Easy Oatmeal Dinner Rolls (with Raisins!) — Lightly sweetened from honey in the dough and are brushed with honey-butter prior to baking, these homemade dinner rolls are subtly sweet and so easy to make!
Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls Recipe
There’s something so hearty and comforting about a bowl of warm cinnamon raisin oatmeal. But after making these oatmeal raisin rolls, I may never make a bowl of cinnamon raisin oatmeal again. The oatmeal ante has been upped.
The oatmeal dinner rolls have a striking resemblance to cinnamon rolls with raisins, but because they’re made with whole-grain oats and use far less butter and sugar, I told myself they were a healthy cinnamon roll. Exactly.
The sweet, soft dinner rolls recipe combine my love of highly textured, really chewy, moist bread and pair those qualities with the rolls I can buy in the Dutch grocery stores when I’m in Aruba, known as muesli rolls.
I didn’t set out to create muesli rolls prior to making these oatmeal rolls are instead they’re based on my Honey Dinner Rolls recipe, for which I have the highest and utmost praise. It will likely be my plain white dinner roll recipe forever, even though there’s nothing plain about them.
Since I love that recipe, and because I also adore oats, raisins, and cinnamon, I wanted to create a roll that combined the best of both worlds.
The resulting rolls strongly resemble my beloved muesli rolls, which I spend most of the year dreaming about until the next time I’m in Aruba. The Dutch-influenced breads and pastries on the island are sinfully perfect and it’s a good thing I enjoy warm weather running.
Although traditional muesli rolls tend to have some nuts, flax, pumpkin, or sunflower seeds, or oats sprinkled on top, those toppings unfortunately tend to either fall off and lay loose in the bottom of the plastic bag the rolls are sold in, or it falls off all over my kitchen floor.
From a flavor and texture perspective, these oatmeal dinner rolls are spot on with my muesli memories, minus the messy topping that I don’t prefer stepping in anyway.
If puff pastry, croissants, and challah are on one end of the bread density spectrum, these rolls are on the other. They are not light and fluffy airy puffballs and instead have teeth-sinking density, with a high degree of texture and chew factor.
Bread flour, which makes any dough chewier to begin with, used in conjunction with the oats and raisins, created a real chewy party, destined to give your jaw a workout.
The dough is lightly sweetened with honey and the plump juicy raisins distributed throughout are plentiful.
Both the honey used in the dough as well as from the honey-butter mixture that’s brushed on the rolls prior to baking lends a rich, buttery, and sweetly discernible flavor, which doesn’t get lost in the shuffle as I find can happen with baked goods sweetened with honey.
It’s akin to topping the best bowl of cinnamon-raisin oatmeal of your life with a little drizzle of melted honey-butter before digging in.
The honey-butter brushed on top also helps the rolls achieve a glorious amber hue and the mixture that runs down the sides and pools in the bottom of the pan creates a gooey, rich, and almost caramelized layer at the base.
I loved every bite of these chewy rolls, with their slightly firm and sweet tops from the honey-butter, contrasted with the soft and dense interior. The bits of oats and chunky raisins did a marvelous job of sticking to my teeth with each hearty bite.
They’d be perfect to put on the Thanksgiving table, the Christmas brunch table, or on any Tuesday afternoon you need a carbtastic pick-me-up.
And as a happy accident, now I have a recipe that’s part whole-grain cinnamon roll and also one that emulates my beloved Aruban muesli rolls, no passport required.
What’s in the Oatmeal Dinner Rolls?
To make the sweet, soft dinner rolls, you’ll need:
- Warm water
- Instant dry yeast
- Egg
- Honey
- Canola oil
- Salt
- Bread flour
- Old-fashioned oats
- Raisins
- Cinnamon
- Unsalted butter
How to Make Oatmeal Dinner Rolls
To make these rolls, I began with the same amounts of water, yeast, egg, honey, and canola oil used in the Honey Dinner Rolls.
Then, in addition to just using bread flour as I had previously, I also added whole-rolled oats, raisins, and cinnamon, which warmly yet gently spices the dough.
I was a bit concerned that the oatmeal and raisins would somehow impede the rise, but I had nothing to worry about. I used Red Star Platinum yeast and they rose like champs into big, puffy, beautiful mounds that filled up every inch of my baking pan.
