Pull-Apart 100% Whole Grain Dinner Rolls

Oy! Not the stupid whole grain rolls again! Yes! Yes, the stupid whole grain rolls again!

Those of you who have been around since I started this blog in 2008 are probably familiar with this recipe, considering that I have blogged about it nearly once a year, every year since then. But every time I share it, it's because I've made some change or another and I want to tell you all about it.

This time I've made the rolls fluffier, and I've also baked them in an eight by eight inch baking dish to get them all bunched up and pull-aparty. This variation has quite a bit of vital wheat gluten in it, three tablespoons, which gives these rolls a lovely springiness.

These are not delicate, melt-in-your-mouth rolls. These hearty rolls point and laugh at delicate melt-in-your-mouth rolls while they steal their lunch money.

They have no white flour, only whole grains and flax seeds. Ah yes, before I forget - very important detail: I make these with King Arthur whole wheat flour because it's super finely ground, and I think that that is one of the reasons why these are lighter than the whole grain rolls I've blogged before. King Arthur flour is a bit more expensive than other brands, but for this recipe I highly recommend it if you can find it in your area. If you don't live in the US or you can't find King Arthur in your area, any super fine whole wheat flour will do. Could one just make any whole wheat flour finer by pulverizing it in a food processor or high-speed blender, I wonder?

Pull-Apart Whole Grain Dinner Rolls
Yields: 9 rolls

1 1/2 cup (230g) whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur flour for this particular bread)
1/2 cup (75g) rye flour
1/2 cup (75g) oat bran
3 tbsp (30g) vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup (60g) flaxseed meal
2 tbsp (30g) sugar
2 1/2 tsp (10g) yeast
1 1/4 tsp (10g) salt

1 1/2 cup warm water
2 tbsp (30ml) vegetable oil

You will also need a bit of melted vegan butter for brushing.

1. Combine the whole wheat flour, rye flour, oat bran, vital wheat gluten, flaxseed meal, sugar, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix well with the dough hook attachment.

2. Add in the water and the oil and mix on low until all the liquid has been incorporated. Keep an eye on it and add more liquid if it doesn't look hydrated enough. It should be a very wet dough, because all those whole grains and the flaxmeal are going to be very thirsty. Check out the video below to see how your dough should look.

3. Knead at medium speed for five or six minutes. Your dough should really be rather wet. Not soupy, but super sticky. Too sticky to handle with your hands!

4. Let the dough rise, covered, for 90 minutes or until doubled in size. I let mine rise on the stove top, with the burners off but slightly warm. Not hot!

5. When the dough has doubled in size, you should see that it is now firm and ready to use. Divide the dough into 9 equally-sized balls, using a bit of flour to handle the dough if it's a little too sticky. Place the dough balls in a greased 8 by 8 inch metal baking pan.

6. Brush melted butter all over the tops and let the rolls rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in size. I also let the rolls rise on the slightly warm stove top.

7. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200C). Bake the rolls for 20 minutes, rotate the baking pan to make sure they bake evenly, and bake for ten more minutes or until the tops are golden brown. You can insert a skewer or a pointy knife in the center of the center roll to test for doneness. Even better- if you have a thermometer, bake until the rolls reach an internal temperature of 210-215 degrees F. (100C). If your oven doesn't like to bake from the top, you can broil these at 400 for the last couple of minutes. Keep an eye on them!

8. Brush melted vegan butter all over the tops as soon as they come out of the oven. Let them sit in the baking pan for about five minutes before flipping them over on a cooling rack. Flip them back up!

Let's see a few step-by-step shots of how things should look like, plus a quick video of the dough while it's being kneaded.