Recipe: Caraway crosses

Caraway crosses

Total time: 50 minutes, plus rising times

Servings: About 2 dozen rolls

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2 1/2 cups (10.6 ounces) flour

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons active-dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground caraway

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

1 egg, plus extra beaten egg or egg yolk for an egg wash

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon whole caraway seeds

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, salt and ground caraway.

2. In a small saucepan, gently heat the milk over low heat until it is lukewarm. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. To the large bowl of dry ingredients add the egg, softened butter and milk, and mix until thoroughly combined to form the dough. Knead the dough in the bowl until it is soft and smooth, 5 to 7 minutes. (It will be sticky and messy at first but will come together as it is kneaded and should not need extra flour.) Leave the dough in the bowl and loosely cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Set aside until doubled, 40 minutes to 1 hour (depending on the temperature of the kitchen).

4. Divide the dough into 6 pieces in the bowl. Remove 1 piece of the dough and place it on a large, flat workspace. (Keep the rest of the dough covered in the bowl.) Roll the dough into 1 long strip about one-half inch wide. (If your workspace is not large enough, cut the dough into smaller pieces to roll shorter strips.) Cut the strips into 4-inch lengths.

5. Combine 2 strips to form a cross, and place on a baking sheet. Continue rolling and cutting the dough until all of the dough has been formed into crosses, spacing them 11/2 to 2 inches apart.

6. Loosely cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap and set aside until puffed and risen, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 475 degrees.

7. Gently brush the crosses with beaten egg or egg yolk (beaten egg yolks will give the rolls deeper color than beaten whole egg), and sprinkle a few caraway seeds on top of each cross. Bake until puffed and golden, 6 to 10 minutes.

Each of 2 dozen rolls: 95 calories; 2 grams protein; 10 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 5 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 24 mg cholesterol; 0 sugar; 105 mg sodium.