The dough can be kneaded by hand or in a stand mixer and after kneading it’s allowed to rise for about two hours. After the first rise, punch the dough down and lightly knead it by hand for about one minute.
Allow the dough to rest for about ten minutes before shaping it into rolls as this resting period helps the gluten to relax and the dough will be more cooperative when trying to form it into rolls. It’s a thick yet springy dough and has a bit of mind of its own, reminding me that bread dough is very much alive.
When I previously made the honey dinner rolls, I divided the dough into one dozen equal-sized pieces but with this recipe, I divided it into 16 pieces because there was more dough volume.
The oats and raisins really bulked it up and only making one dozen would have yielded ridiculously large rolls and sixteen pieces seemed more appropriate.
Be careful when baking your masterpieces because the honey-butter mixture will be prone to burning in the final minutes of baking, and these bake up fast, in just about 15 minutes. I don’t even leave the kitchen after I put them into the oven.
Can This Recipe Be Made in Advance?
The easy homemade dinner rolls can be made ahead of time, making them from start to finish, freezing the finished rolls, and can be unthawed prior to needing them, and if preferred warming them gently and briefly in a low oven for that just-baked taste is nice.
Although I haven’t tried it, I would guess that after the first rise of 90 minutes, and after the dough has been shaped into rolls and placed in the pan, you could cover the pan and refrigerate it overnight, and bake the rolls off the next morning.
Storage Instructions
Rolls may be stored at room temperature in an airtight container or ziplock bag for up to 4 days.
Rolls also freeze very well and can be made from start to finish, cooled, and placed in a freezer-safe airtight container or a ziplock for up to 3 months.
When ready to serve, unthaw them and if desired, immediately prior to serving warm them in a low oven (~175 to 200F) for a few minutes and just until warmed.
Tips for the Best Dinner Rolls
I’ve had muesli rolls and bread that incorporate other types of dried fruit, including apricots or currants, and substituting your favorite dried fruit from dried mango to diced Medjool dates or dried apples would be lovely in these rolls if you don’t like raisins.
This recipe is baked using a 9-by-13-inch pan, and although some of the rolls in the center were a tiny bit crowded, if given the choice I would still remake them in one pan, rather than using two pans, for less overall dishes and hassle.
If you prefer perfectly round globes, you may consider baking them in two pans. But crowding isn’t all bad because some of those center-cut rolls are extra soft, tender, and moist and are the ones I reach for first. Center pieces trump edge pieces, always.
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Oatmeal Raisin Rolls
Lightly sweetened from honey in the dough and are brushed with honey-butter prior to baking, these homemade dinner rolls are subtly sweet and so easy to make!
Ingredients
- 1 cup water, warmed (120 to 130F for Red Star Platinum yeast, or 105 to 115F for most other yeast)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant dry yeast (one 1/4-ounce packet, I use Red Star Platinum
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour (I use King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned whole rolled oats (not quick cook or instant)
- 1 cup raisins (combination of raisins, cranberries, currants, or other dried fruit may be used)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Add water to a glass measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl and heat on high power to warm it, about 30 seconds. Testing with a thermometer is highly recommended, but if testing with your finger, water should feel warm but not hot.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the water and sprinkle the yeast on top of it. Beat on low speed for about 10 seconds, just to combine; let mixture stand for 10 minutes.
- Add the egg, 1/4 cup honey, oil, salt, and mix until well-combined, about 2 minutes on low to medium-low speed. Add 3 cups flour, oats, raisins, cinnamon, and beat until a dough forms.
- Scrape off any dough bits stuck to the paddle and remove the paddle attachment. Put on the dough hook.
- With the dough hook attached, turn mixer on low speed, and slowly sprinkle in remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Knead dough for about 8 to 10 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl and dough hook as necessary. Dough will be firm, smooth, not sticky, and elastic.
- Place mounded ball of dough in a lightly greased large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place bowl in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 2 hours. Tip - Preheating your oven for 1 minute to 400F, then shutting it off (make sure you shut it off), and quickly sliding the bowl in so the hot air doesn't escape is one way to create a warm environment; think 85 or 90F summer day warm environment. A cooler environment simply means dough will take longer to rise.
