did this blog really need another bread roll recipe? probably not. but after biting into one straight-out-of-the-oven of them babies, I figured: what the hell.

remember to have a piece of paper towel or something on which to wipe your hands clean in a jiffy if you need to grab a spoon or what-have-you and your hands are covered in dough.

you don’t have to use the biscuit cutter idea I went for here, and choose to simply shape your rolls however you want to instead: you have my blessing. hardy-har.

I use a microplane grater for the garlic because those things are a godsend, so whip yours out of the confines of your drawers if you have one.

if you want the rolls to have a bit of a shine, you can either use this, or apply some milk alternative on top with a brush.

in the event you have a bread machine and would rather use it instead of doing it all manually, it’s all thumbs-up to use this recipe the way it is, as long as your machine can handle small 1-pound loaves.

finally: if you have fresh basil on hand, I would sub 1 tightly packed tablespoon of it, chopped.

Garlic & Basil Bread Rolls

3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/2 tablespoon peanut oil
1 clove garlic, grated
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
1 tablespoon soymilk powder [optional]
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant-rise yeast

Place all ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the dough hook, knead for a few minutes, adding a little more flour if the dough is too sticky, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Finish kneading by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape dough into a ball.

Lightly oil a large bowl, turn dough around to coat. cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free area for 60-90 minutes, until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375°F . Line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.

Punch down dough and flatten it into an approximately 1-inch thick rectangle.
Using a biscuit cutter, cut out rolls, re-shaping the dough and flattening it again if need be.
Place rolls on prepared baking sheet, and bake for 22-24 minutes, until the rolls are golden and sound hollow when the bottom is tapped.

Remove from oven and let cool on a rack before storing.

Yield: 4 to 6 rolls, depending on cutter size