Thursday, March 12, 2009

Spiced Sweet Potato Rolls

As I mentioned in my earlier post , sweet potatoes are power houses of nutrition and I try my level best to find new ways to include this wonderful food in our diet. Since the inclusion of sweet potato in Roti's (Indian flat bread) enhanced the softness and texture of the roti, I was very keen to try using sweet potato in a bread roll. I was curious to see if the sweet potato enhanced the softness and texture of bread too. When I found exactly two sweet potatoes left in my potato basket, I thought this would be a great way to use them up. 

So I started out on these rolls and was very pleased with the outcome. The bread was soft and chewy and the sweet potatoes did really seem to improve the texture of the bread, in addition, the inclusion of cumin, black pepper and red pepper saved the bread from turning bland and made it far more interesting. Though this bread tasted great in sandwiches and as a side for soups, I enjoyed it just on its own too, with nothing added to it. For some true fusion, try this with some hot and spicy chutney applied to it or use it instead of your regular burger buns.




Some more views of the rolls.......





Ingredients and Method to make the spiced sweet potato rolls

3/4 cup oat flour ( I processed rolled oats in the spice grinder to a fine powder, you can use store bought oat flour too)
1 cup whole wheat flour ( atta)
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
1 1/2 tsp quick rise yeast ( See Notes)
2 tsp brown sugar 
1/2 cup warm water
2 medium sized sweet potatoes (yielded about 3/4 cup of cooked and mashed potatoes)
1 1/4 tsp salt
4 tsp flax seed meal ( see notes) (optional)
1/2 tsp dry crushed red pepper (or according to taste) (optional)
3 1/2 tbsp olive oil (or any other oil)

Dry grind
1 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of carom seeds (ajwain) (optional)
1/4 tsp whole black pepper

A little butter or smart balance for brushing on top (optional)

In a large bowl mix together oat flour, whole wheat flour, salt , wheat germ, flax seed meal and keep aside.

In the microwave, cook the sweet potatoes with the skin until soft and slightly shriveled ( I placed the sweet potatoes in a large microwave safe bowl with a little water and cooked on high for about 3 to 4 minutes turning the potatoes around every minute) Cool the sweet potatoes and remove the skin. Mash the potatoes and keep aside.

In the spice grinder or blender dry grind the cumin seeds, carom seeds ( if you are using it) and whole black pepper until powdered reasonably fine. You can grind it coarse if you like to taste the bite of the spices in your bread. Add the ground mixture into the bowl with the dry flours and mix well.

Add the crushed red pepper if you plan to use it to the dry flour mixture and mix well.

In a small bowl add warm water and mix in the sugar and yeast into the water and keep aside.

When the yeast froths up, usually takes about 5 minutes pour the water + yeast mixture into the bowl with all the dry ingredients. 

Add the cooked sweet potatoes to this mixture as well and knead well until the dough is soft, pliable and non sticky. (about 5 to 6  minutes)

Add olive oil (reserve 1/2 tbsp) and continue to knead the dough (for about 2 to 3 minutes)

Apply reserved 1/2 tbsp olive oil to the dough and keep the dough covered in a warm place to rise for an hour.

After an hour when the dough has doubled, gently flatten the dough, knead a few times and divide the dough into eight equal sections.

Line a baking sheet/ tray with parchment paper and keep aside.

Roll each of the eight sections of dough, slightly flatten it and place on the lined tray about an inch or more apart.

Cover the tray and place it in a warm place for about another hour or so.

Preheat oven at 375 deg F

Bake for 15 mins or until done. Remove from oven brush some butter or smart balance on top and bake again for another 2 minutes.

Serve hot with soup of choice, or use this bread to make sandwiches or burgers.

Refrigerate the balance and use within a couple of days. Warm the bread after removing from refrigerator before use

Yielded 8 rolls


Notes:

The sweet potatoes contain moisture too, so I have used only 1/2 cup warm water and between the two there was enough moisture to bind and form the dough.

I used quick rise yeast instead of active dry yeast since I ran out of active dry yeast.I have found rapid rise yeast to be more potent and much more stronger, so I used less of it. You can easily use active dry yeast in its place. Just use about 2 tsp of active dry yeast instead of rapid rise yeast for the above proportions and proceed with the rest of the steps given.

The flax seed meal is not used as a substitute for eggs in this recipe, just used to make the bread healthy ,so it can be omitted if you do not want to add it. 

The bread was very very mildly spiced, so if you like more heat then you can increase the quantity of whole black pepper or crushed red pepper according to taste.

These rolls are off to the Think Spice- Think Pepper event being hosted by Divya originally started by Sunita 

These rolls are also off to the Yeastspotting event being hosted by Susan



63 comments :

Manju said...

ohh..those rolls really look so very fluffy!! even though it looks like you need to put in some work into this, it looks worth every bit of it!

Vidhya said...

looks mouthwatering Usha. Looks like it needs lot of work. But worth trying i believe:)

Anonymous said...

lovely recipe Usha... I can totally imagine gobbling up these rolls with/without soup :)

Mangala Bhat said...

Lovely rools ..looks soo yummy :):P

indosungod said...

Looks wonderful. I was dreaming of making some buns now that I can make a slightly decent bread. This is it.

Anonymous said...

Lovely Work Usha.... those rolls look so delicious !!

Poornima Nair said...

Those are gorgeous rolls...looks so soft, soft delicious.

Varsha Vipins said...

Looks great..n different too..I was thinking of flour coated fried rolls initially..This sounds so healthy n nice Usha..:)

A_and_N said...