- After dough has risen and doubled, punch it down to release the air bubbles, and turn it out onto a Silpat or floured work surface. Knead for about 1 minute.
- Mound dough into a ball, place it back into the bowl, cover it, and allow it to rest and relax for about 10 minutes, making it easier to shape into rolls.
- Prepare a 9-by-13-inch baking pan by lining it with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- Place dough on Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat or floured work surface, and using your hands, roll it into a long cylinder, about 16 inches in length. Divide the log into 16 uniformly-sized pieces with a dough cutter or sharp knife.
- Roll each piece into a ball, creating surface tension on the top of the ball by stretching the dough over itself a bit and pinch off the bottom, tucking the dough into itself. Place each piece into the prepared pan, seam side down, uniformly spaced, four rows of four. (Dough may also be rolled into just a simple 'plain ball', without pulling on the top surface of dough to create tension and not bothering to pinch off the bottom a bit, but I find they rise better and are fluffier if they're pinched off rather than just round dough globes)
- After all pieces are in the pan, cover it with plastic wrap and allow to dough to rise for about 1 hour, or until rolls are nearly doubled in size.
- While dough rises, preheat oven to 400F. A good place for this rise is placing baking pan on the stovetop while oven is preheating for the carryover warmth.
- Prepare honey-butter mixture by melting butter in a microwave-safe bowl on high power, about 1 minute. To the melted butter, add 2 tablespoons honey and stir to combine; set aside.
- After the rolls have risen and before baking, brush tops and sides of dough with the honey-butter mixture, getting into the sides and crevices and with a pastry brush.
- Bake rolls for about 15 minutes or until golden; they bake up very fast and watch them closely so the honey-butter mixture doesn't burn in this very hot oven.
- Allow rolls to cool before serving. Serve with Honey Butter or Cinnamon-Sugar Butter.
Notes
Flour and yeast: I highly recommend Red Star Platinum Yeast and King Arthur Bread Flour because they gave great results.
If you don't have a dough hook: The recipe can be made by hand and kneaded by hand, it will just take you a bit longer. I am unsure if this recipe can be made in a bread machine as I don't have one.
To make 1 loaf: I suspect the dough could also be baked in loaf pans; I'd use two 9-by-5 inch loaf pans, but I have not tried it.
Make ahead option: The rolls can be made ahead of time, making them from start to finish, freezing the finished rolls, and can be unthawed prior to needing them, and if preferred warming them gently and briefly in a low oven for that just-baked taste is nice. Although I haven't tried it, I would guess that after the first rise of ninety minutes, and after the dough has been shaped into rolls and placed in the pan, you could cover the pan and refrigerate it overnight, and bake the rolls off the next morning.
Storage: Rolls may be stored at room temperature in an airtight container or ziplock bag for up to 4 days. Rolls also freeze very well and can be made from start to finish, cooled, and placed in a freezer-safe airtight container or a ziplock for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, unthaw them and if desired, immediately prior to serving warm them in a low oven (~175 to 200F) for a few minutes and just until warmed.
Recipe adapted from Honey Dinner Rolls
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 246Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 74mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 2gSugar: 14gProtein: 5g
More Easy Dinner Roll Recipes:
Honey Dinner Rolls — Lightly sweetened from honey in the dough and are then brushed with honey-butter prior to baking, which lends both a golden color to the rolls and infuses them with a subtle sweetness.
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls — These rolls are soft, slightly chewy, and the pumpkin puree keeps them moist and adds just enough tooth-sinking density.
No-Knead Rolls with Honey Butter — These soft, light, fluffy yeast dinner rolls are so easy to make! They’re practically work-free because there’s no-kneading involved.
Parker House Rolls — The BEST homemade dinner rolls because they’re so light, airy, fluffy and practically melt in your mouth! They have a wonderful buttery flavor that will make them an instant family favorite at your next holiday gathering or make them for a special meal!
No-Knead Whole Wheat Rolls — These 100% whole wheat dinner rolls are soft, light, fluffy, and so easy. They’re practically work-free because there’s no kneading.
