Rye dinner Rolls with Crisp Tops

I made these for the gourmet baby shower/dinner I went to on Tuesday night. Since other people were making the recipe too, I pretty much followed it exactly, except that I used the stand mixer to knead the dough, and I don't have parchment paper.

Rye Dinner Rolls with Crisp Tops

For rolls:

• 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 scant cup warm water (105-115°F), divided
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting
• 1/3 cup light or dark rye flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt

For rye-crisp tops:

• 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons light or dark rye flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large egg white

Make dough:
Stir together yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, and sugar in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)

Stir flours, salt, and remaining scant 3/4 cup water into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms.

Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and knead with lightly floured hands until dough is elastic and smooth but still supple and slightly sticky, 6 to 8 minutes. Form dough into a ball.

Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft- free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 2 hours.

Make rolls:
Punch down dough (do not knead). Remove from bowl and fold into thirds like a letter. Divide into 16 pieces and roll each piece into a ball, transferring to a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and loosely covering with plastic wrap (or towel). Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Lightly brush each ball of dough with some of egg white. Gently lay a round of rye-crisp dough, egg-wash side up, on top of each roll. Bake rolls until golden-brown, about 20 minutes. Cool to warm or room temperature.

Make rye-crisp tops while rolls rise:
Stir together flours and salt, then stir in water and oil until a dough forms. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times. Divide into 16 very small pieces. Roll out each piece on lightly floured surface to a thin round (about 2 inches; shape need not be perfectly round) and arrange in 1 layer on a sheet of parchment.

Beat egg white with a pinch of salt and lightly brush some of it onto rounds. Let stand, uncovered, to dry slightly while rolls rise.

Assemble and bake rolls:
Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.

Lightly brush each ball of dough with some of egg white. Gently lay a round of rye-crisp dough, egg-wash side up, on top of each roll. Bake rolls until golden-brown, about 20 minutes. Cool to warm or room temperature.

Cooks' notes: •Dough can be formed into balls and allowed to rise slowly, covered well with plastic wrap and chilled, 8 to 16 hours. Bring to room temperature while making rye-crisp tops.
•Rolls are best the day they are baked but can be frozen (first cool completely, then wrap well) 1 month. Thaw, then reheat on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven until warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes.