Prophetic Dinner Rolls

Why serve regular dinner rolls at your next family gathering, when you can bake Prophetic Dinner Rolls and go from ordinary to…extraordinary?

Surprise Surprise

This post is dedicated to my Mother-in-law, Jan (also known as Banka), who I believe is a creative genius. Family means the world to her, and she always finds a creative way to express her love for us. When we lived in South Carolina, we always celebrated our Thanksgivings together. Banka loved bringing the dinner rolls.

Normally, I am not necessarily a fan of dinner rolls, especially at a big feast when I know we are already serving twelve sides and a turkey. Dinner rolls always seemed like filler food to me; not worth the effort or the carbs. But one year, she surprised us by taking her game to a whole other level. She was playing with the big dogs now. When it came time to pass around the dinner rolls, Banka had a cheeky grin on her face…like she was going to burst with excitement. The family grabbed their rolls and resumed conversation as usual when gasps erupted around the table.

“Mom! My roll has paper in it,” laughed my husband, thinking she must have baked in the butter wrapper by accident.

“Mine too!” one of the children cried out.

Now we were a little concerned until one of the papers was unfolded. On a thin strip of paper, kind of like a fortune in a fortune cookie, were the words, “You are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3b. Wait. What? All of a sudden, I was a dinner roll connoisseur. I reached for a roll and unwrapped mine. “He chose you before the foundation of the world, that you should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” Ephesians 1:4. Excited screams erupted around the table as people began to read and internalize the prophetic words.

Talk about a Thanksgiving perspective. It was the highlight of the Thanksgiving table. Hence, I now make Prophetic dinner rolls for Thanksgiving or Easter. That moment will forever be cherished, and Prophetic Dinner Rolls will always remind us of Banka and her love for her family.

Not All Dinner Rolls are Created Equal

If I am going to consume bread at dinner, it has to be seriously amazing, unique, or part of the meal. For example, Chili and Cornbread or Savory Beef Stew with Horseradish Cream Sauce over toasted peasant bread. Sourdough is always my go-to, and with my new favorite bread cookbook, Artisan Sourdough Made Simple by Emilie Raffa, creator of the very popular blog, The Clever Carrot, I am finally learning to master sourdough.

My favorite dinner roll is an adapted version of her Blistered Asiago Rolls with Sweet Apples and Rosemary on page 108 of her book. I love the combination of apples and rosemary, so I thought I would make them this year for our Prophetic Dinner Rolls. That’s the fun thing about Prophetic Dinner Rolls. It’s not so much about the recipe as it is about the tradition.

Let Your Rolls Speak

What a great way to speak words of life and encouragement over your family. With just a little effort and creativity, any dinner roll can be a conduit for transforming the atmosphere into a flood of JOY and celebration. It kind of gives the phrase “Pass the bread, please,” a whole different meaning. Here are some ideas for what you can put on your little strips of paper to fold and bake on the underside of your favorite dinner rolls.

• Prophetic words or Declarations
• Scriptures
• Compliments
• Words of Encouragement
• Favorite Quotes
• Things you are thankful for
• Specific words you want to say to specific people (make sure you mark them and place that roll at their spot).
• Clues, such as What am I? Everyone at the table can have a different part of the riddle and you all have to solve it together.
• Conversation Starters
• Surprise Announcements (“It’s a Girl/Boy!” or “I Got the Job!”or “We’re Going to Disneyland!” etc.)
• Unscramble the phrase- everyone has a different part of a phrase or saying and you have to work together to put it in order.
• 12 Days of Christmas- Sing the song together with each one singing the part that they got in their roll.

Preparations for the Sourdough Apple & Rosemary Dinner Rolls (adapted version)

Recipe

For the Dough:

50 g (1/4 cup) bubbly sourdough starter

350 g (1 1/3 cups) warm water

500 g (4 cups) bread, all-purpose (plus extra for shaping into dough)

9 g (1 1/2 tsp) salt

Sadly, I struggled with my bread baking until I took a bread-making class at one of our local farms. Shot out to Bobolink Farms in Milford, New Jersey. If you are in the area, Nina’s bread-making class was phenomenal. Anyway, I learned the importance of using a scale to measure out my ingredients. There are numerous variables associated with ingredients when it comes to baking. For instance, the kind of flour you use or how you scoop it up. Is it packed down or loose? That makes a difference, as you will see when you start using a scale. Making a pot of chili with a little of this and a little of that is one thing, but baking, especially bread, is more precise.

