People either love cilantro or hate it. I fall in the category of people who absolutely love cilantro. It has such a crisp and refreshing taste! I love buying a bunch of cilantro at the grocery store, but I can never use it all up before the leaves turn brown and soggy. Even though the gigantic bunch usually only costs about $0.40, it always saddens me when I have to throw out cilantro gone bad.
So when I spotted this recipe from First Look, then Cook, I knew I had to try it out immediately to use up the cilantro sitting in my refrigerator. The dough is like most breads I’ve made before, except that butter is cut into the flour, just like pie crust dough. I’d suggest using bread flour if you have it. I accidentally used whole wheat pastry flour, thinking it’d be fine. But since pastry flour doesn’t have as much gluten as all-purpose or bread flour, it took forever for the bread to toughen up. Luckily, I remembered I had some bread flour. Once I added that, the dough toughened up quickly and was much easier to knead. Also, this dough refrigerates pretty well. Just make sure you let it warm back up to room temperature before using it again. I let it warm up and rise a bit again since I was worried I might get hard rolls.
One of my favorite things about making yeasted breads is the kneading and rolling step. The feel of the dough, the motion of pushing and folding the dough, and the smell of fresh dough… they all mesmerize me. In fact, they mesmerize me so much that I often forget everything else going on and focus only on the dough in front of me. It’s a great way to clear your mind. Not to mention, the physical effort of kneading and rolling allows you to release any pent-up anger.
I brought these rolls to a barbecue (they’re just as popular here as in Texas!) and they were a hit! People were intrigued once I set them down on the table, guessing they were pesto rolls. I omitted the sesame seeds, since I didn’t have any on hand. These cilantro rolls are so easy to make and can be a great dish to bring to a party or a nice addition to a weeknight dinner.
cynthesizing food and fun 
You must be logged in to post a comment.