Recipes for the holidays

Well, plans for the holidays are coming together around here, and I have been assigned what I am to bring to my mom's side of the family festivities... buns. As in, dinner rolls. Which has the potential to be sort of boring if you ask me... and so, I am jazzing them up a little.

I have decided that I am making Honey Butter Rolls, but with sourdough added for the extra gut health benefits. These are fluffy, sweet, and all-around delicious. Use less or more honey depending on how sweet you want these to be, but you really can't go wrong.

Best served hot out of the oven and topped with whipped butter.

Sourdough Discard Honey Butter Rolls:

·         220 g Water

·         120 g Sourdough Discard (discard or active starter)

·         80 g Butter (melted)

·         2 Eggs (large, mine weighed 130g of egg total)

·         100 g Honey (or maple syrup)

·         700 g Bread Flour

·         12 g Salt

·         7 g Yeast (instant yeast)

·         30 g Heavy Whipping Cream (for brushing on before baking)

Topping:

·         30 g Butter (melted)

·         20 g Honey

·         20 g Flaky Sea Salt

1)    Add the sourdough starter and water to a bowl and mix together well with a spatula. Add the melted butter, eggs, honey, bread flour, salt and yeast. Bring the ingredients together into a cohesive dough. Let it sit for around 30 minutes

2)    Knead the dough for around 3 to 5 minutes. The dough may start out a bit sticky, but as you knead it, it will start to become stretchy and elastic. You'll know it's done when the dough is not sticking to the bowl. It will be slightly tacky but will not stick to your fingers

3)    If the dough isn't coming together as it should, cover it and let it sit for another 30 minutes to let the gluten relax and then knead again for a few minutes and it should become soft and elastic

4)    When the dough is sufficiently kneaded, cover it and allow it to double in size (the dough will rise more quickly because you're also using commercial yeast than if you were using sourdough starter alone, however this is a very enriched dough, so it may take a little longer than you would normally see)

5)    When the dough has doubled, shape it into individual rolls (I usually divide the dough into 15 balls weighing around 80g each)

6)    Place the dough balls into a rectangle baking dish and cover with plastic wrap (I try to space them a little bit apart, they will be touching once they've risen). Place them somewhere warm so the dough balls can double

7)    When you're ready to bake the rolls, preheat your oven to 190ºC (375ºF). While the oven is preheating, brush a little heavy whipping cream onto the top of each roll

8 )    Bake the sourdough discard honey butter rolls for 25 to 30 minutes at 190ºC (375ºF)

9) While they are baking, take melted butter and honey. Stir together and set aside to brush on the rolls once baked

10) When the rolls are golden brown on top, remove them from the oven and brush with the honey butter and sprinkle with flaky sea salt

These are the best when they are hot out of the oven!