Multi-Grain Rolls!

I totally forgot about this yummy roll recipe,
until Jade reminded me about it last week and begged that I make it.
I found this recipe
when Jade was just a young boy in a 1998 "Martha Stewart Living" magazine.
I made it up years ago and we enjoyed them, only, I ran out of bulgur and haven't bought anymore.

(this shows how I modify things..with my hen scratch that only I can read)

When Jade asked me last week to make these, I pulled out my recipe and decided to do some modifying to it.
I substituted Steel Cut Oats for the bulgur,
used 1 cup HOT tap water with 1/8 cup dry milk powder for the milk,
reduced the oil and salt,
deleted out the pepper and oatmeal
and ended up with the most YUMMY creation that really are as good
or BETTER (in Tracy's words)
than anything you would get at a bakery.

I made some rolls AND bread with one batch and the bread made the best grilled cheese sandwiches that have ever been made in the Smith home.

I had to make another batch
to make sure the changes I made were correct and they turned out great again and so we decided it would be a yummy treat to give for Father's Day and we made up a third batch.

Three batches baked in one week and we're NOT sick of them.
It just goes to show you how good they are.

Tracy doesn't really enjoy rolls as a lot of times rolls are yeasty or doughy and so he was a little hesitant to try these as they were SO tall and fluffy.
He was wrong and LOVED them.
They were even great the next day in his lunch that he took. It was the last thing he ate in his lunch as he didn't want to have a doughy, yeasty roll to eat, but he was pleasantly surprised at just how good they were.

Sure to be a crowd pleaser every time for both old AND young and it uses food storage ingredients!

Multi-Grain Rolls/Bread
Bring 2-1/4 cups water
and 1/4 tsp salt to a boil
add in 2/3 cup steel cut oats and reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Let cool

Mix together in mixing bowl
1 cup HOT tap water
1/8 cup dry milk powder
1/3 cup honey
2 Tbsp. yeast
Stir well and let sit 6 minutes until bubbly

Then add to yeast mixture:
Cooled steel cut oats
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 eggs slightly beaten
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Then add in 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 cups unbleached flour until you have a nice soft (slightly sticky) dough and knead for 3 minutes.

Put in large bowl and coat well with oil.
Cover and let rise one hour
Punch down
Shape into rolls/loaves (cover with seeds if you like)
Cover and let rise 30 minutes.
Bake in 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown
Remove... brush with butter and let cool 15 minutes before un-molding.

HINT....I made 12 rolls and 1 large loaf of bread with one batch. For the seeds, I sprinkled on poppy seeds and some sunflower seeds

These are SO good and not yeasty or doughy at all. I don't think I've made a better batch of rolls than this recipe.

Enjoy!

Economically, Nutritious Oats!!

First off, I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the words of Elder Hales in Conference this weekend and I am SO grateful for a husband and children that allow us to
“Joyfully live within our means”!

This week I had a friend ask me exactly what “Steel cut oats” are and so, today I am going to share about our Monday through Friday breakfast of Steel Cut Oats. This is one of the key parts of living in our budget...our frugal, healthy breakfasts!
***************
This Journey we have taken in simplifying our life these past few years has been a wonderful one! As a working mom that has to leave the house at 6:30 am I have tried making everything possible for breakfast, but since my family gets up after I leave, things have never quite worked out. I have tried every kind of breakfast hot cereal, tried having an “egg” day, “muffin” day, (bought bagels/cream cheese, yogurt, breakfast bars although these got expensive after awhile)

A few years ago when we were browsing the hot breakfast cereal aisle we came across the following can of “Irish Porridge” (AKA “Steel Cut Oats”).

HOWEVER, it was quite expensive ($5.99 a can which is only 1 pound 12 ounces), but we realized we loved the flavor of it. We were sad when we had eaten the last bit of it and then our nice steel can turned into a container to store our loose change. Over a year passed and one day we were shopping at our local Winco and found “Steel cut Oats” (.58 pound) in the BULK section and so we bought a small bag and tried them out. It was wonderfully delicious and so we have been buying them ever since and that has simplified my mornings because that is what we eat the majority of our mornings.
It’s also “heart healthy” and nutritious as well. (click here)

********************

Tracy and I are able to purchase these in a 25 lb. bag.
Any place that sells these in bulk, will also sell you a 25 lb. if you ask them.
We get these at a place called "WINCO". I'm SO glad we found out about purchasing them this way. We used to just fill up 2 "bulk bags" on our weekly dates so we could eventually have a 5 gallon bucket filled with them.

Steel-cut oats are actually “grits” in which they have taken the whole groat and broke it into a few pieces, hence steel cut oats. Rolled oats are called “flakes”, like Quaker oatmeal are steamed and then flattened. Both are made from the whole grain.

Steel-cut oats take a lot longer to cook, because they're a lot thicker (about a half-hour, as compared to five minutes for the rolled oats), but the steel cut oats taste so much better. My sons would much rather have steel cut oats over rolled oats anyday.

BTW....these don't turn to "glop" after they have sat awhile...they are still chewy and good so that is why I choose to make this over rolled oats, besides the fact that these are less processed than rolled oats.
***************
We don't do cold cereal in our home (except for an occasional weekend treat). Cold cereal is not only expensive, but most varieties despite being fortified with vitamins and minerals, are not terribly healthy. Cold cereals generally have a relatively HIGH Glycemic Index which means a spike in blood sugar levels, followed by the body's response to that with a spike in insulin production. We do eat treats (especially cookies),
but causing such great fluctuations in blood sugar after sleeping all night is not a healthy way to start your day!
BTW...the longer required cook time for steel cut oats, means they are less refined and processed and because of this they have a lower glycemic index.
(for more info on Glycemic Index click here)
***************
Most people think they take too long to cook up, but I am here to say that they are SO easy and if I can do it....anyone can do it!!

I bring water/salt to a boil, pour in the oats, cover and turn the heat to simmer, set the timer for 30 minutes I then go shower and get ready for the day and when I am done, I pull the oats off the stove, add in brown sugar, raisins and milk and pour it in our “white” mush bowls and we all have breakfast to eat!

(For those wondering about our white mush bowls...I found these bowls at WINCO (.88 each... they are very quality for the price) and they all have lids and so after I make up the oats I put them into our white bowls, put the lids on then and we can "grab and go"!
*******************
VERY economical to eat…..
1 cup costs .46 and
to add in ½ cup of raisins costs .25
and so for under 80 cents
4 people have a healthy, nutritious breakfast!!
******************

Steel Cut Oats
Bring 3 cups of water and 1/4 tsp salt to a boil.
Add in 1 cup steel cut oats
Turn heat to simmer
Set timer for 30 minutes.
Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes and then pull off heat and add in brown sugar and milk (raisins if you'd like).
This makes 4 servings

*************

(HINT...
to make more or less, for every 1 cup of water you have
add in 1/3 cup steel cut oats)