These soft semolina rolls are sweet enough to offer for breakfast or tea time, but not so sweet that you can't use them as a sandwich roll. Shape them smaller if serving as dinner rolls.
The top of the rolls are garnished with golden sesame seeds and nigella seeds. You can omit them if you like, but know that they do add flavor.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Rising times: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours, 10 minutes
Yield: Twelve 3.5" rolls
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups white flour
- 2 cups fine semolina flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- 5 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
- 1 1/4 cups warm milk
- ---- For Decorating the Rolls ----
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 to 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 1 to 2 teaspoons nigella seeds
Preparation:
Dissolve the yeast in a little of the warm milk and set aside to proof for five minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the flours, salt, and sugar. Add the butter, egg, dissolved yeast and the rest of the milk. Mix to form a soft, sticky dough. If necessary, add a little more milk or flour to achieve that consistency.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface (or with a mixer and dough hook) for about 10 minutes, or until smooth. Ideally you want the dough to remain soft and a bit sticky, so use as little flour as necessary during the kneading. The dough will lose its stickiness after it rises.
Transfer the kneaded dough to a large, oiled bowl and turn it over once to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with a towel and leave the dough to rise in a draft free area until doubled in volume. Usually this takes about 1 1/2 hours but it may be longer if the room is cool.
Punch down the dough and turn it out onto your work surface. Shape small handfuls of dough into smooth balls and place them on an oiled baking pan. Lightly flatten the tops of the dough, cover with a towel, and leave to rise another hour (or longer), until very puffy and light.
Preheat your oven to 425° F (220° C). Brush the tops and sides of the rolls with an egg wash and sprinkle the tops with sesame and nigella seeds.
Bake the rolls for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer the rolls to a rack, cover loosely with a towel and leave to cool.
Serve the semolina sweet rolls with butter, jam or soft cheeses. Or, split the rolls horizontally and stuff with sandwich fillers.
