Wholemeal Carrot Rolls

We all love a good breakfast roll in Scotland - perfect with a couple of slices of black pudding, sausage or bacon and a dollop of red or brown sauce, you can't really beat it when you're starved. However, whilst the filling of the sandwich is often meat heaven, I always find that the roll is a tasteless, dry and floury necessity which could certainly be much, much better - which is why I decided to make some tasty carrot rolls. I know it's a bit of an odd concept - but the finely grated carrot throughout the dough adds a lovely flavour to the bread as well as keeping it from being dry through the vegetable's natural moisture. Definitely worth a go if you're sick of those boring old baps.

Ingredients

• 250g of strong wholemeal flour
• 250g of strong white flour
• 300ml of water
• 200g of finely grated carrot
• 1 x packet of fast action yeast
• 2 x tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 x teaspoon of rapeseed oil (or vegetable oil)
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Acquire a large mixing bowl and pour in your measured out flour, yeast and salt (making sure to keep the yeast and salt well away from each other for now). Make a small well in the centre of the flour and add the water, olive oil and grated carrots and mix well with a wooden spoon.
2. When stirring with the spoon becomes difficult, get in there with your hands. Try to make sure to pick up every bit of flour and combine with the dough. Once you have a shaped ball, turn out onto a floured surface and knead for a good 10 minutes until the dough is stretchy. Place in a bowl, cover and leave for 5 minutes. 
3. Whilst you wait, brush a large baking tray with rapeseed oil and put to one side. Turn your dough out, knock it back and divide into 8 equal pieces. I tend to do this by shaping the dough into a sausage shape, using a sharp knife to cut it in half, then cutting both halves in half again, and then, you guessed it, cutting the quarters in half to make eight. Or you could just weigh each piece - whatever floats your boat. Shape each piece into a ball and flatten slightly, placing them on the baking tray whilst you go and leaving plenty of room for expansion. 
4. Cover and leave for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 200C with fan or 220C without. Once ready, pop the tray in the oven and bake the rolls for 15 minutes or until golden brown. 
5. Once baked, allow to cool on a wire rack for 45 minutes, or tear into one with some butter after 5 minutes for a taste of heaven. Carrot heaven. 

And there you have it - delicious wholemeal baps with a root vegetable kick. Flavourful and sweet, these are go perfectly with smokey bacon for a perfect balance of flavours. The bread also has quite a tight crumb, so it sucks up any delicious juices brilliantly. I highly recommend giving these a try - let me know if you do.