Wedding Anniversary Dinner ~ Whole-Wheat Dinner Rolls with Dill

This weekend, my hubby and I celebrated our wedding anniversary! This year was our sweet 16. 🙂

Every year I love to make a special meal for the occasion, and this year was no different. This year’s dinner featured the beautiful summer produce that I found at our farmers’ markets. All of the dishes were fresh and summery.

We started with whole-wheat dinner rolls seasoned with fresh dill. I tied them into a knot (since we tied the knot 16 years ago! 😉 ) I served them with corn and coconut soup garnished with a good bit of Dungeness crab. The rolls were a nice accompaniment to dip into the soup.Whole-Wheat Dinner Rolls with Dill

Makes 6 dinner rolls

2 tablespoons warm water (about 80 degrees F.)

1/2 tablespoon dry active yeast

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced (measure after mincing)

1/2 teaspoon dill seed

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 3/4 cups white whole-wheat flour

All-purpose flour for dusting work surface

Approximately 1 tablespoon beaten egg

Approximately 1/2 tablespoon coarse salt

Place a piece of parchment paper on a half sheet pan, and spray the parchment with cooking spray. Make sure you have enough room in your refrigerator for the sheet pan where the rolls will rest overnight.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, add the water. Sprinkle the yeast over the water. Let stand until the yeast and water mixture looks creamy, about 5 minutes. Next, add the ingredients from the sugar through the whole-wheat flour to the bowl. Let the mixer knead the dough for about 10 minutes. The dough will be elastic and sticky.

Remove the dough from the bowl onto a clean work surface that is lightly dusted with all-purpose flour. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Sprinkle a little extra all-purpose flour over the dough and on your hands if the dough sticks.

Form the rolls into your desired shape. To make knots like I did, roll one piece of dough between your hands until it is about 12 inches long. Tie the dough into a loose knot. Then take one loose end of dough and bring it up and over to the center of the knot. Take the other end of the dough, and gently pull it down and under to the center of the knot. The ends should be tucked underneath so no loose ends are visible. Gently press the sides of the knot so it is round. Place the roll on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 5 rolls. Take care to leave enough space between the rolls to allow them to rise without touching each other.

Spray the tops of the rolls with nonstick cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap. Let the rolls rest in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, remove the rolls from the refrigerator. Let the dough rise in a warm place for about 90 minutes, or until close to doubled in size.

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Brush the rolls with the beaten egg, and sprinkle a little coarse salt on top. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown and cooked through.