Muesli rolls

These rolls are very healthy and freeze really well. Just 5 minutes in a warm oven (160ºC) and they taste as freshly baked rolls. Also pretty handy when you're on the go and in the need of a healthy but yummy treat. You can vary with the seeds, nuts and fruits to your liking.

Try eating them plain, with a little bit of butter, butter and sugar or several slices of cheese.

Makes 12.

Ingredients:
- 400g wholemeal
- 280ml milk, lukewarm
- 32g fresh yeast or 1 sachet (7g active dried yeast)
- 2.5 Tbsp caster sugar
- 30g butter, softened
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- zest of 1 lemon (optional)
- 60g oats or muesli
- 3 Tbsp walnuts, roughly chopped
- 40g hazelnuts, halved
- 3 Tbsp sunflower seeds
- 3 Tbsp almonds, roughly chopped
- 200g raisins or currants
- 6-8 dried apricots, chopped
- Plain flour

Preparation:
Put the wholemeal flour in a big mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Combine the milk, yeast and sugar together in a small bowl and stir until the sugar and yeast have dissolved completely. (If using instant dried yeast, follow the same steps, but give the yeast time to activate. So let the milk sit for about 5 minutes before adding it to the flour.) Pour the milk in the well. Mix together until a elastic silky dough forms (about 7-10 minutes). You can also use an electric mixer with dough hooks if you're not in the mood for kneading. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Rinse the raisins with warm water and place in a pot with very hot water (not boiling) for 7 minutes. Drain.

Knead 1 egg, salt, lemon zest and butter through the dough. It might take a while for the dough to absorb these ingredients. Continue kneading, and here comes the fun part, beat and drop the dough until a smooth silky consistency takes form. This might take a while and just when you think it will never become smooth and silky, then the dough starts to change. Hang in there, don't give up!
Cover the bowl again and let it rest for another 15 minutes.

Add the raisins, oats, nuts, seeds and apricots and knead again until fully incorporated and mixed well. Divide the dough in 12 pieces and roll small balls. If the dough is really sticky, roll it through some plain flour. Be careful not to use too much as your rolls will become dry. Grease 2 baking trays and dust lightly with plain flour. Divide the balls onto the trays, leaving some space between each roll as they will expand during the final rise. Cover with a tea towel and let the rolls rise for another 30 minutes if you can't wait any longer. (I let them rise between 1-2 hours, because wholemeal is quite heavy and needs time to rise completely.)

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (Fan-forced 190ºC) and beat the second egg in a cup. Glaze the rolls with the egg wash and place in the oven. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Check if they're done by sticking a skewer inside the thickest part. If the skewer comes out clean then they're done. Cool on a wire rack and they're ready to enjoy!