Makes 10 rolls
1 cup lukewarm warm water
1 ½ sachet (3 teaspoons) active dried yeast
1 teaspoon of sugar
4 cups organic semolina
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoons poppy seeds
Place about a third of the warm water into a bowl. Add the yeast and sugar then mix well with a fork, taking care to dissolve all the ingredients well.
Place the semolina in a large bowl then add the rest of the water as well as the oil. Mix together, then add the dissolved yeast mixture a little at a time and knead it all together until it forms a smooth dough.
Add the salt and knead for another ten minutes.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm, dry place for at least two hours or until doubled.
Gently punch the dough down and form 10 balls in the shape of rolls. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush the surface with oil and sprinkle with the poppy seeds. Leave for about 20 minutes in a warm place.
Preheat the oven to 375-400°F.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden and crunchy.
Bread in its most basic, has, throughout human history, been the symbol of culture, history and anthropology, hunger and wealth, war and peace.
At the beginning it was a simple mixture of mashed grains and water, baked into cakes or loaves.
Over the millennia it evolved and developed however, into the amazing and beautiful wealth of breads we enjoy today. The Renaissance was especially important, with the introduction of leavening. Using yeast made the bread softer and lighter; at first brewer’s yeast (not nutritional yeast, often called brewer’s yeast): a complex processing of natural yeast and malt, the main ingredient for producing beer. But it was also discovered that these yeasts could exist on the skins of grapes or other fruit.
Today it is easily available to purchase the type of yeast most practical for you.
Over the years, generations, centuries, new shapes and new breads were created: using oil, butter, olives, aromatic herbs, seeds such as sesame or poppy, as well as sweet breads with chocolate, candied fruit, or raisins.
