With a new bag of Anson Mill’s organic, heirloom Sea Island benne seeds on hand, I knew just what cookbook to pull for creative ideas for using them: Sean Brock’s Heritage cookbook. Chef Sean Brock’s name and reputation are synonymous with creative Southern cuisine. Raised in rural Virginia and a proud graduate of Johnson & Wales culinary school, Chef Brock has a plethora of must-go-to restaurants in Nashville and many well-deserved awards attached to his name. Heritage was his first cookbook and the the winner of the 2015 James Beard Award for Southern Cooking.

With many benne seed-based recipe to choose from, including of course, benne seed wafers, benne rice broth, oyster stew with benne, lemony mustard greens with benne, and even pole beans with tomatoes and benne, I settled on these pillowy, slight sweet dinner rolls made with buttermilk and topped with benne seeds. Baked in a cast iron skillet, the rolls are easy to put together and even easier to devour. I served ours with a lemony spring chicken and vegetable soup, and a side salad of marinated yellow squash and zucchini with feta and radicchio.

A note on benne seeds themselves— they are similar in shape to sesame seeds, but are darker in color and have a more pronounced flavor. Their name actually means sesame seed in the West African language of Bantu, and are said to have been originally brought to the South in the late 17th century. I highly encourage you to grab a bag next time you see them, and explore the varied and unique recipes that they can be a part of!

Tagged: benne seeds, benne-buttermilk rolls, bread, bread flour, buttermilk rolls, honey, rolls, Sean Brock, Southern cuisine, yeasted rolls