Multigrain Cereal Buns, for Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwiches

A chewy, nutty-tasting bun perfectly sturdy to hold your Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich creation

The craft of baking bread--of scalding the milk, mixing in the right amount of flour, kneading and shaping the dough--is like riding a bike.  It is a memory in your muscles.  It's tricky to learn at first, but once you get the hang of it by baking regularly, even if you haven't done it for a while, the memory comes back to your muscles.  With the muscle memory of how to knead dough comes the mental memories of what else was going on in your life when you regularly made bread.

Last year my mom visited and shared how she makes Red River Buns--what our family likes to eat leftover turkey sandwiches on.  [Or is it in?]  It was a rare treat to see the memories of her life as a county extension agent in Minnesota come flowing out as her octogenarian hands kneaded the dough.  Hesitantly at first, then with more surety and detail.  Then mom reminded me where I get my frugal nature--she cut out the shapes for the buns using an empty tuna can [though since tuna can sizes have shrunk lately, along with most packaging, a larger tuna can would work better].

If you have an opportunity to bake with a loved one, especially something like bread which has spurts of activity followed by periods of inactivity to tea and conversation, please take the time to do so this holiday season.

Step 1--mixing the ingredients

Step 2--kneading until smooth and elastic + 2 minutes

Step 3--cutting out rolls with tuna can or knife

Step 4--rising, baking, buttering the tops

Multigrain Cereal Buns (makes 18-24, depending on the size) Recipe from Marge Olson

2 cups milk (I use 2%)
3/4 cup multigrain cereal (See Note Below)
1 1/4 cup rolled old fashioned oats
2 teaspoons salt (I use kosher)
3 Tablespoons vegetable shortening
3 to 4 Tablespoons molasses (mom says "robust" and Cooks Illustrated prefers Brer Rabbit Mild)
2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (1 envelope, if you buy it that way)
1/2 cup warm water (warm on the inside of your wrist, not hot-hot)
3 3/4 cups bread flour (plus extra for dusting the board)
1/4 cup (2 ounces) butter, melted

Scald milk by heating it in a small pan over medium heat until bubbles form around the edge and a skin starts to form across the top.
In a large bowl (I used the bowl of my stand mixer) combine cereal, oats, salt, shortening, and molasses.  Stir in hot milk, and set aside to cool to lukewarm.
In a measuring cup or small bowl sprinkle yeast over warm water.  Add to lukewarm cereal mixture.  Beat in 1 cup flour.  Continue adding flour in 1 cup increments until you can see long strings of dough trailing from the mixer blade. [See first collage above for these steps.]
Turn onto a floured board and let rest 10 minutes, covered with a kitchen towel [I really don't know what a tea towel is, and I'm a tea drinker!]  Knead the dough, incorporating additional flour as you find sticky spots, until the dough is smooth and elastic--when you press it with your thumb it will spring back.  Knead for 2 minutes more, then place in a greased bowl, cover with the towel, and let rise until double.  My kitchen is cold in the winter, so I used the Bread Proof setting in my fancy stove, and it took an hour.  If you have a warm place and a straight sided container, note where the dough is on the side and mark where it needs to rise to with a sticky note or piece of tape. [See second collage for these steps.]
Return the risen dough to the floured board, and let it rest 10 minutes.  Stretch and press it out until the dough is about 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut [using the aforementioned tuna can, or a large circular cutter, or a knife as also shown in the third collage] into circles or squares.  Transfer to a parchment-lined or well-greased cookie sheet.  Brush tops of buns with melted butter.  Move cookie sheet to a warm place and let rise again until double, about 20 minutes for me with my fancy bread proof setting--but take it out of the oven prior to preheating!
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake the rolls (on the parchment paper if you're using it) for 20 minutes.  Brush the tops with melted butter after baking, then transfer to a rack to cool.

Note:  We use Red River Cereal, a mix of cracked wheat, rye, and flax seed (Amazon affiliate link), but many of the Bob's Red Mill multigrain hot cereals contain similarly sized grains and probably would substitute well in this recipe.

These buns are shared with What's Cookin' Wednesday, the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up, From the Farm Blog Hop, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays, Food on Friday