Whole Wheat Buns

[Edit] Mom liked them so much that I decided to make another batch of these. We ran out of sesame seeds this time, so I just applied an egg wash without any topping. I also had the chance to improve my props and background too :)

As a continuation of my healthy whole-wheat obsession phase, I decided to try out a recipe from WildYeastBlog for Whole Wheat Sandwich Rolls/Burger Buns. Okay, to be honest, they came out a little small for burger buns, so I'll settle for them as cute little dinner rolls. Hush. They came close.

Anyway, I'm pretty excited because this was one of the few and very VERY rare times when Mom actually seemed genuinely pleased with the end product. Usually, whenever she seems me in the kitchen, all hell breaks loose and the entire day consists of angry mutterings and sullen glares. So like I've said, when Mom actually gives her nod of approval, I know that I've definitely hit the jackpot.

The recipe is pretty time-consuming, I have to admit, but like most breads, if you are planning to spend the day at home, the dough is pretty easy to handle, and if you make one big batch from the start, they can last you a very long time. Plus, now you don't have to buy those mega-packs of dinner rolls from Costco anymore!

Whole Wheat Buns (adapted from WildYeastBlog)

Ingredients:

Prefermented Dough Ingredients:

-6 oz whole wheat flour
-4.3 oz water
-1/3 tsp instant yeast
-9/16 tsp salt

Final Dough Ingredients:

-5.8 oz bread flour
-8.7 oz whole wheat flour
-4.4 oz lukewarm water
-1-1/3 tsp instant yeast
-1-3/8 tsp salt
-2 whole eggs
-1 egg yolk, beaten
-1.5 oz vegetable oil
-0.7 oz sugar
-1.0 oz  honey
-All the prefermented dough
-Seeds or meal for topping (I used sesame seeds, but you can add poppy, oats, etc.)

1. Mix together all of the preferment dough. Cover and rest at room temperature for 2 hours (yea, it's a while).
2. Add everything else to it except the egg yolk and about 0.4 oz water.
3. Mix, adding water if necessary, until the dough reaches a medium-soft texture.
4. Cover and rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
5. Divide the dough into about 10 equally sized pieces (the original recipe says about 100 g per piece, but that turned out to be too small).
6. Flatten each piece, then roll into a ball. Brush each with egg yolk, then top with topping of choice.
7. Cover and rest at room temperature for about 1.5-2 hours, until the dough springs back when pressed with a finger.
8. Bake at 380 F covered for 8 minutes, then uncovered for 8-10 minutes until the buns are golden on top.
9. Cool then ENJOY!