Whole Wheat Oat Rolls & Cheesy Bread

I thought this looked good - plus it's a local recipe.


Whole Wheat Oat Rolls
Recipes courtesy Denise Fairchild-Garcia of Kimberly, Idaho (from the Magic Valley Times News)

2 cups water
1 cup quick oats
4 tablespoons butter     
1/2 cup warm water
3 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt     
4 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour

Extra flour to make a soft dough

In a saucepan bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add the oats and butter. Bring back up to a boil and stir; cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm.

In a small, warm bowl, combine 1/2 cup warm water and the yeast with 1 tablespoon sugar. Set aside and let the yeast work.

In a large bowl combine the brown sugar, salt and 4 3/4 cups flour. Stir to combine the dry ingredients.
Add the yeast to the oatmeal mixture, then add that mixture to the flour. Stir to combine. Add enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, adding only enough flour to get to that point.

Place the dough in a large glass bowl that has been greased, and turn once to oil the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Divide dough into two pieces. Either shape and bake as loaves, or divide into 18 pieces and shape as rolls. Place 9 rolls each in two greased round cake pans.

Cover and let rise for 45-55 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until browned.
Remove from oven and remove from pan onto a cooling rack. Let cool to warm, and serve.

Dee’s Cheesy Bread
1/2 cup softened butter
(not margarine)
3/4 cup real mayonnaise
1/8 cup parsley flakes
2 teaspoons granulated
garlic
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup grated cheddar
cheese
Mix well and spread on lightly toasted sourdough bread. Broil until melty and golden brown.

Fairchild-Garcia said her roll recipe is great either plain or with the cheese and ham.

“I put a small handful of ham and cheese chunks into each roll as I’m forming the roll,” she said. “The roll dough will then rise one more time before baking in the oven. I like to make a double batch because they freeze really well and you can pull them out for easy use later on.”

As she pinched the ham-and-cheese mixture into dough pouches, placing each newly formed roll into a baking pan, Fairchild-Garcia described her cooking background.

Her rolls are just one family-and-friend favorite. One dish she can’t leave home without is Dee’s Cheesy Bread. The sourdough used in the recipe is storebought, but the topping is her own.

“It took a lot of trial and error, mostly error, to get this just right,” she said. “But everyone loves it.”

Fairchild stresses that the success of the recipe is in sticking to it.

“Use real butter, no margarine, and real mayonnaise,” she said. “The rest is parsley flakes, garlic, grated Parmesan and grated cheddar cheese.”

Her trick in getting the bread extra crispy is to cut the sourdough in half and lightly toast it first, then spread on a thin layer of the mix before setting the bread under a preheated broiler.

“Watch for it to get melty and golden brown. When that happens, it’s ready,” she said.

The dish is great for parties.

“I’ve learned to make extra because you think two pieces of toast is enough and it’s not. People can’t seem to get enough,” Fairchild-Garcia said.