Jaeger got back from Australia late afternoon on Saturday. Since even under normal circumstances I have a compulsion to feed people, I figured Sunday morning was a good time to have Sweet Rolls.

Sweet Rolls are one of those recipes that require multiple hours of prepapation. I didn’t feel like getting up in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday so I made most of it ahead on Saturday. One recipe makes 18 sweet rolls which is way more than Jaeger and I can eat by ourselves (at least, when we’re trying to be marginally healthy). So, I settled for making a half recipe.

I’ve probably mentioned before that I’ve become infatuated with White Whole Wheat flour (a whole wheat flour made from white wheat berry instead of red wheat berry like the more common whole wheat flour). When making the sweet rolls this time, I used the white whole wheat flour for about 1/2 of the flour the recipe calls for. After they were finished, I asked Jaeger if he noticed the whole wheat taste and he said no. Also, I used the optional 2 egg whites instead of 1 egg (remembering that I cut the recipe in half). Other than that, I mixed everything up as specified and let it raise a half hour at room temperature. After that, I put it in the refrigerator and let it rise another 10 hrs.

After Jaeger and I got back from the airport and had supper, I finished putting the sweet rolls together and popped them in the fridge to rise overnight.

Previously, I’ve had trouble with the topping (which goes on the bottom of the pan when baking) being burned before the sweet dough has finished baking. However, this morning I decided to try baking the bread in a water bath. I put the 8 X 8 pan that contained the chilled sweet rolls in a 9 X 13 pan and poured 2 cups of warm (not boiling) water around it. I then placed the whole contraption in the oven and turned the oven on to 350 degrees. I didn’t preheat the oven since the sweet rolls had been refrigerated the entire night and I didn’t want to risk my baking dish cracking with the sudden exposure to heat. I baked the sweet rolls like this for 45 minutes and then checked them. They were obviously not done yet so I raised the oven temperature to 375 degrees and let them bake another 30 minutes (part way through I did need to cover the top of the sweet rolls with foil to keep the top from getting too dark).

The sweet rolls ended up perfect. Next time I think I’ll try the same method over again but this time start with a higher oven temp. Jaeger and I only ate 2 of the 9 sweet rolls so I individually wrapped the remaining sweet rolls and stuck them in the freezer. I’m not sure how well they’ll reheat but I think they have a decent chance of still being tasty.