Dark and Soft Yeast Water Dinner Rolls (King Arthur Flour Inspired)

These rolls are absolutely delicious! Soft, sweet, rich and oh so fluffy. They'll be gone in no time. This recipe makes 6 small dinner sized rolls and I wish I had made some more! For the amount of time it takes to make these, I think it's definitely worth making a bigger batch! Lol! I also use my yeast water (I used a new one I made out of dates!) to make a poolish, but feel free to use your sourdough starter for a slight sour twinge! They remind me of the rolls you get at Outback steakhouse and are just as good as I remember them to be!

I adapted this recipe from King Arthur Flour's recipe for their Dark and Soft Dinner Rolls. Here's how I changed the recipe:

• I used brown sugar instead of molasses (because that's what I had)
• Used maple syrup instead of honey
• Used olive oil instead of butter (I changed the proportion of the fat considering olive oil is pure fat and butter is composed of water, milk solids, and fat)
• Used yeast water instead of instant yeast
• Halved their original recipe 
• Increased the proportion of whole wheat flour to all-purpose flour

 I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! :)

Dark and Soft Dinner Rolls (Made with Yeast Water)

Ingredients:

Poolish:

1st Build:

5 grams whole wheat flour

5 grams all purpose flour

10 grams yeast water

2nd Build:

10 grams whole wheat flour

10 grams all purpose flour

20 grams yeast water

Final Dough:

172 grams water

42 grams maple syrup

42 grams brown sugar

8 grams salt

22 grams extra virgin olive oil

42 grams of the poolish

150 grams whole wheat flour

105 grams all purpose flour

3 grams natural cocoa powder (feel free to use dark or Dutch processed), sifted

Oats to top the rolls (optional)

Instructions:

1. Poolish: 1st Build: Mix the 5 grams whole wheat flour, 5 grams all-purpose flour and the 10grams of yeast water (warm to 85F if it is cold form the fridge) together in a small container that has a cover. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 8-12 hours (or until doubled in size).
2. 2nd Build: After your poolish has doubled, add the next 10 grams of whole wheat flour, 10 grams all-purpose flour, and 20 grams of yeast water to combine. Cover and set aside for about 8-12 hours (or until it has doubled or tripled in size). It is now ready to use in your recipe.
3. Final Dough: Heat up the water, maple syrup, brown sugar, and salt in a small saucepan until the temperature reaches 80 - 85F. 
4. Add this to a large mixing bowl along with the olive oil and mix. Add the poolish and mix to break down the poolish a bit to make it easier to mix.
5. Add the flours and cocoa powder and mix to make a shaggy dough with no more dry spots. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
6. Now complete a 10-12 stretch and folds inside the bowl to strengthen the dough. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes to start bulk fermentation.
7. At the 30 minute mark, complete another round of stretch and folds until the dough strengthens and gets harder to stretch. Cover for another 30 minutes.
8. Complete another set of stretch and folds until the dough starts to strengthen and gets harder to stretch. Cover for another 30 minutes.
9. After the 30 minutes is up, complete a set of coil folds. Cover and let rest for another 30 minutes.
10. After the 30 minutes is up, complete one last coil fold. Now cover the dough and let it ferment at room temperature for 4-6 hours.
11. After it has puffed up a bit (it will not double in size), place it covered in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
12. After the 12 hours, take the dough out of the fridge and split into six equal pieces. Pre-shape each of them into a ball and cover for 15 minutes.
13. After the 15 minutes, flatten each dough ball onto a watered countertop and bring each corner to the center and turn over. Then, using the countertop to tighten the doughball and give it more tension. Place the dough balls right next to one another into a parchment lined baking pan. I used a 12"x5" casserole pan but an 8" round or square cake pan will do or a small sheet pan (1/8 sheet pan).
14. Top each dough ball with some oats and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise a bit at room temperature for about 2 hours.
15. Before the 2 hours is up, pre-heat your oven to 350F. 
16. After the 2 hours is up or when the rolls pass the poke test (you poke the dough and it fills in the indentation slowly), then you can put the pan of rolls in the oven for 20-24 minutes (or until an instant read thermometer registers 190F).
17. I like to take them out at that temperature because I like them a bit soft. 
18. Enjoy warm right out of the oven, toasted, or at room temperature! :)
19. Once cooled store them in a plastic bag or completely sealed container for a few days. 

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns! I'd love to hear if you've tried the recipe or the King Arthur version! Thank you to King Arthur Flour for another inspired recipe! You guys are awesome!!