Herb rolls
Hello,
There are a couple of herbs in my garden, that thankfully, come back each year –
I so look forward to when these fresh herbs have started growing!
Chervil is one of the first things to start growing in spring. It reseeds itself, and there will be new chervil in the fall also :^).
I love the tender, lacy leaves and delicate anise flavor.
Golden sage, which I am so grateful made it through our cold winter, is now producing some pretty
golden-and-green variegated leaves.
Time for some herb rolls!
(the image is an experiment with merging photos):
This idea I first saw in a Better Homes and Gardens ‘Holiday Cooking’ magazine, from December 2000.
After proofing, the rolls are gently brushed with egg white; the herbs are applied; then the rolls are gently brushed with egg white again, making sure the whole herb leaf is covered; then the rolls are ready for the oven.
Parsley (Italian flat leaf) is another nice herb to use for this technique.
Susan at WildYeast also made a lovely! version, using parsley, for her Roasted Garlic Bread.
The chervil rolls were the herb version of this recipe:
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/dinner-rolls.aspx
The golden sage rolls were based on Sylvia’s excellent ‘buns for sandwiches’ recipe (Thanks, Sylvia!).
The potato adds such a nice flavor and texture to these rolls!
The chervil rolls were baked in a pan on a rack in the oven (no baking stone). The chervil didn’t brown at all and kept its green color through the bake :^)
I was a little worried about the golden sage browning as the leaves are thicker and wanted to lift off the roll a bit after being brushed with egg white. Also, these rolls were baked on a baking stone, starting out at a hotter temperature but baking in a reducing oven. After 2 minutes of baking I covered the rolls with foil, turned the oven down to 325F convection for the last two minutes of baking and removed the foil, so the tops of the rolls would finish browing (but hopefully not the sage!).
Crumb shot, Sylvia's sandwich bun: 
I want to try making a big loaf using some Italian parsley – Susan’s loaf was so pretty!
Happy baking everyone!
from breadsong
Submitted to YeastSpotting
Comments
Just BEAUTIFUL! How pretty these would be (any time really) for a dinner party. Talk about the WOW factor!
I just recently (well Saturday) had a major flop I attempted Maggie Glezer's Roasted Garlic and I did something wrong LOL. Frisbee anyone?? I was so excited to see my parsley leaves and garlic clove popped out the top. I used way to much flour. Anyway I will try again it's only flour right? I did redeem myself with a basic sourdough (my best yet) so all was not lost.
Hello,
Thanks so much! I'm so glad you like these!
Your Roasted Garlic Bread must have been delicious and congratulations on your 'best yet' sourdough :^)
I recently baked a couple of miches frisbees, good flavor being their saving grace!
from breadsong
What a nice idea, and so pretty. Makes me want to grow chervil and sage. -Varda
Hello Varda,
That was a good idea, from that magazine so long ago...it's nice to go back to old favorites...it's been too long, for these rolls! The chervil and sage (and chives) seem to survive in spite of me...it's always encouraging to see the new growth each year.
Happy baking...and gardening :^)
from breadsong
absolutely gorgeous! :) thank you i'm bookmarking this to make for a getogether or occasion :)
Hello rolls,
Thanks so much!
You're so welcome, and I hope you enjoy making these for your special occasion!
:^) from breadsong
absolutely gorgeous! :) thank you i'm bookmarking this to make for a getogether or occasion :)
Those look beautiful, Breadsong! I have done something similar with flat leafed parsley but my herbs ended up more blackened than yours. I don't remember applying the egg wash. It was quite a while ago. But that is a neat trick and protected the herbs perfectly. I like the crumb shot of Sylvia's buns. :)
Best,
Syd
Hello Syd,
Thank you! I am grateful the herbs kept their color.
It was a nice idea - so glad I picked up the magazine all those years ago!
The buns made with Sylvia's recipe were 'pillowy soft' and delicious, too.
:^) from breadsong
Your rolls are gorgeous and what an accent the herb top makes, these will surely get oooh and awwwhhhs at the table. I was surprised and pleased to see you used my Sandwich Buns for the golden sage rolls, thank you for the making the recipe and the reference :)
The egg white wash and covering the rolls worked great at preserving the color on the herbs and you still have a nicely browned roll. They do look so colorful and tasty!
Sylvia
Hello Sylvia, and thank you!
(Your baking gets oohs and aahs from me, that's for sure! :^) )
Your sandwich buns baked into delightful little puffballs...and there was a hint of sage aroma while they were baking.
Mmmm.
:^) from breadsong
baking .... moving next door to breadsong....If I must play with dough can still go next door and just look pathetic until she gives me a piece to play with. :)
Thanks Pam - made me laugh :^)
Dear breadsong,
Your herb rolls hurt my eyes!! :) They are too pretty to shut my eyes to blink. So Lovely! Sylvia's sandwich buns look very tasty too! Your miche was not frisbees although you made me giggle when I saw the line to erase the word " miche" that is very charming.
Akiko
Hello Akiko,
Thank you and what a sweet thing to say!
(I thought that was a good time to use Floyd's text editor...!)
:^) from breadsong
They're so pretty, breadsong. You have such a great attention to details.
I'm growing golden sage and sage as well (so this idea will come in really handy). In contrary to yours, now my sages are drying (dying) away. I couldn't agree more...it is always a joy to see that herbs are coming back in spring, when they look so liveless during winter. They're really hardy, aren't they?
Thanks for the ideas and sharing.
Sue
http://youcandoitathome.blogspot.com
Hello Sue,
Thanks - I wanted to preserve some of these herbs in photos...the sage will go strong all summer but the chervil is flowering, and soon will be done for this part of the year.
I've potted up a lemon verbena and would like to try this again with lemon verbena leaves...a lemon-scented loaf of some sort...perhaps Daisy_A's Sourdough Wholemeal Lemon Bread (it was so good!)
:^) from breadsong
Ohhhhh I just Lovvvvvvvvvvvvvvve it/
Your rolls are absolutely beautiful.
I'd love to try with basil (my favorite herb)
Hello Winnish,
Thanks so much for your comment - I'm so glad you like these :^)
We were just away for a few days and in my travels I found Jan Hedh's book, Swedish Breads and Pastries - and see in his book a lovely sun-dried tomato and pine nut roll, with basil leaf decoration.
Mr. Hedh uses 1 egg + 1 egg yolk + a pinch of salt for his egg wash. In the photo, the basil kept its green color quite well.
I am looking forward to trying with basil too, and hope you like these if you make them!
from breadsong
Thnak you so much for your reply
I'm looking forward to see your basil rolls, and also wrote down the egg wash as per Mr.Hedh
Thanks!
Beautiful!
Thanks, Susan!