Bread Roll Blossom

Do you know that moment in the morning when you still lie in bed – not full asleep but not yet quite awake? The duvet has just the perfect temperature. Not too warm and not too cold and your thoughts go into wondrous directions bordering from sheer fantasy to deep discussions with yourself, salutary and bright – gone within a gasp. I like to think of that moment as the closest overlap between conscious and subconscious possible. Between what is really going on in my mind and what it wants me to believe is going on.

My feelings about that moment are rather bittersweet. Mostly because it usually happens just a wee moment before the alarm goes off and the rough and unforgiving tristesse of reality hits your face like you have never seen it coming. As you may have realised by now, I am a sleep person - not a morning person. In fact, I would love being a morning person, with the day still calm and young, everything and everybody just waking up. But I am simply not. I am a mess. I'm nauseous, my head hurts and I am so far away from mental clarity that nothing else but grunts and moans are able to leave my mouth. Please don't ask me questions right after I woke up. Please don't bother me too much for at least an hour, actually. I will hate you. I may hurt you. But probably not. I will hurt you in my mind, indeed, and debate about it with my subconscious the next morning at 7:59 am right before the alarm sets off.

Breakfast. Thank you for existing. This post's recipe is nice for a Sunday breakfast or brunch. Cut into halves and piled on with whatever is needed to fix your matutinal cravings. While it looks special, it is ridiculously easy to bake – there is most probably no other way to use yeast more fool-proof than here. I can also see them on a picnic (spring cannot come fast enough...) or for a party.

Bread Roll Blossom

Adapted from here (German).

Makes about 3 blossoms or 21 single bread rolls à 75g (2.6 oz). I halved the recipe and made one blossom and some single rolls.

• 42g fresh yeast (also called cake yeast. This would make 1.5 oz. Can be substituted with 0.6 oz/18 g/ 6 ¼ ts active dry yeast)
• 500ml (17 fl. oz) warm water
• ½ tbsps. sugar
• 1kg (35.3 oz) all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsps. salt
• 8 tbsps oil (I used sunflower seed oil)

• Topping of choice (I used poppy flower, sesame and sunflower seeds; optional)

1. In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm water and sugar.
2. Add flour, salt and oil. With your hands, knead until well combined.
3. Let dough rise for half an our, knead well again afterwards.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F).
5. Form dough into balls the size of your choice (mine were about 75g or 2.6 oz).
6. Dip rolls in topping of choice and then lay on baking sheet lined with parchment paper in shape of a blossom - one in the centre and six around – with the edges barely touching (you can lay them in any shape you want of course or add another row to make it bigger. You can also skip the dipping part and sprinkle topping onto rolls, just make sure it sticks a little).
7. Bake on centre rack for 25-30 minutes. 

Enjoy!