#header-inner {background-position: center !important; width: 100% !important;}

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Oatmeal Sourdough Rolls

Pin It
I recently read an essay in my Martha Stewart Living magazine about a woman who remembered her mother caring for her sourdough starter, treating it like a child and tending to it with love and care. I wouldn't say I have quite that relationship with my sourdough starter, but I do tend to feel a little guilty if I neglect it (ie. leave it in my fridge for 2 weeks without making anything). My problem is that my favorite sourdough recipe requires many hours and multiple rises before the bread bakes...it's an all day project. Most of the time is unattended, but it requires me to be home at certain points during the day, which isn't possible during the week and often isn't possible on the weekends.
Instead, I've been on the hunt for quicker uses of my sourdough starter. More often than not, this means making a batch of sourdough pancakes, but I've also found a few recipe that, with the addition of instant yeast, have much shorter rise times. These rolls required two rises, but at only an hour each, that was completely manageable on a busy Saturday. Compared to traditional sourdough bread, the tangy sourdough flavor wasn't as noticeable in these, but that didn't stop us from loving them. These were good warm from the oven, the next day with dinner, and three days later at 5 am, before I headed out for a run. I intended to freeze some, but after sharing some, we managed to chow down on the rest before they lost their freshness. Gorgeous texture and awesome flavor (I think the hint of molasses was key!)...have I convinced you to get your own sourdough starter yet? Surf the web--Google will point you in the right direction to make your own and I highly recommend!

One Year Ago: Individual Zucchini, Lemon, and Ricotta Galettes
Two Years Ago: Black Bean Hummus

Oatmeal Sourdough Rolls
slightly adapted from Kitchen Simplicity

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup warm water
-1 package instant yeast
-1 cup sourdough starter
-3 tbsp honey
-1 tbsp molasses
-1 egg, lightly beaten
-1/2 cup butter, melted
-1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup old fashioned oats
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:
1. Add yeast and warm water to a mixing bowl and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Add starter, honey, molasses, egg, and butter.
2. Beat in 2 cups flour, oats, salt, and baking soda (I used my stand mixer with a dough hook but you could do this by hand). Add remaining flour and beat/knead until dough is elastic but not super sticky. Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until dough has doubled.
3. Divide dough into rolls (whatever size you like--I did medium-sized and got about 19 of them). Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cover and allow to rise for another hour.
4. Preheat oven to 400F. Bake rolls for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.