Sigteboller or Danish Salty Rolls

This month Cathy picked Sigteboller or Danish Salty Rolls for the Bread Baking Babes to bake. Sigteboller, in Danish, roughly translates as “sifted buns” or “sieved rolls,” from sifting of flours used to make them. These rolls are typically made from a mix of rye flour and all-purpose flour.

Rye flour tends to produce denser bread but Sigteboller or Danish Salty Rolls are soft and fluffy and slightly chewy. They have a faint tang and are traditionally served with butter, cheese, cold cuts, or even smoked fish.

Cathy adapted her recipe from The Rye Baker, by Stanley Ginsberg. She gave us an option of using a pre-ferment/ poolish or a sourdough starter. I went with a pre-ferment/ polish because it gives me a hint of tang and a sourdough-ish crumb without going all sourdough.

Sigteboller or Danish Salty Rolls are made with rye flour. Rye flour isn’t something commonly found here where I live. So I used whole-wheat flour instead. I also used honey instead of molasses. I also didn’t use the suggested toppings of caraway seeds or sunflower seeds and left my rolls plain. These rolls are usually topped with flaked salt but I don’t like very salty breads so didn’t use that either.

Soft, fluffy and slightly chewy Danish style rye flour salty rolls served with butter, jam or cream cheese.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Resting Time 14 hours

Total Time 14 hours 55 minutes

Course breads

Cuisine Danish

Ingredients

For the Pre-ferment or Poolish:

1/8 cup rye flour or whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp instant yeast

For the Dough:

All the pre-ferment or polish from above
3/4 cup lukewarm water
3/4 cup rye flour or whole-wheat flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
2 to 3 tsp honey
For the Topping optional:
Rolled oats sunflower seeds, caraway seeds, coarse or flaked salt

Instructions

Make the Pre-ferment or Poolish:

The evening before you plan to bake, combine the water, flours, and yeast in a medium mixing bowl. Mix well and allow to rest at room temp overnight (about 8 to 12 hours). It should be bubbly in appearance.

Make the Dough:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add all the ingredients for the dough and mix well on low until there are no dry bits of flour. Knead until you have a soft and smooth dough that is just short of sticky. Add more water or flour, as necessary to reach this consistency of dough.
Cover the bowl, and let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 minutes. Gently knead the dough to release the air. Form into a round and place back in the bowl. Let the dough rest for an additional 45 minutes or till almost double in volume.
After the dough has risen, gently knead again to release the air. Divide the dough into 8 portions and shape each portion into a ball. Place on a lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet leaving space in between to expand.
Loosely cover the baking sheet with a kitchen towel and let the rolls rise for another 40-50 minutes, or until doubled in size. Just before baking, brush the dough balls with milk and lightly press in seed toppings or salt, if using. Then slash the rolls on top with a single line or X about 1/4-inch deep.
Bake the rolls in a pre-heated oven at 190C (375F) for about 20 to 25 minutes until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Once the rolls are baked, allow them to cool on the baking sheet. Enjoy warm with butter.