- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- About 5 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- Cornmeal or semolina, for dusting
- Heat the milk in a medium-size saucepan until the surface shimmers. Remove from the heat. Put 3 tablespoons of the butter and the sugar in a large bowl and pour the hot milk over it; stir, then let cool to body temperature.
- While the milk cools, pour the water into a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Stir to blend, then set aside for 5 minutes
- When the milk has cooled, stir in the dissolved yeast and salt. Stir in the whole wheat flour and 3 cups of the unbleached all purpose flour, 1 cup at a time. Using a wooden spoon, beat vigorously for 100 strokes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside this sponge for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, start adding the remaining unbleached flour about 1/3 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When the dough is firm and kneadable, turn it out onto a floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes; using additional flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Let the dough rest briefly every 3 or 4 minutes as you knead.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning to coat the entire surface. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it aside in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, 60 to 90 minutes. Lightly butter a large baking sheet and dust with cornmeal or semolina.
- When the dough has doubled, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough for 1 minute, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 10 minutes. Melt the remaining 5 tablespoons butter.
- Roll the dough out slightly more than ½ inch thick on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin. Using a 2¼- or 2½-inch biscuit cutter (or water glass) cut the dough into circles, keeping the cuts as close together as possible. Leave the circles where they are, pick up all the scraps, and knead them into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Brush the entire surface of each circle with a bit of melted butter. Working with one circle at a time, make a deep indentation across the diameter with a chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon. Fold the circles in half, using the indentation as a hinge, so the buttered halves meet; you now have what looks like a big pair of lips. Place the lips on the prepared baking sheet flat side down. Repeat for the remaining circles, placing the lips so they barely touch. As you lay each one down—all pointing in the same direction—give the entire surface a light brushing with butter. When you start a second row, the edges should just barely touch.
- Reroll and cut the scraps and place them on the sheet. Cover the rolls loosely with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free spot until nearly doubled in bulk; it should take more than 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- . When rolls have doubled, put them in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. As soon as they come out, brush with more of the melted butter and serve at once, if possible, from a cloth-lined basket.