A week or so ago I was perusing some of my favorite blogs when I saw that Michelle’s menu plan included an oatmeal dinner roll. Oatmeal Pan Rolls to be specific.  I love oatmeal and anything containing oatmeal- but especially oatmeal bread.  When I saw her recipe though, I saw that it was intended for a bread-maker, and as I don’t have one, I thought I would have to figure out a way to adapt it.  Then I saw that her recipe was actually adapted from a Southern Living recipe, so I went off to search for that.  I found the recipe, but at the same time a recipe from Cooking Light popped up, so I printed off both recipes to see which one I wanted to make.  The Southern Living recipe called for quick cooking oats, which I didn’t have, but I did have regular oats, which the Cooking Light recipe had, so that was the one I decided to make.  I still have plans to try the Southern Living one, as the method is different and intriguing to me.

The Oatmeal Dinner Rolls pretty much came together like any standard yeast bread.  The liquids were warmed to help the yeast get moving, and the dry ingredients were combined before adding the liquid to it. It was interesting that the recipe called for all-purpose flour and not bread flour.  I was tempted to try it with bread flour, but decided to stick with the recipe as written.  It didn’t take me long though to see that there wasn’t enough flour in the recipe for me.  As I mixed the dough together I found it was very sticky, so I ended up kneading in a whole extra cup of flour.  It happens sometimes, and as I get more familiar with bread-making,  I find that sometimes that flour can vary greatly from day to day.  Were I to make these today, I suspect that it would maybe take even more flour, as it’s drizzly and damp out. I kneaded until it wasn’t sticky anymore, and then set the dough to rising.  It rose twice before I shaped them into individual rolls.  This recipe makes 24 rolls, but I made mine a touch bigger, so I got 18 rolls. In retrospect, I should have made them smaller, as they ended up more like a bun size than a dinner roll size. Next time.

These are delicious! The oatmeal comes through loud and clear, the honey adds a dimension of flavor along with the sweetness, and the all-purpose flour makes these perfect.  Bread flour would have likely resulted in a chewy roll, and these were pull-apart perfection. As an added bonus, because this recipe made so many, some went into the freezer for another time.  My only caution about these rolls is that unless you’re going to put them in the freezer, they aren’t a great candidate for making a day or two ahead of time.  I found that the next day the quality of these rolls really suffered, they dried out fairly quickly and just weren’t as good.  So if you want to make these ahead of time, bake them, cook them completely and then freeze them for best quality when serving.  I will most definitely be making these again.  I still want to try the Southern Living recipe, but this CL recipe is top notch in my book.  These may very well make the list for Thanksgiving Dinner this year.

Oatmeal Dinner Rolls

1          cup  2% reduced-fat milk
3/4      cup  water
1/4      cup  honey
1          package  dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
3          tablespoons  butter — melted

1          large  egg — lightly beaten

4 1/4   cups  all-purpose flour (about 19 ounces) — divided

1          cup  regular oats

1 1/2    teaspoons  salt

Cooking spray

Combine milk, 3/4 cup water, and honey in a small saucepan. Heat milk mixture over medium-high heat to 100° to 110°; remove from heat. Dissolve yeast in milk mixture; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in butter and egg.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 4 cups flour, oats, and salt in a large bowl, stirring well. Add yeast mixture to flour mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, and turn to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down, reshape into a ball, and return to bowl. Cover and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down; turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough 3 to 4 times; let rest 5 minutes. Divide mixture into 24 equal portions; shape each portion into a ball. Place balls 1 inch apart on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 425°.

Bake rolls at 425° for 12 minutes or until browned. Remove rolls from pan; cool on a wire rack.

Source:
“Cooking Light”
Copyright:
“December 2007?