These Sweet Tahini Rolls Will Fulfill All Your Brunch Fantasies

Name: These Sweet Tahini Rolls Will Fulfill All Your Brunch Fantasies
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: Fast acting dried yeast: 1 1/2 tsp; Granulated sugar: 1 tsp; Whole milk: 7 1/2 Tbsp; All purpose flour: 2 cups + 6 Tbsp; Salt: 1 tsp; Unsalted butter: 5 Tbsp; Egg: 1; Granulated sugar: 1/2 cup; Ground cinnamon: 1 tsp; Tahini: 7 Tbsp; Egg yolk: 1; White sesame seeds: 1 Tbsp

Features:

Ingredients

1 1/2 tsp Fast acting dried yeast
1 tsp Granulated sugar
7 1/2 Tbsp Whole milk
lukewarm
2 cups + 6 Tbsp All purpose flour
1 tsp Salt
5 Tbsp Unsalted butter
melted
1 Egg
lightly beaten
1/2 cup Granulated sugar
1 tsp Ground cinnamon
7 Tbsp Tahini
1 Egg yolk
beaten
1 Tbsp White sesame seeds

Directions

As we kicked-off the new year, we were incredibly fortunate to be delivered up a series of unseasonably warm Saturdays, presenting the perfect opportunity to safely catch up with friends over outdoor brunch. And we were even more fortunate to find ourselves with beautiful spreads like these on back-to-back Saturdays.

Brunch with friends is the perfect opportunity to try my hand at recipes I’m dying to make, but don’t necessarily trust myself to have a dozen or more lingering in my home tempting me. Tahini cinnamon buns, for example.

I have a strong affinity for tahini-based sweets (carrot cake with tahini cream cheese frosting; tahini date cookies; tahini mousse pie with halvah, tahini date milkshake; tahini thumbprint cookies with fig jam; tahini almond fudge squares… you get the point), so it probably comes as no surprise that when flipping through the gorgeous Falastin cookbook, the sweet tahini rolls (kubez el tahineh) immediately caught my eye.

These rolls can be traced back through Lebanon to Armenia, and are a favorite among kiddos, often cut in half and served with grape or date molasses – the Palestinian equivalent of peanut butter & jelly. Though this sounds very much up my alley, we just ate them straight – and despite my highest intentions of sharing with friends meaning enjoying them in moderation, these were so tasty I ate three in one sitting!

Steps

1 Done	Put the yeast, 1 tsp sugar and lukewarm milk into a bowl. Mix to combine and then let sit for 5 minutes until it starts to bubble.
2 Done	Put the flour and 1 tsp salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on low, then slowly pour in the yeast mixture. Add the melted butter and continue to mix for about 1 minute.
3 Done	Add the egg and increase the speed to medium and mix for 5 minute for the dough to get well kneaded. Using your hands scrape the dough into a ball; it should be slightly sticky and elastic. Place the dough into a lightly oiled boil, turning a couple of times so the dough gets well greased. Cover and let rest in a warm place for about an hour, or until the dough is almost doubled in size.
4 Done	Put the cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl; mix well to combine, then set aside.
5 Done	On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a large rectangle, about 14 x 20 inches. Drizzle the tahini over the dough, then use the back of a spoon or spatula to spread it evenly, leaving 1/2 inch clear at both of the shorter ends. Sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the tahini and let rest for 10 minutes, until the sugar looks all wet.
6 Done	Starting from one of the long sides, roll the dough inward to form a long, thin sausage. Trim about 3/4 inch from each end, then slice the dough into 10-12 equal pieces (they should be just over 1 3/4 inch thick each). Sit each piece upright so the cut side is facing upward, then using the palm of your hand gently flatten to form a 3 1/4 inch circle. Repeat with the rest. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 15 minutes.
7 Done	Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer each roll to the lined baking sheet, spaced about 1 inch part. Brush the tops with the egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake on the middle rack of the oven about 18 minutes, or until cooked through and golden. Remove from the oven and let cool for a bit before serving!