Move Over Dough Boy

Last weeks post inspired me to revisit an old favorite from the Simply in Season cookbook. I realize that so far all of my posts indulge the carbohydrate lover in me (at least most of the grains are whole - nutrition major guilt coming out?). Regardless, I'm in a baking groove and I think I'll just go with it.

This recipe is a great one, especially since it gave me a chance to use up an ingredient that's been guilty of taking up precious real estate in the freezer for quite a while now. The culprit: frozen pureed sweet potatoes.

I bought a grocery bag full of sweet potatoes at the farmers market last year and after eating them in as many forms as I could tolerate, I decided that the rest would have to go into storage. I usually store veggies and cooked dried beans, in quart sized freezer bags. For consistency's sake, I put 2 cups of food in the bag and then freeze the bags flat so they are stackable. I took this photo a few years ago to document the insanity that took over my freezer after a particularly fruitful fall harvest (a good example of my use of the 2-cups-of-food-in-a-freezer-bag method of storage).
  

Sweet Potato Crescent Rolls (adapted from Simply in Season)
Yields about 20 rolls

1 1/2 c whole wheat bread flour
1/4 c sugar
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 c sweet potatoes (cooked and pureed)
1 c milk (not skim)
1/4 c butter
1 large egg
2-2 1/2 c bread flour
2 tbsp butter (melted)

Combine whole wheat flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and spices in a large bowl.

   

Mix the sweet potato, milk, and 1/4 c butter in a medium saucepan. Cook and stir on medium heat until butter is melted. The mixture should not boil. When it is warm, not hot, add the sweet potato mixture to the dry ingredients. Beat with a mixer on low speed for 1-2 minutes. Add the egg and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.

Stir in the bread flour by hand. Add enough that the dough becomes less sticky and is easy to handle. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (you may have to add more flour to the board and to the dough to keep it from sticking to your hands).

Grease a bowl with vegetable oil and place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat both sides. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in size (about an hour for me). Punch the dough down and divide in half (smell the dough - it smells REALLY good!!). On a lightly floured surface, roll out each half of the dough into a 12-inch circle.

Brush each circle of dough with half of the melted butter. If you like, you can also add a little honey at this point and brush it over the dough. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut the dough into 10-12 wedges (depending on how big you want them - I do 10 wedges each). Tightly roll each wedge from the wide edge to the narrow end. Place the rolls point-side down on a greased (or nonstick) baking sheet, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in size (about 30 minutes for me).

Bake at 375° F, until golden brown, 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

(Thanks Nicky, for your photo taking, dough boy bashing, taste testing skills! Much appreciated.)