rosemary & cracked pepper onion rolls

Cold weather has brought on my breadmaking urge.  Found a scrumptious-looking recipe at SImply Scratch and decided to veganize it!  Olive oil replaces butter; brown rice syrup replaces honey.  Flax seed adds nutrition and an earthiness to these great-with-a-hot-bowl-of-soup rolls.  I grind up peppercorns with a mortar and pestle to get the flavor-burst of pepper I like.  If you have a spice grinder, you can get similar nice big pieces by grinding coarsely.  

Prep Time: 30 minutes, plus 1 1/2 hours rising time
Bake Time: 18 – 20 minutes
Ingredients:

1 c whole wheat flour
2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t salt
2 t cracked pepper (I used a tricolor blend)
2 T flaxseed
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 1/2 c warm water
1 T brown rice syrup
4 T olive oil
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Method:
Step One:  Mix flours, salt, and cracked pepper in a large bowl.

Step Two:
Chop the onion and sautee in 1 T olive oil till golden; meanwhile, mince and add in garlic. Continue sauteeing till onion is caramelized. Set aside to cool.

Step Three: Stir brown rice syrup into warm water. Sprinkle yeast into water and brown rice syrup, and stir gently with a nonmetal spoon till disolved. In about ten minutes the mixture will be bubbly; in the meantime move on to step four.

Step Four: Grind flaxseed, chop rosemary (removed from stem) and add both to flour mixture.

Step Five:  Add yeast mixture, onions and garlic to flour mixture.  Stir with wooden spoon, then knead on a floured surface for about five minutes or till dough is springy.

Step Six:  Place dough in large bowl coated with olive oil, rolling dough slightly to cover with oil so it won’t dry out.  Let rise, covered with dishcloth, in a warm place for one to one and a half hours.

Step Seven:   Separate dough into twelve rustic round pieces, placing them onto lightly oiled baking sheet.  Let rise about fifteen minutes.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees as the rolls are rising.

Step EIght:  Bake for 20 minutes or a bit less, till golden brown; brush with olive oil halfway through baking.  Your kitchen will smell fantastic!  Serve warm.