Muesli Rolls for Breakfast



As if it's not enough that we're notoriously bad at eating our vegetables in our household, we're also ridiculously negligent in the breakfast department. No vegetables, no breakfast, no cooking (obviously, since there's been no blogging, there couldn't have been cooking, could there?) - how we even manage to stay alive is anyones guess!

I always make sure I get my (very large) glass of Earl Grey tea in the morning, M always gets his coffee, but the solids? Just. Not. Happening. There are tons and tons of excuses, but really, it's no use. Breakfast is good for you and you should eat it. And noone says it has to be the minute you get up, but sometime during the first 2 to three hours after you've risen I guess is appropriate.

Often, M will get something from a bakery on his driving abouts at work (he's a realtor) and he's usually good at getting something healthy. But lordy, is it expensive! Especially if you want something that's edible and doesn't turn into sawdust the minute you bite into it. So I took up the challenge put up by Martin, oh, three months ago I guess, when he came home from work with a dark-brown roll filled with raisins, pumpkin seeds and oats and said: I KNOW you can make these better. Will you make me some? I promise I'll have breakfast every day if you make these for me!

It did take me a while to get on it, but when I did, it was actually not that hard. Using my Malt Bread recipe as a blueprint, and the method Susan introduced me to via her Oatmeal Bread of softening the oats in a bit of hot water, it only took me two tries to get what I wanted. Chewy, moist, darkly flavored rolls, dotted with sweet raisins and walnuts. I'm telling you, that man of mine is having breakfast and even I have been seen sneaking a couple of rolls into my bag before I dash out the door.

Muesli Rolls - makes 12 muffin-sized ones

For the "muesli"
75 g. rolled oats
65 g. raisins
40 g. coarsely chopped walnuts
30 g. soft brown sugar
190 g. boiling water
- feel free to substitute any kind of nuts and dried fruit you favor.

For the dough:
125 g. yoghurt (or even the whey from drained yoghurt - I've used that succesfully quite a number of times and it makes me feel so virtous!)
12 g. salt
4 g. malt powder (flour)
5 g. yeast
250 g. water
150 g. spelt flour
400 g. bread flour

In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, sugar, fruits and nuts. Pour the boiling water over it, and give it a good stir. Leave on the counter for half an hour to cool.

Now, for the dough - in a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the yoghurt. Mix the salt, malt powder, spelt flour and 4/5 of the bread flour. Add this to the water/yeast/yoghurt mixture, kneading to make everything stick together. The cooled oat mixture can now be added to the dough, and then its time for kneading. I usually do it in the bowl, as the dough is pretty wet, but do as you please - if you think it's easier on the tabletop, take it out. You may need more flour then. But only add more flour if it really needs it - it's supposed to be quite sticky. Knead for ten minutes.

Transfer the dough to a clean plastic container or bowl. Depending on when I want to eat the rolls, I then put the dough in the fridge to rise (it can easily stay here for 12 hours and then some) or leave it on the counter to rise, 2-3 hours.

Once risen, shape your rolls. Make a log out of the dough, cut it up in 12 equal portions and shape them into rolls. I like leaving them for their second prove in a buttered muffin pan, it gives them a really nice shape, but just letting them rise on a baking sheet is also fine. If you like, after shaping the rolls, you could dip the top in first cold water, then rolled oats, but if you want to eat these on the go, the oats might go flying all over your (black, naturally) skirt, so I often don't bother. Whatever you choose, they need to rise again, 1½-2 hours. Or for a couple of hours in the fridge, depending on your schedule.

Preheat the oven to as high as possible. Once warm, put in your rolls, turning the oven down to 240 celsius. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 200 celsius and let them have another ten minutes. They may need an additional 5 minutes more after that, depending on your oven. Enjoy, with butter, if you have the time for such fanciness - it only makes them better.

Comments

Anonymous said…
These look (and sound) fantastic, Zarah. Do you think that I could use a teaspoon of malt extract---thick and treacly consistency---instead of the malt powder?
Cerebrum said…
I say give it a go, Angela - I actually have some malt extract around as well, so maybe I'll try substituting that the next time, just to see. If you move faster than me, let me know how it goes :)
Gemma said…
These look great. I can't function in the morning without eating breakfast almost as soon as I get up but anything to break the monotony of cereal every day so I may have to give these a shot!
Anonymous said…
Not only do they look and sound great - they are great. Started the day before yesterday, baked them last night. And voila, breakfast muesli rolls!
Cerebrum said…
Gemma - Do give 'em a shot - I'll give oatmeal a shot, soon ;)

Jesper (I assume it's you?) - glad you tried them and they turned out fab!
Anonymous said…
Hi,
thanks for sharing your recipes. I always look foward to seeing the delicious breads you make.
I have a question: can i forego the malt flour, because i cant find them here - or can i substitute something else? what does the malt flour do for the breads? Is it just to impart a sort of deep, malty sweetness?

thanks in advance,
Michaela
Cerebrum said…
Hi Michaela! Thanks for your nice words. You can probably forego the malt flour without problems - it mostly provides taste, and I guess helps keep them moist. You could probably, as Angela suggested further up, use some liquid malt extract, if that's easier for you to find. I think a tablespoon would be good. Good luck with them!
Anonymous said…
Thanks! I don't know when i will get round to making these (i have an endless, scarily endless list!) but i will someday. They are a good alternative to plain sweet rolls. Your photo does much to convince me:))
cheers,
Michaela
Anonymous said…
oh just one more thing! You use fresh yeast in your recipes, do you? If you don't state otherwise, it's fresh yeast?
SoRRY!
Michaela
Cerebrum said…
Hi Michaela! Oh I know all about the long, long lists!;) You just ask away - when I can't seem to write a recipe clear enough, it's good people aren't afraid to ask later on. I do use fresh yeast, always - I know it's sometimes hard to come by everywhere else but here in Denmark, but because it's what I acces the easiest, that's what I use.
Anonymous said…
Hi Zarah Maria,
just wanted to let you know that i made the muesli rolls over the weekend, and they turned out great! In case this is useful for anyone, i used 1.5g of instant yeast and only about 4g of salt. I also used much, much less water to soak the muesli, but i also used instant rolled oats. What sort of oats do you use, i wonder. I had the required amt of water ready and was going to pour, but i thought the muesli was going to swim in all that water, so only added enough to moisten the muesli. Thankfully, they didnt turn out hard or dry.
I also omitted the malt flour since i didnt have any.
Thanks once again! Maybe i'll try your cracked wheat rolls, i love bulgur!
Michaela
Cerebrum said…
Michaela - I'm so glad you tried them and they were worth the trouble ;) Thanks for all of the info, I'm sure especially the yeast part will be useful for someone. Re. the oats, I use regular coarse oats - like these. At least they're regular around here ;) You did right by only adding water to moisten, though - that is the general idea.
The cracked wheat rolls are awesome - I just did a version using cooked quinoa instead, and those are lovely, too :)
Anonymous said…
I've just put my own dozen into the oven, and although I've not tasted them yet (duh!), they smell terrific. Thanks for providing the recipe; I have no doubt that they'll make wonder breakfasts/snacks for as long as they last.

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