Black Seed Rolls Brushed with Beer – a Recipe from 1930
Delicious homemade rolls with black seed prepared from an old 1930 recipe. The most interesting element of this historical recipe is brushing the rolls with beer before baking. It gives them a beautiful golden colour, and the whole recipe shows how homemade bread was made nearly 100 years ago. It's a simple, very tasty recipe with a story behind it – definitely worth recreating at home.
Prep time
2 godz.
Cook time
20 min
Total
2 godz. 20 min
Servings
8
Difficulty
Średni
Ingredients
Starter
- 125 gwheat flour type 550
- 100 glukewarm milk (around 25–30°C)
- 10 gfresh yeast
Dough
- 375 gwheat flour type 550
- 220 glukewarm milk
- 9 gsalt
- 1 łyżeczkablack seed (for the dough)
To finish
- light beer (for brushing the rolls before baking)
- black seed (for sprinkling)
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the starter. Pour 100 g of lukewarm milk into a bowl, add 10 g of fresh yeast and 125 g of wheat flour. Mix thoroughly. The starter will be quite thick. Cover and leave for about 30 minutes until it has clearly risen.
- 2
To the risen starter add the remaining 375 g of flour, 220 g of lukewarm milk, 9 g of salt and 1 teaspoon of black seed.
- 3
Knead the dough for a few minutes until it is smooth, springy and elastic. It should have a texture similar to well-kneaded pizza dough.
- 4
Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise for about 45–60 minutes. It should clearly increase in volume.
- 5
Divide the risen dough into 8 equal pieces. Each portion should weigh around 105 g.
- 6
Flatten each piece slightly, fold the edges towards the centre and press them together firmly. Then gently shape into oblong rolls about 9–11 cm long.
- 7
Place the rolls on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving space between them. Cover and leave for the final rise for about 30–40 minutes.
- 8
Before baking, thinly brush the rolls with light beer, sprinkle with black seed and score lengthwise with a sharp knife or a razor blade.
- 9
Bake in an oven preheated to 220°C, top and bottom heat, for about 18–22 minutes until the rolls are well risen and golden.
Tip
Don't go purely by the rising times. The dough and the shaped rolls should above all clearly increase in volume. At around 25°C the starter needs about 30 minutes, the dough 45–60 minutes, and the shaped rolls about 30–40 minutes.
Common mistake
Don't add extra milk straight away if the dough feels stiff after combining the ingredients. Knead it properly first. Only assess the consistency after a few minutes.
Serving suggestion
They taste best still slightly warm, sliced and served with butter, cheese, cold cuts, or as a base for breakfast sandwiches.
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