Soft, pillowy rolls with a pleasant cornmeal crunch are a delightful accompaniment to any meal.
Bonus Mom turned me onto these cornmeal rolls. They remind her of the rolls that she ate as a kid at summer camp. The simple fact that my step-mom recalls rolls from a summer camp tells me that they must have been wonderful. To have resonated with her well into adulthood could only mean that they were some seriously good bread-stuffs.
And I am all about seriously good bread-stuffs.
So when she ran across this recipe in one of my Grandma’s old Taste of Home magazines, she thought they sounded similar to the rolls of her youth. She whipped up a batch, and low and behold, one bite took her back to the campfires and sing-a-longs of camp. Interestingly, the recipe was on the same page as the Sausage and Lentil Stew recipe I shared awhile back, which makes that particular magazine page suitable for framing.
Cornmeal rolls are soft, with a nice cornmeal undertone. They are not so corny and grainy that they taste like cornbread, but are rather smooth and pillowy. The recipe is versatile enough that is can also be coaxed into a couple dozen rolls or 2 loaves of bread.
Fact: if you eat a panini or grilled cheese sandwich made with fresh cornmeal bread, it will change your life. That’s a promise.
To make Cornmeal Rolls (or Bread,) you’ll need: warm water, yellow cornmeal, granulated sugar, vegetable oil, salt, active dry yeast, eggs, and all-purpose flour. Hooray for recipes comprised entirely of pantry staples!
In a small saucepan, combine 1 3/4 cups of warm water, cornmeal, sugar, oil, and salt. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat, and allow the cornmeal mixture to cool.
Sprinkle the yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Let the yeast get a little frisky and “bloom” in the water while the cornmeal mixture continues to cool. Blooming is when the yeast wakes up and starts to bubble and swell in the warm water.
Once the cornmeal mixture has cooled to around 120 degrees (F), scoop it into a large bowl of a stand mixer.
Pour the now “bloomed” yeast water into the bowl, and stir it into the cornmeal mixture until well blended.
Crack the eggs into the bowl, and stir to incorporate.
Fluff up the flour by scooping and dumping a few cupfuls before measuring. The actual amount of flour you will need will very depending on humidity and altitude. Add the flour to the bowl, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing in between, until a soft dough forms. I typically end up using 6 to 6 1/2 cups of flour.
This is after 5 cups of flour. The dough is starting to come together, but still way too sticky.
This is after 6 cups of flour. The dough is soft, has cleaned the sides of the bowl, but is still slightly tacky. I like to let my stand mixer do all of the work when I’m making bread, so I let the dough knead in the mixer on medium-low speed for 2-3 minutes. If you are not as lazy as I am and want to knead the dough by hand, turn it onto a floured board, and knead by hand until it is smooth and elastic, (between 6-8 minutes.)
Form the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then with a clean towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm, draft free area, until doubled in bulk.
Once doubled, uncover the dough. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
A lot of bread recipes tell you to punch down the dough once it has doubled. That sounds awfully harsh. The bubbles created by the yeast are very necessary, so we don’t need to beat them into submission. They are doing a great job! We really only need to release a bit of the air, so gently press down the dough. (And ignore the freakish hand in the picture.)
Ack! It looks like E.T. is messing with my bread dough! At this point, you can cut the dough into 2 pieces, roll it into loaves, and place them into greased loaf pans to rise. OR…
Cut the dough into 24 equal-ish pieces. Form each piece into a smooth ball by squeezing it through the pocket of your thumb and index finger a few times.
Pinch the undersides to seal.
Then, place the rolls, pinched side down, onto a baking sheet that is either lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Brush the tops with melted butter.
Sprinkle on a dusting of additional cornmeal–it’s pretty and gives a little hint of what is to come. Let rise, uncovered, until doubled in bulk–about 30 minutes.
Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. (About 40 minutes for loaves.)
Immediately remove from the pan. Serve immediately with a healthy pat of butter.
Or, in the spirit of versatility, let the rolls cool, then toast ’em up and give them the royal treatment–like as the perfect base for meatball sliders.
♥♥♥
Cornmeal Rolls (or Bread)
(Adapted from Taste of Home magazine)
http://comfortablydomestic.com
Yield 24 rolls (or 2 loaves)
Soft, pillowy rolls with a pleasant cornmeal crunch are a delightful accompaniment to any meal.
Prep Time: 2 hours, Cook Time: 20 minutes, Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
For Dough:
2 ¼ C. warm water (110 to 120 degrees), divided
1/3 C. yellow cornmeal, medium ground
¼ C. granulated sugar
3 Tbls. vegetable oil
2 tsp. salt
4 ½ tsp. instant yeast [from 2 (1/4 oz.) packages]
2 eggs
6 to 6 ½ C. all-purpose flour
1-2 tsp. of canola oil for oiling the bowl prior to rise
For Topping:
1-2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1-2 Tbs. additional cornmeal
In a medium sauce pan, combine 1 3/4 C water, cornmeal, sugar, oil and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils, about 9-11 minutes. Cool the cornmeal mixture at room temperature until it tempers between 120-130 degrees F. Scoop the cornmeal mixture into a large mixing bowl.
Sprinkle the yeast over the remaining ½ cup of warm water. Allow the yeast to “bloom” for 5 minutes, or until it becomes frothy. Stir the yeast mixture into the cornmeal mixture to combine.
Add eggs to the mixture, whisking well to fully incorporate them to form a batter.
Gradually add the flour one-half cup at a time, mixing well in between additions, to make a soft dough. Turn dough onto floured cutting board or work surface. Knead the dough by hand until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. (The dough may also be kneaded for 2-3 minutes in the bowl of an electric stand mixer (set to medium-low speed) that has been fitted with a dough hook attachment.
Once the dough is elastic, tuck the top of the dough underneath it, turning it one-quarter turn, and repeat the process to form a smooth ball. Place dough ball into a large, lightly oiled bowl, turning it once to coat the top. Cover and the bowl first with plastic wrap, then a clean hand towel, and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in bulk, about 45 to 60 minutes. (I tend to use my microwave to proof the dough by placing the covered bowl inside of it and letting the dough rise inside.)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Push down dough. Use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut dough into 16 equal pieces. Shape the pieces of dough into 24 balls. (OR divide dough in half, and form two loaves, and place in greased loaf pans.) Place balls of dough about 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Brush each roll (or loaves) with melted butter before sprinkling them with additional cornmeal.
Let the rolls rise uncovered until doubled, about 30 minutes. (Loaves should rise to the rim of the pans.)
Bake the rolls for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. (About 40 minutes for loaves.) Immediately transfer the rolls to a wire rack to cool (or remove the loaves from pans, resting them on their sides on a wire rack to cool.) Serve rolls warm (OR allow loaves to cool completely before slicing.)
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