14″ long.
17. Fold into half and then twist it like a rope.
18. Pinch the ends and tuck it under or leave as it is.
19. Repeat steps 16-18 with the remaining dough.
20. Place the rolls on a greased or lined baking tray.
21. Let the rolls rise till double in size for about 45-50 minutes.
22. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
23. Whip the egg for topping lightly with 2 tbsp water.
24. Brush the top of the rolls with the egg wash.
25. Sprinkle fennel and poppy seeds on top.
26. Bake for 25-30 minutes or till the top is golden brown.
27. Remove the tray from the oven.
28. Remove the buns from the tray and put them on a wire rack to cool.
29. Enjoy warm rolls with some butter and hot tea or coffee. Toast the cold rolls and enjoy with some soup or tea or coffee.

Tips:

• Shape the rolls as you want.
• Can add seeds of your choice.
• While kneading the dough you may feel its a bit sticky. However don’t get tempted to add more flour if you want soft rolls.
• I was happy to get the golden colour crust due to the egg wash. You don’t get the same result with milk wash. I swear, there was no eggy taste.

Check out what other Bread Bakers have made for the Bread with Seeds theme:

• Almond Poppyseed Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Crunchy Seed Braid from All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
• Fennel and Poppy Seed Rolls from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Onion &amp Poppy Seed Bialys from Baking Sense
• Savory Seeded Focaccia from Palatable Pastime
• Seeded Ficelle Bread from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Siddu from The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen
• Six-Seed Soda Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Sugarless Multiseed Rye Bread from CookwithRenu
• Tangzhong Method French Loaf With Seeds from Sneha’s Recipes
• Vegan Seeded Challah Bread from Cook’s Hideout

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.