One rotation down! I just finished up six weeks of family medicine, which being set in retirement-friendly SoFlo, was heavily skewed towards the geriatric end of the age spectrum. Still, each day was a mixed bag. I’d see 90+ year-olds that were amazingly healthy and 60 year-olds with uncontrolled diabetes, anxiety, back pain, etc. etc. A handful of patients noted that they take turmeric. I’d first heard of its medicinal value from a biochemistry professor in my first year of med school. A component of turmeric (curcumin) is touted to have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, but the science is still soft. Nonetheless, turmeric seems to be the new acai/matcha. Coffee shops have rolled out turmeric lattes and just the other day at Costco, I came across a mountain of turmeric cereal. So today’s recipe is inspired by trendy turmeric. The turmeric gives the dough a golden exuberance and the tahini makes for a fragrant and substantive binder. Buttery, nutty, and a touch sweet, these rolls are a pop of color for breakfast, lunch, or brunch.

Turmeric Tahini Rolls

Makes 8 rolls

Ingredients

For the dough

• 240g (2 cups) flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk, lukewarm
• 1 tsp yeast

For the filling

• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Directions

To make the dough: In a small bowl, combine the milk and yeast; let this mixture sit for a few minutes. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, turmeric, and salt. Stir in the butter, egg, and yeast-milk. Knead the dough till soft and elastic (Because of the butter and egg, this step takes A LOT of elbow grease; this is one of the few times I highly recommend using a bread machine or stand mixer to knead the dough for you). Leave the dough in the bowl covered and let it rise at room temperature for 1 hour or till it has doubled in size.

To make the filling: In a small bowel, combine tahini, sesame seeds, butter, and sugar.

To put it all together: Roll the dough out into a rectangle. (about 10″ x 7″) Spread the filling onto the dough in an even layer. From the long side, roll the dough into a log. With a sharp knife, slice the log into eight pieces. In a cake pan, loosely place the rolls in a ring and let rise again for 30min. Bake at 375F for 25 minutes.