Spelt and Herb Slider Buns
I made these mini rolls for a recent picnic with friends. We were having pulled pork and I wanted to make rolls I thought would go well with the pork. They came out really nice. Soft, with plenty of herb flavor. I used spelt flour in this recipe. Spelt can be hard to find, so you can use all purpose flour for the recipe, or substitute whole wheat flour, if you like.
The size of the rolls is really up to you. I wanted sliders so I made the dough balls pretty small. You could make larger rolls and use them for burgers.
So here is the recipe.
Spelt and Herb Slider Buns
3 c. all purpose or bread flour*
3 c. spelt flour
2 packages yeast
¼ c. dried toasted shallots or onions
2 T. each dried basil and parsley
1 T. honey
2 t. salt
¼ c. olive oil
1 c. almond milk heated to warm – you can use dairy milk instead
½ c. warm water
2 eggs
In a mixing bowl combine 2 c. of flour with the rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth. Beat with electric mixer 4 minutes then add 1-cup spelt flour and beat 1 minute longer. Stir in spelt flour ½ cup at a time until soft dough forms. Add additional all purpose flour as needed. Turn onto floured surface and knead, adding flour gradually until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in lightly greased bowl and turn to cover. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 60 minutes. Turn dough onto floured surface. I used a cookie scoop to get pieces of dough that were each about ¼ cup of dough. About the size of a ping pong ball. Form the dough into balls. You could also roll the dough into a rope and then cut off pieces to form into the slider buns. I placed them on a baking sheet lined with a silicone liner. You could use parchment or just grease the baking sheet. I ended up with about 34 little rolls. I got them all on the same baking sheet. They were squeezed in pretty tightly, so I brushed them with a little oil to insure they would separate later. Cover until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 15-18 minutes, or until rolls sounds hollow when tapped lightly. Makes 34-36.
* You might not need the whole amount of flour listed. Add gradually until you get a soft dough.