Garlic Chive Buns
Packed with flavor and nutrition!
Great for burgers, sandwiches, and Sloppy Joe's!
Change shapes and enjoy alongside soups and stews!
Recipe: Prep 2 days Approx. 16 buns
4 1/2 cups organic whole wheat flour
3/4 cup presoaked oatmeal
1/2 cup organic flax - freshly ground
1/2 cup raw honey
1/2 cup organic milk
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 tsp. yeast - active dry
4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup organic dried chives
1 1/2 tsp. Himalayan salt
1/4 cup organic half & half or heavy cream
Note: Presoaking oatmeal helps reduce the phytic acid.
So, measure your oatmeal with the water ratio: 1/2 cup oatmeal to 1 cup
hot water and add 1 tbsp. of organic apple cider vinegar and 1 tbsp.
freshly ground rye flour. Soak overnight.
Tips: You will have a little left over from the required amount. You can either keep this for something else or add it into this recipe and add just a
little more flour to compensate.
Flax seeds should always be freshly ground as the oil oxidizes rapidly and
goes rancid within days.
Rancid oils should be avoided as they are toxic and cancer causing.
Heat up the water in a small saucepan til warm - about 130 degrees.
Put 4 cups of the flour and yeast in a large mixing bowl and thoroughly
mix together. Then add oatmeal, honey, flax, garlic powder, chives, and
salt and use a rubber spatula to mix well. Add the milk and water and mix well.
This will be sticky. Let it sit for about 15 minutes until all the liquid has absorbed well. It should still be a little sticky, but if it is too much, then
add the last 1/2 cup of flour and thoroughly mix through.
The dough will be "shaggy" until you start the folding process.
Tips: 1. Potato water could be used for the water needed. Potato
water adds "softness" and of course, more nutrition.
The next time you are cooking potatoes for mashed or potato salad,
then save the water and freeze it until you need it.
It's great to add into soups also.
2.You could also use sour cream in the place of the milk, but you
would need to figure out how to tweak the recipe to adjust to this, because
more water would need to be added also.
I will, in the future, present a Potato Sour Cream Bun recipe.
Notes: 1. Wheat flours are not all the same. Texture can greatly vary,
so that is why I stated to wait the 15 minutes to see if the flour you
are using was absorbing more or less of the liquids.
2. Oatmeal always has the tendency to add a "stickiness" to a
recipe, but it doesn't take away from the texture, but actually adds a
softness.
3. Salt slows down the progress of yeast, so the flour acts as a
buffer and prevents the salt from making a direct "assault" on the yeast.
Wrap the bowl with saran wrap and sit in a warm place.
The dough will need to be "folded" about 3-4 times over the next 5 hours.
I do this all in the bowl with a rubber spatula.
"Folding" is just a improved method of kneading without the labor and mess.
Work the spatula around the bowl starting at the top of the dough and gently
pulling the dough up and over into the center - folding - as you turn the bowl. Each time going further down to get underneath the dough. Continue to do this as you turn the bowl completely several turns around. The dough will pull together and acquire a stiffer texture.
Each time you do this, the texture will continue to improve.
After 5 hours, then put into the refrigerator overnight.
Tip: This can stay in the refrigerator for a week. You can pull it out
and only use half and put the rest back for another time that week.
It's a great convenience in dealing with bread doughs.
Note: The gluten you’ve just formed in "folding" starts to relax, while at the same time continuing to form. The yeast gives off lactic and acetic acids,
which condition the dough, breaking it down to make it more digestible,
and neutralizing phytic acid. The slower fermentation provides more time
for a more complex-tasting combination of flavor compounds to develop.
As well as, getting the enzymes in the grains to do some of the digestion work for you.
Pull the dough out and let sit at room temperature for about 1 hour.
Then using a rubber spatula, remove the dough to a floured surface and
fold in opposite sides and then the other two opposite sides and do this a
couple of times to stiffen up the dough. Then let it rest for 10 minutes.
Prepare stainless steel sheet pans with parchment paper.
Then using dough scraper, proceed to cut along the dough into horizontal sections approx. 8 x 3 and then into smaller cube sections of approx. 3 x 2,
that would be just enough to make a bun.
Then using both hands from the middle of the fingers to the tips, proceed to
roll and fold the dough into a circle, turning as you fold, to stiffen and form
the dough into a round shape. You will need to do this several times around.
Then place onto prepared pans and flatten down some.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
When you are finish making the buns, then using a pastry brush, apply some half and half or heavy cream.
Note: this presents a golden color crust
Place into oven and bake for about 18 minutes. I determine this by checking
if the bottoms are starting to turn brown.
When done, remove and let cool. Enjoy!