November Sourdough Surprises - Dinner Rolls

We all know that sourdough can make some flavorful, hearty breads.  But this month, Sourdough Surprises challenged us to try a different kind of bread - soft, pillowy dinner rolls. Now, soft and light aren't usually words one uses to describe a sourdough bread.  But guess what - it can be done!

I chose this recipe for garlic rolls, and they came out so well - reminiscent of soft breadsticks.  

And the insides?

Soft and pillow-y! Exactly as a dinner roll should be! Slathered in butter, these were super easy to eat. I served them with a hearty chicken noodle soup and they were perfect for dipping and for sopping up every last drop of soup-y goodness. 

Did you join us this month? Link up and share your delicious creations!

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Garlic Sourdough Dinner Rolls
(from Nourishing Time)

For the dough:
1/2 cup fed sourdough starter
1 large egg
2/3 cups warm water
5 tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp dried sweet basil
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp salt (leave this out if you use salted butter)

For the topping:
4 tbsp melted butter
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
4+ cloves freshly chopped garlic

Combine the wet ingredients and the basil, mix well.
Add the flour, then the salt, and knead the dough until soft and smooth.
Leave the dough to rise for 4-8 hours. If you are want to start the dough a day in advance, you can let the dough rise for 2 hours at room temperature, the cover it and place it in the fridge. The next day, before you are ready to proceed, simply let it warm up a little and then move on to the next step.
Divide the dough in 16-20 even balls and arrange evenly in greased containers. I got 16 balls out of this dough, and used two 8-inch cake pans.
Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for an hour or so.
While the rolls are rising, mix up the topping in a glass bowl and set it aside at room temp until you’re ready to bake.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Stir the topping and brush most of it on top of the rolls, then stick in the preheated oven to bake for 22-25 minutes.
Once the rolls are done baking, brush the rest of the topping on so it has a little shine. These rolls do not get very dark, if you want them darker you may turn the broiler on for just a minute or two.
Enjoy!

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Pumpkin-Cinnamon Scones

I can't believe it's Secret Recipe Club time again! But I'm super excited for this post. Because I got a super awesome blog assignment this month.

This month I was privileged to spend lots of quality time over at Pale Yellow.  This blog is full of so much deliciousness, it's insane. And Tracy, the awesome blogger who creates all of the deliciousness, is really a girl after my own heart. From the fact that she shares her love by feeding people to the recipes she chooses to share, I knew I'd gotten a good one.

There were many recipes I wanted to try, but her recipe for Pumpkin Scones with Cinnamon Chips just spoke to me. The pumpkin, the spices - it is just absolutely perfect for the season.

I made a couple of simple changes, but kept the full spirit of the challenge. The first change was that I didn't have cinnamon chips. I know. That's kind of a biggie. But I increased the amount of cinnamon called for in the recipe and called it somewhat even. I also used regular (unbleached) all purpose flour instead of the gluten free version.  Oh, and I don't have allspice, so I used cardamom instead.

The scones come together beautifully.  It starts with the dry ingredients - including a beautiful rainbow of spices.

Then it was time to incorporate the butter. Rather than cube the cold butter and cut it in, I grated the frozen butter and then just mixed it into the dry ingredients  with my fingertips. So much easier.

Once the butter is incorporated, the wet ingredients, including eggs and pumpkin puree, are gently kneaded in until everything holds together.

And then it's time to shape the scones...

...and add a delicious finishing touch. Or... let the kiddos add the finishing touch. A nice sprinkling of turbinado sugar.

The kids are very generous with their sprinklings.

And then they bake.  And it's magical.

These were the absolute perfect breakfast for a day off from school and both the kids and I really enjoyed them. Just the right amount of pumpkin, just the right amount of spice - absolutely perfect for a crisp, Fall morning.

Tracy, thank you so much for this recipe and for all of your delicious inspiration! I can't wait to try out more of your delicious recipes!


Pumpkin-Cinnamon Scones
slightly adapted from Pale Yellow

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup turbinado sugar or any other coarse sugar

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and ginger.  Cut the butter into small pieces and use a pastry blender to incorporate into the dry ingredients.  Blend until you have pea sized pieces. Or grate the butter using a box or rotary grater and use your hands to incorporate it into the dry ingredients.
In a small bowl whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, and vanilla.  Add this to the dry and mix until just combined.
I used my hands to lightly knead the dough together.
Divide the dough in half and place one half on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Shape the dough into a long rectangle with greased or floured hands and then divide into thirds with a greased bench scraper.  Cut each third diagonally with the bench scraper.  Lightly move the triangles away from each other.  Repeat with the other half of the dough on a second baking sheet.
Brush the top of each scone with the half-and-half and then generously sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Place the baking sheets in the freezer for 30 minutes.  While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Bake the scones for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool slightly before eating on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

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