OK, I get bored easily. When it comes to food that is. Everything else, well suffice it to say I truly haven’t been bored since I was about 12. And then only during the summer because I had two younger brothers who bugged me, and I had read all the books at our local branch of the King County library deemed appropriate for my age.

So, the other evening when I decided to serve chili for dinner, I decided to prepare some kind of new bread offering as an accompaniment.

I began by searching the internet for inspiration. I knew I wanted to include some sourdough starter and cornmeal, but my mouth was really wanting more of a soft dinner roll. Basically, I wanted a fusion roll. (After all, it’s very hip to prepare fusion cuisine these days. So, why not a fusion bread somewhere between sourdough bread and cornbread? Just proves I can be just as cool and trend conscious as the next dame given the right impetus!)

Anyway, I found this wonderful recipe on the zestysouthindiankitchen.com site. Well, this recipe with a couple of minor changes, that is. And the rolls turned out just what my mind envisioned. And my taste buds craved. Well, almost. The rolls were a bit sweeter than I like, even though I had already reduced the amount of sugar from Swathi’s original recipe. So, below you will find the sugar amount given in a range. Next time I will use only 2 teaspoons of sugar. But if you like sweeter rolls, go for the larger amount of sugar.

Well, I’m off to do battle with WordPress (WP), my self-publishing blogging platform. (Think of WP as a factory for making web pages.) It appears that people who signed up to receive automatic notification of new posts on their email are no longer receiving notice. And I can’t always get pictures transferred from my computer to my posts. Grrrrrr. So, I am at a bit of an impasse as to how to get my problems resolved. There is really no one I can just call for assistance. Well, that is, without an outlay of dollars and a considerable amount of frustration! (On both sides I might add! Because I am definitely not what anyone would consider a “tech savvy person”. In fact, quite the opposite.)

In the meantime, if you have signed up for automatic notification, just go to my site every few days or whenever you have nothing better to do, to find out what I have been up to and to view new recipes hot off the press.

Well, Mr. C. had a gig last night and another one tonight. So, that’s 2 days in a row that he will be keeping me up past my bedtime. But that’s just fine with me. Anytime I can spend an evening listening to Andy play with others to make really good live music, I am a happy camper. My wish for you is that you too get to experience something you truly enjoy as often as you wish. (Or even a little bit more often than you think you can reasonably handle.) Because this is it dear friends. And we only go around once.  

Peace and love to all.

½ c. + 2 T. sourdough starter (either fed or discard)

1½ tsp. active dry yeast

1 c. whole milk

2 tsp. – 2 T. granulated sugar (depends on how sweet you like your dinner rolls)

1¼ tsp. kosher salt

4 T. (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

⅓ c. fine cornmeal

2 T. potato flour, instant mashed potatoes, potato flakes, or leftover mashed potatoes

2⅔ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, or more as needed

veggie oil (to grease the bowl)

1 sm. egg + 1 T. water for egg wash

In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix the sourdough starter, yeast, milk, and sugar together. Let sit for 5 minutes. Then add the salt, butter, cornmeal, potato flour, and 2 cups of the all-purpose flour. Using the dough hook, knead the dough until soft and elastic. Add additional flour as needed. (The dough should form a ball around your bread hook with just a bit of dough sticking to the bottom of the bowl.)

Pour a bit of oil around the dough in your mixing bowl, and using a stiff plastic spatula and your hands, form the dough into a lightly greased ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Gently deflate the dough and divide the dough into 10 rolls (or how many ever you want). Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. (The dough will be sticky, so a bit of butter on your hands helps you form the dough into balls.)

Cover and set aside for another 45-60 minutes. While the rolls rise, whisk the egg and water together. After the second rise the rolls should be puffy but not to the point of being doubled in volume.

Carefully brush the rolls with the egg wash and bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. The internal temperature should read around 200-degrees.

Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.

Great with soup, chili, or stew. Or any old time for that matter! Absolutely delicious sliced into two halves and toasted for a breakfast treat. Jam or honey is fabulous on these rolls.