They look perfect!

Anonymous said...

THis is an awesome recipe. A house full of health! It looked like idli to me first!

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

very healthy.. i like these kind of recipes. second pic is too good usha.

why do u post pictures in full resolution? you may want to reduce the size in order to avoid someone stealing your pic.

Cham said...

They came out perfect, The buns looks simply delicous!

Unknown said...

that looks perfect..soft and healthy too..lot of sweet potato recipes in the blogosphere nowadays..

Unknown said...

that looks perfect..soft and healthy too..lot of sweet potato recipes in the blogosphere nowadays..

Pam said...

I've been looking for sweet potato recipes...this looks so good.

Neha said...

looks lovely.. awesome recipe...

Anonymous said...

A good accompaniment for a hot cuppa tea/coffee.... :)))

Amy said...

Mmm there's nothing like the smell of fresh bread and these look fantastic!

Sharmila said...

Innovative Usha! The crust looks perfect! And I love the fact that they are not sweet for a change.

Meenal Mehta said...

Usha, the recipe looks fantastic..My name is Meenal and we have commented on each other's blog in the past

I have a small gift waiting for you
(In my new blog post)


in my New Blog Post... Please do accept it.
-Meenal

Unknown said...

ooohhh simply superb with oat flour and whole wheat flour so it's very helthy and delicious with it's spies nice color too perfect dear

Anonymous said...

So tasty and healthy! Thanks for joining YeastSpotting!

Shama Nagarajan said...

wow..delectable one..yummy too

Sukanya Yogesh said...

Looks so yummy and perfect. You could pack and sell them. Wonderful clicks Usha. Wish you a Happy Holi.

Chutneytales said...

These rolls look so adorable..Wonderful recipe,Usha

miss v said...

this is a great recipe. i love the idea of adding the sweet potatoes. nice!

Priya Suresh said...

Prefectly shaped rolls...lovely n healthy..am for!!

Anonymous said...

Professional rolls Usha...healthy as well as colorful

Laavanya said...

What a great idea to incorporate sweet potatoes.. and i love the touch of spices too :)

AnuSriram said...

Looks awesome! Very innovative.. Lovely recipe!

Trupti said...

Rolls looks very delicious. Bookmarked it.

Deepthi Shankar said...

thatz an amazing recipe .. I cam imagine digging into those .. very delicious

Vishali said...

wow sweet potato rolls look perfect Usha..nice way of using sweet potatoes too :)

Deepa Hari said...

Sweet potato rolls look perfect and delicious Usha...lovely recipe.

Mary Bergfeld said...

These look perfectly awesome. I'll bet they are delicious.

Ashwini said...

wow those rolls looks so perfect. It is so healthy and yummmm..

Ashwini said...

wow those rolls looks so perfect. It is so healthy and yummmm..

Ana Powell said...

Hi Usha
Beautiful rolls.
I just love sweet potato.
Fantastic recipe x

Gita Jaishankar said...

Delicious and healthy rolls..I should make this with soup today :)

gtyuk said...

sounds healthy and has come out perfect; whole wheat flour and wheat germ and company .....only good things, to eat with no limits! good recipe!

CurryLeaf said...

I know they are healthy as I too had made them.Love the way you spiced up yours.They have come put perfect.You are now becoming an expert in baking,Usha,do keep it up.

Red Chillies said...

Look at that! It is bursting with healthy ingredients like wheat flour, oats, flax, wheat germ and of course Sweet potatoes.
Very nice!

Myvegfare said...

Oh! they look so lovely, and of course very nutritious must try it, as I have just started to bake will try give it a try sometime definitely

Malar Gandhi said...

Sounds unique and nice...love it.

Bharti said...

They looks yummy and nutritious.

Archana said...

Wow Usha, you make such amazing stuff from oatmeal. I really must start trying these out...baking is something i am terrified of, but will definately try this...

Lore said...

I love potato bread but spiced sweet potato rolls it's like taking it to a whole new level. Bravo Usha!

Lisa Turner said...

Amazing rolls Usha. I can just imagine how wonderful they smelt while cooking in the oven.

Anonymous said...

Hi Usha!!! These look really great, I love sweet potato, and they are healthy to boot!!!!

Vani said...

Fiber rich with oats, flax etc and extra nutrition with the sweet potatoes. That's great!

Purva Desai said...

They are really appealing, Oat flour makes it more healthy

Anonymous said...

Potato rolls look yum! :)

Nice pictures Usha!

LifenSpice said...

a very healthy one with oats and sweet potato..i always see you make use of oats in your bakes. that's a wonderful idea.
the bread looks perfectly shaped too!

Vibaas said...

wow, they look sooo good :)

Shivali said...

Though a bit of hard work these rolls look super soft,yummy and inviting.Lovely recipe Usha.

Uma said...

looks so yummy!

Unknown said...

They look super fluffy...Had a great trip and now back to India

Sum Raj said...

woo looks good..

Preety said...

those rolls are so perfectly shaped..and healthy ones too

Anonymous said...

those are nice plump buns...

Anonymous said...

Usha these look AMAZING as do the Rotis! I must try them both for sure!I too just lately have discovered the virtues of sweet potato..its so good to know that something naturally sweet is so healthy!,Mia

Rajee said...

Looks chewy and perfect. I wonder how the taste will be. Send me very amount by parcel.

Archy said...

Wow, healthy puffy sweet potato bread.. looks so gud.. shall try.. Usha great recipe !!

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