I made these today and for someone who doesn’t really do well with yeast recipes, these are perfect! I love the dense rolls with just the right amount of sweetness! It’s a process to make but definitely worth it!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad that even though yeast recipes may not always be your friend, that this one is! I love the density too, and just the right amount of sweetness. This is an older recipe of mine so it’s nice to see people like you still making it!
I just mixed and kneeded these rolls in my bread machine and it worked great! I just dumped everything in at the same time, except the raisins. I added the raisins after the first kneeding (mine has 2 kneeding times) so they wouldn’t be torn apart. Some bread machines beep towards the end if the kneeding time for when to add raisins/nuts.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this worked great in a bread machine! I have never used one so I like hearing the details and how they work. And glad this worked out great for you!
I made these today with steel cut oats instead. I soaked the oats for an hour to soften them first. The dough was a bit more sticky due to the increased moisture from the oats so I used another 3/4-1 cup bread flour. I also soaked the raisins (mine were dried out) in water with vanilla extract and grand marnier for a half hour, then drained them and added them to the mix. I put the initial flour in and let it rest for 20 minutes after a light knead. That helped to hydrate it so I didn’t add too much extra flour. I continued to knead it for another 10 minutes adding flour until it was fairly smooth (still a little sticky). The recipe made 16 rolls that were a little over 3 oz of dough each. I baked them for an additional 10 minutes until a thermometer came out at 195. They were absolutely delicious with our broccoli and cheddar soup tonight :) Plenty of leftovers to eat with cream cheese tomorrow morning with coffee :) Thanks for the awesome recipe!
I am glad they turned out awesome for you and that you were able to get them to work out well with steel cut oats!
Hi! I’ve made these and your honey dinner rolls several times but for some reason, a few times they didn’t rise, even though I did everything right. Well after a LOT of troubleshooting and baking more bread with different recipes, I realized it was the instant yeast. I don’t know if you meant to put active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, but instant yeast isn’t supposed to be proofed because it can lose all of its rapid rise properties in the proof and then the actual dough won’t rise, which has happened to me! I just thought you might want to clarify that in the recipe to save other people all the trouble and wasted ingredients I went through! Otherwise, it’s a great recipe and I love it!
Thanks for remaking this and doing lots of trouble shooting and sorry it didn’t come out perfectly for you at first.
This recipe is from 2014 and I haven’t made it since, but I do know that I did intent at the time to write instant yeast, as indicated. There was a yeast you could buy then, called Red Star Platinum and it was amazing and it worked perfectly as written, but they’ve since discontinued that yeast.
However, I haven’t ever had anyone else say they couldn’t get these to work with instant yeast…who knows. Yeast can be a mystery sometimes! But glad you ultimately had success with these!
I’ve made this recipe several times and we always love it. This last time I substituted the raisens for craisens, dropped the cinnamon, substituted 1/2 cup orange juice for half of the water, and added the zest of 2 oranges to it. The base makes really good orange cranberry rolls.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad this is a favorite of yours and great that you’ve been able to substitute with orange juice, zest, etc. to your liking!
Hi! I just wanted to give some results of the substitutions I made on this recipe: I subbed out the water for almond “buttermilk” I wanted to get rid of in my fridge. I also used 1c of whole wheat pastry flour and 2.5 cups of plain AP flour. I used Fleshman’s active dry yeast (because that’s what was in my cupboard), and kneaded the dough by hand. They smelled AMAZING in the oven, but they didn’t get as big in my 9X13 pan on the second rise, even though I made sure they were in a warm place. I also found the flavor to be slightly bland. I will experienment with perhaps sifting the flour, or actually using bread flour next time to see if I could figure out which swap caused the lackluster second rise. All in all THANKS for this recipe! I was looking for something like this for an easy, not sugar-laden on-the-go breakfast :)
Whole wheat flour will never give you the same volume/expansion/rise that bread flour does so that’s probably why they were smaller than your pan and didn’t rise as much.
You could also add additional salt to the dough, to taste, for more flavor. Even though between the honey, raisins, cinnamon I think they’re fine but we all have different tastes. Glad they were good overall.
Can i use all purpose flour for these? I only have wholemeal/whole wheat bread flour and i think it might be a bit too grainy for these.
