Garlic twists

I made these garlic twists last week as part of my "whole wheat" week, but failed to get them posted.  They grew on me.  At first I didn't like them, but after a couple days, they were ok.  I think it's taking some time for me to get used to the wheat flour.  The white wheat that I'm using does make breads less dense than red wheat, but they still have a stronger flavor than something made with all purpose flour.  My 2nd child grabbed on of these rolls and said, "I like these, but they are a little too wheaty!"  Really?  How am I supposed to respond to that?  "Uhh, maybe it's beacuse they are wheat rolls."

Anyway, the recipe

1 cup warm water
1 T. yeast
2 1/4 cups whole white wheat flour change to just shy of 2 cups-only put enough flour in to make them workable-less is better!
3 T. wheat gluten
1 T. sugar
1 T. oil
1 egg

Mix the yeast and warm water and set aside.  Put the remaining ingredients in a bowl and begin stirring to combine.  Add the yeast water when it is foamy and continue stirring until the dough comes together.  Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead about 8 minutes.  Cover and let rest 10 minutes.  Then roll into a rectangle approximately 10" x 15" (jelly roll pan size).  Spread the dough with

1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp garlic powder
liberally sprinkle with cheddar cheese (I recommend sharp cheddar.)

Fold in thrids (top down, bottom up) and cut into 1 inch strips.  Twist and tie in a knot.  Let rise for 30 minutes and then bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

A variation (which I actually like better) is to use these as cinnamon rolls.  Make as directed, except spread with 1/4 cup butter, 1/2-3/4 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon.  Frost with cream cheese icing while still warm.  Mmm!

UPDATE:  I found that these are soooooo much better when you put less flour in.  Wheat flour tend to absorb more liquid, so if you are modifying a recipe that uses white or bread flour, using the same amount of whole wheat flour will cause your bread to be very dense and, as my little girl puts it, "too wheaty!"  Only use enough to make the dough workable-sticky is ok!  In this recipe, I start out with 1 3/4 cups wheat flour and add a little at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl-for this it ended up being just shy of 2 cups, but I think humidity plays a part, so it might vary a little each time.