Oatmeal Honey Rolls - Breakfast or Anytime

This morning was one of the easy weird mornings in which the kid slept in, and the husband slept in. Ah quiet mornings - I love those rare moments. So I made these delightful rolls. These rolls are wonderful. You should make them. They were tender, soft, and sweet from the honey. 

At breakfast I served them with some fruit and hard boiled eggs. Easy. My 4 yr old gobbled his down with some butter and honey drizzled on the the cut sides. My hubby put some butter on one, and pb on another one, and I am pretty sure he grabbed a 3rd one walking out of the kitchen later. LOL. Yes I dare you to eat just one. I put my egg in one and kinda smashed it down. It was the softest loveliest breakfast little sandwich ever. I loved knowing that they both were getting some healthy ingredients hidden in them. From the baking perspective, the ingredient list had all normal stuff no speciality items. It was easy to do, and the ingredient list was short. My favorite part about this roll was that it was sweet, but not overly sweet like a cinnamon roll. It felt like I was having a bit of a dessert when really I was eating something pretty healthy. 

My fluffy perfect Egg Sandwich

Because of the word honey in the title, and since it was my first time baking these, I made the assumption they would be very sweet. In my head sweet bread equates to breakfast. But after eating them I understand they really could pair nicely with soups or salads or a snack in the middle of the night... just sayin'. That doesn't happen in MY household. They are elves. The elves that leave big husband size messes. 

Enjoy these golden honey the next time you have an easy morning. Really its about  5-10 minutes hands on time - that's it. The rest is waiting for it to rise and then bake. 

I almost forgot the most important part. It tastes amazing with coffee AND the recipe makes a good family sized batch for busy days and they freeze up to 3 months! 

Oatmeal Honey Rolls

recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour & Tutti Dolci 

Ingredients for the rolls:
3 cups bread flour
1 cup of rolled oats
 1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp yeast or 1 package of yeast
1 1/4 cups of milk (1-2 percent), organic
3 Tbs honey
cooking spray
2 Tbs unsalted organic butter, softened

Ingredients for the topping: 
1 Tbs unsalted organic butter
1 Tbs honey


Directions
1. In a mixer or big bowl combine flour, oats, salt and yeast.  Mix this together thoroughly on low. 

2. In a small microwave safe measuring container or bowl measure out the milk. Heat it in the microwave for about 45 seconds. You want it pretty warm (about 120-125 degrees F). 

3. Add the honey and butter to the milk.  Note: If you spray just a tiny bit of cooking spray and rub it into the measuring spoon for the honey it comes out easier :)

4. Add the honey mixture to the flour mixture in the mixing bowl. 

5. Let the mixer mix the ingredients until they come together just barely. Then switch out the type of beater for the dough hook. If you are doing this by hand, which could be very therapeutic (I have heard), this is the part you put your hand mixer down and start kneading for about 5 minutes. 

6. While the dough is kneading for 4-5 minutes, grab some coffee, pull out the box of plastic wrap, use cooking spray on the bowl you want the dough to rise in, and also put some cooking spray into two round baking dishes.

7. Put the finished dough in the prepared bowl when it is ready. It should be fully pulling away from the sides of the mixture. Mine took me about 4 1/2 minutes. What to do if its not? If the dough is sticking to the sides  or not pulling away, add 1 Tbs of flour. Wait for a minute, and let the mixer knead the flour in. Then add 1 more Tbs as needed. The only warning here is that it's easy to add to much so have a light hand. 

8. Put the finished dough in the bowl to rise. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Relax and wait for it to double in size. This took me about an hr. 

9. Put some flour on the counter or cutting board where you will be working and when the dough has risen, you can double check this by putting two fingers in the dough and the indent stays, and turn the dough out and punch it down a few times. Its kinda cool to hear the air escape. 

10. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.  

11. Divide into 2 portions one for each pan. Set aside one portion of dough. Take the first portion and divide it into fourths and then those 4 pieces in half. Gently stretch the top of each little ball and pull it done the sides almost over itself until the two ends are touching at the bottom. Pinch it closed and put the ball seam down in the prepped baking pan. Arrange the 8 rolled dough rolls about an inch apart. Then repeat with the 2nd portion for the 2nd pan.  

12. Cover the baking pans with plastic wrap. Let them rise for 30-35 minutes.  

13. Preheat your oven during the last bit of the rising time to 350. 

14.  Top each roll with some of the topping - either poured on brushed. 

15. Bake the rolls for 16-18 minutes or until they are light golden colored

16. Let the rolls rest in the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes and then take them out of the pan and eat while warm :) Store extras after they have fully cooled in an air tight container. 

Yum!! 

Enjoy from my kitchen to yours