Yesterday on Pinterest (follow me!) I found a recipe for Texas Roadhouse Rolls. YUM.
Any of you who have been to the restaurant Texas Roadhouse know exactly what I’m talking about, and just started drooling on your keyboard. The rolls are sweet and chewy and have that perfect light, airy texture. I think at Texas Roadhouse they must drizzle them with a bucket of honey butter to get that sweet flavor.
The recipe looked simple enough, so I decided to make some for dinner. Fate would have it that we were completely out of eggs (yes, go ahead and judge me because I still eat eggs. they are one of my favorite foods that we eat every so often). Thus, I made a vegan version of these rolls, and they turned out great.
I won’t go as far to say that they taste like Texas Roadhouse rolls. For that, I will refer you to the original recipe. But my version is a healthy whole wheat roll that carries a slightly nutty flavor. They weren’t sweet like I had hoped – the combination of whole wheat flour and flax overpowered the 1/2 cup of sugar. But I think overall they are easy and quick to throw together, and much to my surprise stayed light and fluffy.
Who would have guessed when I married Tyler that in three years’ time I’d be altering bread recipes in my spare time? And that it would actually turn out?!
Vegan Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls (adapted from Eat Cake for Dinner)
4 t. active dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water
2 c. soy milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
3 T. of melted earth balance, slightly cooled
1/2 c. sugar
7 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour*
2 flax eggs (1 T. ground flax plus 3 T. warm water per egg, let sit in a small bowl until it gels up)
2 t. salt
Dissolve yeast in warm water with a teaspoon of sugar. Add yeast, soy milk, sugar and enough flour to make a medium batter. Beat thoroughly. Let stand until light and foamy. Add melted earth balance, flax eggs and salt. Beat well.
Add enough flour to form a soft dough. Grease a large bowl. Knead dough until smooth and satiny and put in greased bowl; turn over to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk. Punch down. Divide dough and shape dough into desired forms. Place on greased baking sheets. Let rise until doubled.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Baste immediately with melted earth balance. Yield: 2 dozen.
*If you don’t have freshly ground whole wheat flour on hand, I’d suggest using half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose white flour.
I baked up a dozen of these rolls, and saved the other dozen for another day. Here’s how I did it:
After shaping them, I placed them in a greased 9×13 pan and let them rise until almost doubled. Then I covered the pan and put it in the freezer. When they were frozen, I put them in a gallon ziploc bag with instructions on baking them. (To bake: Let them thaw overnight in the fridge in a baking pan, and when you’re ready to cook them, let them come to room temperature. They might need a couple extra minutes in the oven.)
