Rye Rolls and Rye Sausage Buns by Erythrosine

Rye Rolls

1 cup plus one tablespoon water
2 tablespoons sugar
1.25 cups whole rye flour
2.25 teaspoons instant yeast
0.5 cup all-natural sour cream
(optional one teaspoon to two tablespoons caraway seeds or sesame seeds)
1.5 teaspoons salt
2 cups white 100% whole wheat flour (King Arthur brand, which is lighter than whole wheat flour made from red wheat)
2 tablespoons wheat gluten

In the pan of a bread machine, mix the water, sugar, rye flour, and yeast together with a non-scratching spoon or spatula. Let the dough rest for twenty minutes, while the yeast wakes up and becomes bubbly. Add sour cream, seeds, salt, wheat flour, and gluten, then place in bread machine set to "dough". When the dough is ready (1.5 hours later in my machine), divide the rolls into 12 or 16 or 24 equal parts, depending on the size of roll you want, roll between your hands, and then flatten to the shape of a hamburger patty. Place on a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and allow to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, then preheat the oven to 425°F.

While the oven is preheating, brush the rolls with water, using a pastry brush or silicone brush, and sprinkle on seeds, if desired. (Water works just as well as beaten egg yolk and is less trouble.) Use sesame seeds for hamburgers, or a mixture of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, minced dried garlic, minced dried toasted onion, and kosher salt for "everything" buns.

When the oven is preheated, bake the rolls until their internal temperature reads between 190 and 200°F on an instant read thermometer, about twelve minutes.

Variation:

Sausage buns

Include 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds in the dough. Cut a one-pound kielbasa into eight pieces, and wrap each one in one-eighth of the dough, when it comes out of the bread machine. Wrap carefully and place seam-side-down on the parchment paper on the baking sheet. Cook in a 425°F oven until the instant read thermometer says at least 190°F in the middle, about fifteen minutes.

Here is the original that the above recipes are based on: King Arthur Caraway Rye Bread. It does not call for the use of a bread machine, and it calls for more water and different flours, and doesn't mention buns or sausage rolls.