I have only used bread flour with this recipe and am not sure how AP will work. I agree that wholemeal/whole wheat bread flour would be a bit too grainy. Good luck with whatever you decide to go with.
I do not know if my yeast was any good or not so my dough did not rise as much as I believe they should have. After 2hours it had not doubled in size so I still just punched it down and kneaded it; formed my rolls and then let it sit for another hour. I used Red Star regular active yeast. It had expired in April 2017…?
Anyway, they came out tasting ok. I forgot to add the cinnamon into the dough?. I did add it later, into the honey butter mixture. So I got the cinnamon taste. They will replace my cinn. raisin bagels that I usually purchase every couple of months. All they need is a smattering of “I can’t believe it’s not butter” and they are good to go!
Yeast is one of those things that definitely loses its strength at the expiration date – sometimes even before. Surprised you had any luck at all but glad that these will replace your cinn raisin bagels!
These rolls are excellent! As described, they’re soft and chewy with a hint of cinnamon. I followed the recipe exactly and used Red Star Platinum yeast. The dough came together quickly in the mixer. I kneaded by hand until it passed the windowpane test. It’s a moist, slightly tacky dough, but not sticky. My rolls were a bit larger than the ones pictured in the recipe. After punching down, I weighed the dough and divided it into 12 equal pieces, spacing them apart in a parchment paper-lined baking pan. They were touching after proofing so the sides of the baked buns were soft, not crusty. Definitely one of the best recipes for rolls that I’ve tried, and I’ve tried many!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad you find it one of the best recipes for rolls!
I have made these biscuits about 5 times now. I eat one for breakfast daily. I leave out the butter to keep it a little healthier. They work great with my no added sugar lifestyle. Thanks!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad you love it so much that you keep re-making it! And that you’re able to leave out the butter, too! Thanks for LMK you love these as much as I do!
Thank you! By the way, every recipe of yours that I have made has turned out great! Love your blog thanks for sharing your expertise ☺
Thank for trying so many recipes and your nice compliments! :)
These look wonderful! Is it possible to use instant oatmeal if that’s all I have on hand?
Thanks☺
Haven’t tried it that way and with bread recipes, generally speaking unless you’re an experienced bread maker, it’s better to stick exactly to the recipe, especially the first time around.
I made these yesterday and they turned out absolutely delicious. I didn’t have enough honey for in the dough, so I substituted with some molasses. Fantastic! Thank you!
Oh I love molasses SO MUCH! I could eat it with a spoon! I love it and bet it was wonderful in the rolls and what a great idea! Glad they came out great for you!
Averie, is it possible to make these rolls egg free?
I made these today and they are very, very good! I didn’t have raisins, so we had date cinnamon rolls instead. I planned on following the directions and using a butter topping, but then I read a comment about using cream cheese icing and you just can’t unsee an idea like that! I’ll be making these again. Thank you!
and you just can’t unsee an idea like that! <--- isn't that the trust :) I have so many of those, daily, while reading food blogs & sites! So glad these worked out great for you & I love dates and bet they were wonderful in the rolls!
So yummy! Just ate one slathered in honey butter and it was delicious! For those who may be interested I replaced 1 cup of the flour with white whole wheat and cut the total flour down to about 3 – 3 1/4 cups, and they were still a good texture. I figure some whole wheat is better than none. ;) Thanks Averie for another great recipe!
That’s great that you were able to work in some wheat (I like your some whole wheat is better than none theory) and yes, after adding whole wheat you were very smart to reduce the overall total amt of flour since wheat really needs moisture to rise and a looser dough with less flour was very smart! :)
I made these today and they are amazing! What a great recipe. I’ll be slathering some cream cheese on my next roll, yum! I love the texture, they are perfectly chewy yet soft and tender too thanks to the oatmeal. They remind me a bit of cinnamon rolls. Next time I might make this into a loaf so I can use it for french toast or bread pudding. Oh and for the person who asked, I weighed my bread flour according to King Arthur’s website which is 4.25 ounces per cup, so I used a total of 14.875 ounces bread flour for the recipe. It worked perfectly. Thanks for another great recipe!
Thanks for trying the rolls, April, and glad you loved them! They are a bit like cinnamon rolls, but heartier (and probably a bit healthier) and I love the idea of baking as a loaf and then using for French toast or bread pudding. Wow, that sounds so good! Thanks for the measurement info too – I’m sure that will help someone!
