Herb Rolls Baked in a Jar

I saw this Whole Wheat Buttermilk Roll recipe on Simple Bites and knew that these would be gracing my Thanksgiving table this year.  Are these not the cutest little things that you have ever seen?  You have no idea how happy these little rolls made me.  First of all, nothing make me happier than when a bread recipe works and also tastes delicious.  Which this recipe does, but if you check out the original recipe, there are tips for working with whole wheat flour that I found incredibly helpful and a great video for rolling out these rolls.

These rolls are baked in the container (a 4-ounce Mason jar) that you serve them in, therefore, you can do without the bread plate altogether.  Which is how I actually did serve them for Thanksgiving.  I have made these a few times since Thanksgiving and I also baked them in small ramekins and they worked just fine too.  But for photographic purposes, I put a pat of butter on a plate.

I also encourage you to check out SimpleMom.net.  I love this website and take something from it every day.  I long for a simple life.  I want it bad.  And Tsh Oxenreider is helping me get there.  Her new book Organized Simplicity is beautiful and helpful (not to mention, my friend Angie took some of the gorgeous images), and I am taking it to heart.  I love it.  Go out and buy one.  And buy one for your best friend.

1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
1 Tablespoon whole cane sugar
3 Tablespoon warm water
1 cup room temperature buttermilk
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups organic stone ground wheat bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
6 Tablespoons room temperature butter
12 (4-ounce) Mason jars
olive oil
cornmeal
melted butter

In a small bowl, stir together the yeast, sugar, and warm water.  Let sit until it starts to foam, about 5 minutes.

In the bowl of the mixer, add the whole wheat flour, rosemary and salt.

Mix the yeast mixture with a fork and add the buttermilk and egg.  Pour it into the bowl of the mixer.

Mix the dough together until the flour and liquid are combined.  Let the dough rest for 10 minutes so the wheat will absorb the liquid.

Add the butter one Tablespoon at time until it is all absorbed in the bread dough.  Knead on low for 5 minutes.  Scrape down the mixture.  The dough will come together and be smooth and elastic.  This dough is a wetter and sticky dough, but resist the urge to add more flour.  Trust me, it will all come together.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place for about an hour.  (Depending on the weather, it may take longer, mine took closer to 2 hours to rise.)

Brush the insides of your jars generously with olive oil.  Sprinkle some cornmeal in the bottoms of the jars.  This will help the rolls come out of the jar.

Pour out the dough onto a counter coated with olive oil.

Divide the dough into 12 jars.  Cover them again with a tea towel and allow to rise for another hour.

Brush the tops of the dough with melted butter.  Snip the top of your rolls with kitchen shears and add a small sprig of rosemary.  Sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

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