It started with the buttermilk dressing for the chickpea salad of the last post, but like all buttermilk recipes, one leads to another, because no one here wants to drink the stuff, so I have to use it up. Next I made my husband these nice Chocolate Buttermilk Muffins from Jen’s Favorite Cookies; they have a nice moist crumb and two kinds of chocolate. Luckily there are a few left for a photo:

Today, I’m making some Soft 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls from An Oregon Cottage to go with my Smothered Cube Steaks and gravy. It was just a matter of picking a recipe that made a gravy to sop up with the rolls. The only change I’m making to the recipe is using agave syrup instead of honey, and for that reason, I might lower the oven temp to 325° as agave can brown more quickly. I’m not reprinting the recipe, but here are a few thoughts on how it worked out:

• I read some of the responses to the original post, and found that a few people found the dough hard to work with. I didn’t have any trouble with it and thought it was extremely easy to handle. It was not a sticky dough, as a few people mentioned—it was a soft dough, but not sticky at all. I used the full amount of flour and it kneaded very nicely. I was able to roll it out easily after the first rise with almost no extra flour on my mat.
• I didn’t have much luck with the recommended shaping of the rolls, but in a similar fashion, I held the dough for one roll in both hands, turning under the edges as I rotated it until all the edges were in the center on the bottom and the top was slightly domed. Then I did pinch those edges together to finish the shaping. This is how I have always shaped rolls.
• Like the recipe author, I was not expert at cutting the dough in equal parts. I used a pizza cutter to cut the flat oblong, but was wildly inaccurate. I tried to get them rolled in similar sizes, but in the end, didn’t worry about the few small ones.
• I did bake them for the full 20 minutes at 325° and they browned nicely.
• As the original states, they really are very soft, while still having a nice wheat flavor. My husband ate 6 for dinner!
• Yes, the recipe is correct in asking for 2 tablespoons of active dry yeast. It seems like a lot, but I suspect that’s what helps the other ingredients make a soft roll.

Here are my working photos:

Agave instead of honey

Kneaded, ready to rise

After first rise

Cut and ready to shape

Shaping each roll

Ready for second rise

Risen and ready to bake

Baked, brushed with butter

That still leaves enough buttermilk for at least one more dish and I’m considering some orange scones, or buttermilk pie, or maybe a lemon bar made with buttermilk. Whatever it is, I’ll post it.