Instead of letting the dough rise for the first 2hrs at room temperature, what do you think about putting it in the fridge for a night and letting it rise there? Would I need to let is rise for a bit before I put it in a cold environment or do you think 8hrs would be okay?
So basically you want to turn this into overnight dough. In that case, I personally would let it rise as directed, shape the rolls and get them into the pan, then cover the pan and put it in the fridge. I always hesitate to take fresh dough and then stick it right into the fridge. Sometimes that just slows the yeast down so much it never recovers; other times, it doesn’t. I don’t know exactly what would happen here with either method but you can read how I do my overnight cinn rolls and they’re my fave cinn rolls ever. LMK what you do and how it goes! https://www.averiecooks.com/overnight-buttermilk-soft-and-fluffy-cinnamon-rolls/
I love these rolls! Just made them again today and thought I’d share that I used QuickRise yeast. I mixed it with the flour in the bowl of my mixer, then added warm water, followed by oil/honey/salt/egg mixture, followed by oats and raisins. I let the dough rest for a few minutes then shaped into rolls and only did one 40 minute rise in the pan. It really cut down on the overall time to make these and they turned out great!
Glad you love them and sounds like you have a system down pat that works great and shaves off time…LOVE that! :) Thanks for sharing!
Id love to make these but only have white whole wheat flour?? Will that still work? Still new to baking breads so excuse me if that is a dumb question :) TIA. These look heavenly and worth the investment on bread flour if necessary!
You CANNOT sub whole wheat flour for bread flour. One has tons of gluten, one has very little. If you try to do this recipe with whole wheat flour, it will not work. Buy bread flour for this recipe. Or make this recipe if all you have is w.w.
https://www.averiecooks.com/100-whole-wheat-no-knead-make-ahead-dinner-rolls-with-honey-butter/
Do you think I can I use coconut oil instead of canola oil?
Yes probably will be fine. LMK how they turn out!
Oh, this sounds delicious. I love oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon, but sometimes do get board with the same old, same old – this would be a nice treat for a change of pace. :)
thanks and enjoy!
Ok, Averie, help me out. I absolutely must make these, but I’m having trouble deciding what the best gluten-free flour substitue would be. Since pretty much every gluten-free bread I make is dense, I feel like this could be a winner. Just wanted to see if you had any thoughts.
Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose is more of a bean based flour, right? That one might be better than say, rice flours or potato/tapioca starch?
Thanks so much! Excited to try these!
I don’t bake GF bread so I don’t have an opinion on the matter. I think you should go with your gut and pick whatever you know will work.
That said, these are dense and very chewy rolls to begin with. They are not “light and fluffy”. They’re like the texture of an oatmeal-based oatmeal raisin bagel. Quite dense and chewy. Soft though! If you’re looking for lighter and airy, make my most recent rolls and in that post there are links to challah and other ideas. https://www.averiecooks.com/2013/06/no-knead-make-ahead-dinner-rolls-with-honey-butter.html
But anything with oatmeal = automatically heavier and denser.
These look fantastic! Did you measure the bread flour per King Arthur’s instructions by weight, or did you use a scoop? Trying to get it exactly right :-) One cup of bread flour is 4.25 ounces in King Arthur brand, but scooping it using yields me 5 ounces per cup.
I scooped it into a cup but I use a very light hand, and scantly fill my 1 cup measuring cup. With any bread making, less is usually more when it comes to flour. Add slowly, see how your dough looks, and the least amt of flour you can use to get the dough to combine, the lighter and less dense the rolls will be. Sounds like you’re an experienced bread-maker if you know the difference between scoops and scales, but I would err on the lower end of things. But really these rolls are very forgiving and not fussy, at all!
Not suire if I am entering for the sweepstakes or not – new to this hwole thing. But I do love Pinterest and love to follow people’ ideas recipes and brainstorming. I would like to say that you have a great site and some wonderful thigns to view and re-create. Many thanks for all the time that you put into this site and the effort that you make to make it easy and enjoyable.
hi
i love your blog n tried baking the raisin oat roll.
im a first time baker and im not sure about
how precise the rising duration should be cos
my dough rise REALLY high n fast within 30 min instead
of the recommended 1 hr. must i let it rise for an hr or will it be ok if i start
baking them in the oven once they dbl in size?
even if they were let to rise only for 30min? will it
affect the end result?
