Sunday, June 03, 2007

Homemade "Garlic Parmesan" Crescent Rolls

I had a yen for asparagus in a blanket tonight, but I didn't have the prerequisite crescent-rolls-in-a-tube on hand (plus, the store-bought ones are hydrogenated and icky). So I modified this cinnamon roll recipe from Meg's Vegan Recipes. They're baking right now, and I have to say that they smell wonderful. We'll see if they taste as delicious as they smell.

3/4 cup plain soy milk
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated vegan margarine
1 cup stone-ground whole wheat flour
2-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 (1/4 oz) package rapid-rise yeast
1 Tbsp turbinado sugar
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp cornstarch

Heat the soy milk in the microwave until hot. Add the margarine and stir until melted. Let cool to lukewarm.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup whole wheat flour + 1-1/4 cup unbleached flour. Add the yeast, sugar, nutritional yeast, salt and garlic powder. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water. Add the cornstarch mixture and the soy milk mixture to the flour and mix well. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull together. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, adding more flour as needed. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.

Roll out the dough until it's 1/4 inch thick. Cut long rectangles out of the dough, then slice each rectangle diagonally to form two triangles. (If you're adding filling, like asparagus, place the spears at the long end before you roll the dough up). Roll up from the long end to the small end, cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Spray with oil and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees, or until browned.

Ingredient Notes: I suppose you could omit the nutritional yeast, but I think it adds a nice 'cheesy' flavor. Before I rolled mine up, I also placed a thin strip of Smart Bacon on top of the dough. I tossed my asparagus with olive oil and balsamic vinegar before rolling them up.