Rolls & Garlic

All right, garlic first.  My family LOVES garlic.  Even the kids.  I love to feed it to them, because it's so good for you.  Sometimes, though, I'd like to have a little less harsh garlic flavor, so I roast it.  The problem is, roasting takes about an hour and I always forget to do it ahead of time.  Besides, who wants to start up the oven for a couple little heads of garlic?

There are two solutions for this.  First, you can roast your garlic in a crockpot.  I have a teeny one that fits two heads, but I would imagine you could follow the same process in a larger crockpot....perhaps you could just cook up a bunch of heads.  Second, you could toast them in a skillet.  I'll put both methods here.

Crockpot Roasting

Remove all the papery skins, but keep the head together.  Chop off about the top quarter of the head (you want all the cloves to have a little of their inside exposed).  Place in the middle of a piece of foil (my teeny crockpot holds two, so I do two), drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pull the corners together, pinch closed, stick in the crockpot and let cook one hour.


Skillet Toasting

Remove all the paper skins and break apart all the cloves.  Put in a skillet over medium heat for about 10 minutes, shaking OFTEN.  Burnt garlic is YUCKY!!  When all the cloves are nice golden brown, remove from the pan and let cool until you need it!


I also wanted to share the recipe I use for my Thanksgiving rolls.  It's from www.urbanhomemaker.com.  They're pretty healthy (you can always adjust the recipe by using more whole wheat and increase the fiber content), and they taste yummy!  If you halve the recipe, you can use your mixer or bread machine to do the kneading for you.

For those of you that grind your own wheat, I have made this recipe successfully with all whole wheat, but my family finds them a bit heavy...so I modified.


Fantastic Whole Wheat Rolls

Halve the recipe for a small batch.

2 1/2 Cups warm water
1/2 Cup honey
1/2 Cup dry powdered milk
2 TB yeast
2 eggs
3-4 cups whole wheat flour
3-4 cups bread flour
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 Cup oil
melted butter

Combine warm water, honey, powdered milk, and yeast in mixing bowl. Allow yeast to activate.

Add eggs and 3 Cups flour (1 1/2 cups each kind). Stir until thoroughly mixed; dough will resemble cake batter. Let rest until bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Add salt, oil, and remaining flour. Knead for 6-10 minutes or until dough is soft and pliable. Grease baking sheets.

Pour out onto a lightly greased surface. Pinch off 2-inch round portions, and roll out to an 8-inch rope. Tie rope in a knot. Place in rows on baking sheets, cover, and let rise until double. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with melted butter if desired, and remove to a cooling rack. Makes 2-3 dozen.