Begin with a Bubbly Starter

Your sourdough starter is also an important factor. It needs to be really bubbly. When the bubbles start to pop, and the starter starts to sink on the sides, then you know it is getting hangry. Essentially, you want a happy starter that is full of bubbles and lift. Don’t we all like to be fed and appreciated? Remember to replenish your starter with flour and water after removing 1/4 cup. We must always keep our starter happy and fed.

Ensure your water temperature is warm, not hot. You don’t want to kill your starter; rather, incorporate it in a warm bath at 105-115° Fahrenheit (the temperature you would comfortably wash your hands in).

When making the dough, I place a mixing bowl on the scale and zero out or “tare” the weight of the bowl. This way, you are only weighing the ingredients. If you want to “tare” the scale with each ingredient addition, you can do so. Or you can just add up the grams. You will have a total of 909 grams in your mixing bowl after adding all the ingredients (not including the apples and rosemary).

Add your bubbly starter and warm water, and gently stir. Incorporate the flour and salt, then mix with a wooden spoon. Use your hands to knead the dough until a rough texture is formed. You don’t want it to be soupy or clinging to the sides of the bowl in a blob, but it will be sticky. Add flour if you need to. (See pictures above). Let it rest for 30 minutes covered with a damp towel. In the meantime, soak your apples in warm water to reconstitute and then drain and squeeze out any remaining liquid.

Adding the Apples and Rosemary:

1/2 cup chopped dried apple rings

2 tsp. chopped rosemary

Using dried apples, like you would raisins, concentrates the apple flavor, retains its form better, and doesn’t add water weight to your dough. You could use fresh apples, but you would need to sauté them first to remove their moisture, then cool them to room temperature. You can rehydrate my Sweet & Sour Apple Rings to use in this recipe. They worked perfectly.

After your dough has rested, add the apples and chopped rosemary and form into a ball. Place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm spot (about 70°F). Let the dough double in size for about 8-12 hours.

When it has doubled in size, you can either roll them into balls for the second rise, or cover the bowl in plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator until you are ready to roll (pun intended:))

Pulling it All Together and Topping it Off

1 egg plus 1 T filtered water for an egg wash

1 cup of Asiago, white cheddar, or Parmesan cheese, shredded

When orchestrating a meal like Thanksgiving, it is nice to know that this dough holds up well in the refrigerator if you want to prepare it ahead of time. You want your rolls to be served warm with melted butter, but who has time on Thanksgiving day to make scratch sourdough rolls? You do, if you do all the time-consuming prep work ahead of time.

On Thanksgiving Day, remove your dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 12 equal parts. These will all be rolled into individual balls. Using floured hands on the counter, gently cup each section of dough, move it toward you, then rotate it a quarter turn each time and repeat. This will pull the dough together and form it into a tight ball.

Position the prophetic words you have cut into thin strips and folded under the roll. Don’t bury your paper words in the dough, or they may not unfold. The bottom of the dough is a bit sticky, so that it will stay in place. Prepare the egg wash, baste each roll, and generously sprinkle with shredded cheese. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel, and set in a warm place for the second rise for about 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on whether the dough was refrigerated and on your home’s temperature.

Baking

While the dough is resting in its second rise, preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake the rolls for 30 minutes or until they reach a beautiful golden brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes and serve warm with butter. Leftovers will keep at room temperature for a day in a plastic bag, but I doubt they will last that long. EnJOY!

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Excalibur Dehydrator (I use this for everything from dehydrating herbs and spices, fruits & veggies, culturing yogurt, making beef jerky, rising bread dough, and making my famous raw chocolate coconut macaroons).

Digital Kitchen Scale

Artisan Sourdough Made Simple by Emilie Raffa (favorite sourdough cookbook)

Flour Sack Towels (for covering dough)

Bobolink Dairy Farm Bread Making Classes

In everything you do -eat, play, and love- may it always be Seasoned with Joy!