Honey Flower Rolls

Submitted by ellie_

"I am always looking for bread to go with an Asian meal and although this is quite labor intensive it seems like a fun project to have with a very special Asian meal. This recipe uses both your bread machine and rice cooker - you will also need tiered baskets for your rice cooker (a large rice cooker is necessary - at least 10 cup). As this is steamed as opposed to baked bread there is no crust and the rolls are white (instead of browned) -- best if you use the bleached white flour for ultra white rolls too. Recipe source: The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook"

 

• Ready In: 4hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Yields: 10 rolls

ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons sesame oil (or other vegetable oil)
• 1⁄2 cup bread flour
• 2 3⁄4 cups flour (see note in description about using bleached flour)
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons yeast
• flour, for dusting
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil (or cooking spray such as Pam)

directions

1. Place all ingredients except for the last 3 ingredients (extra flour for dusting - final 2 teaspoons sesame oil) in the basket of your bread machine in the order according to your manufacturer's instructions (see note in description). Set machine program for dough cycle and press the start button.
2. When the rising cycle has finished, open the lid and deflate (punch down) the dough. Close lid and let the dough rise a second time (about 45 minutes).
3. Deflate dough again and turn dough out onto a floured board which has been sprinkled with some flour and the baking powder. Flatten dough with your palms and gently knead the dough, picking up the flour and baking powder as you knead.
4. Form dough into a ball after it is smooth and springy to the touch and cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.
5. Cut 10 3 1/2 inch squares of parchment paper.
6. Divide dough into 2 parts - covering one portion with a towel while you work on the first portion of dough.
7. With a rolling pin roll out the first portion of dough into a 12 x 8 -inch rectangle.
8. Leaving a 1-inch border around the edges of the rectange of dough, brush the surface with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil (or you can also spray with Pam).
9. Roll up rectangle jelly-roll fashion starting with a long edge and pinching the ends to seal - you should have a cylinder which is 1 1/2 to 2-inches in diameter.
10. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough cylinder into 10 equal portions - each portion being about 1 1/2 inches thick, taking care not to squash the cylinder when you cut. Repeat with the remaining portion of the dough.
11. To shape the flower rolls, press 2 separate slices side by side with the cut sides facing front to back (not up and down). Hold a chopstick horizontally and gently press down on center of the two slices, all the way to the board - by doing this you will push out and fan the rolled edges (this area will puff out and expand during the steaming process - forming the flower petal effect) while attaching the two slices at the same time.
12. Place each roll on a square of parchment paper and set in a steamer basket, leaving one inch between rolls -- 6 flower rolls will fit in each basket. Cover loosely with a tea towel draped over the basket while forming the rest of the rolls.
13. Let the rolls rise until puffy and doubled (30 minutes). ***If desired before this rise rolls can be refrigerated on a cookie sheet, covered tightly with a double layer of plastic wrap - rolls will rise slowly in refrigerator - leave in refrigerator for up to 8 hours and then steam rolls--bring pans to room temperature and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes while preheating the water in the rice cooker.***.
14. 15 minutes before cooking the rolls, fill the rice cooker bowl one quarter full of water, close cover and set for regular cycle (if the water boils before you are ready to steam your flower rolls, flip rice cooker to keep warm and then switch back to cooking. You want a vigorous boil with lots of steam for cooking these rolls.
15. Place the steamer baskets over the boiling water in the rice cooker and close the cover. Set a timer for 20 minutes and steam until rolls are puffy and dry to the touch. When done, remove the cover quickly so that no drops of water drip into the baskets, and remove baskets from the rice cooker.
16. Using a spatula transfer the rolls to a wire rack.
17. If not serving immediately, let cool completely on wire racks and store in plastic bags for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months - to reheat, steam the cold rolls for 7-10 minutes or microwave for a few minutes on high.

Reviews

[Nyteglori]

T thought these would be gooey like dumplings or something but they werent. I could not figure out step 11 so I used one slice and layed it down using the chopsticks to make an x on the top. Seemed to work fine. They rose more than I thought they would so my parchment sheets were not big enough. VERY IMPORTANT - if you do not use parchment remove the bread from the steamer immediately. It sticks FAST. I will make this again. My husband wants me to try it as a sweet roll like a cinnamon roll but with ginger instead.