Once the dough has doubled in size, it would have been fine to carry on with the rest of the recipe. Sounds like that happened in 30 mins not an hour for you. Nothing ‘bad’ will likely have happened if you let it go 1 hour. Sometimes in some recipes it can (it’s call over-proofing) but in these, I doubt it would be an issue. By now, you’ve likely baked them and hope you’re enjoying them!
I just made these today and OMG they are phenomenal!! I should have made a double batch like you said! I will next time!!!
Thanks for coming back to LMK you made them! More so than any other recipe, I love love love it when people make my yeasted breads/rolls. Makes me feel like all that typing and writing was worth it when even one person makes it – so thanks for trying this recipe! And not sure if you’re a cinn roll fan, but these are sensational http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2013/02/overnight-buttermilk-soft-and-fluffy-cinnamon-rolls.html
And the honey dinner rolls that I linked in the post, for a straightup dinner roll, no raisins or oats, they’re my fave rolls ever! Thanks for reading my blog!
Thanks, Averi, I believe you are right. When adding the last cup of flour, I thought it was too much. They turned out somewhat dry and heavy….but still tasty. Can’t wait to try this recipe again! I will get it right. :)
Yes bread is such a delicate thing sometimes…even when I remake my own recipes, one day I may need 3 3/4 cup flour, another day I may need 4 1/2 cups. It’s dependent on weather, humidity, the other ingredients, etc. Glad you still baked them but yes, density happens with over-flouring. Plus with the oats, they will soak up alot of moisture and some brands will do that more than other brands. You could have had thirsty oats :)
Hi Averi,
I made your cinnamon raisin English muffin bread yesterday. It was yummy! Today I tried your oatmeal cinnamon raisin muffins. Followed the recipe to the letter. Noticed the bread was kind of dry when it was kneading. Now after 2 hours it hasn’t risen very much. I know the yeast is good, as I used it yesterday. I didn’t kill the yeast because I used a thermometer to check the temp. Got any ideas to what could be wrong?
If you follow a bread recipe to the letter, you *could* have overfloured the dough. Dough should be somewhat moist; not so moist it doesn’t come together but not ‘kind of dry’ either. I suspect you added too much flour. Or that your yeast somehow didn’t activate properly and although they worked yesterday with the water you used then, temperature, etc…today’s batch could be a different story. Unlikely but it’s possible. I would say you added too much flour and the dough is so heavy it’s not rising well. I would still bake them and realize they will be dense :) And then next time, use less flour based on how your dough feels and looks that day.
Hi Averie,
Love your blog. When I have some free time I find myself going back and perusing your past recipes over and over :)
BTW – King Arthur does make whole wheat pastry flour…although I usually buy it in bulk at either Winco or Whole Foods.
They do make it yes but unfortunately it’s tricky to buy in stores here and ordering from their website is the only way but I have a bag of it – great stuff!
Sorry, had a little glitch in my last comment. Hole you understood the last part though!
I had been wanting to try this recipe for soooo long and tonight I finally made them! I was so excited while making them and could not wait to taste them. When they were done, they looked exactly like yours! Yay me, right?! Yeah…that was until I bit into one. They tasted horrible, just horrible. What had gone wrong?! I was sooo upset. I followed the recipe just like it said and they even looked perfect, so why didn’t they taste perfect?! I pondered all night about it until finally, at 2:30a.m, it hit me! I used COCONUT OIL! That’s the only thing I did different in this recipe. So please , now I MUST know, is that what could’ve changed the flavor of my rolls? Does the type of oil used affect the flavor of these? I only have extra virgin olive oil in my house, would that work better instead? Please respond! I would love to try and make these again could’ve changed the flavor of my rolls? Does the type of oil used affect the flavor of these? I only have extra virgin olive oil in my house, would that work better instead? Please respond! I would love to try and make these again
Ok if the rolls rose, baked up perfectly, etc and all was well, up to the taste, I’m thinking that your oil went rancid. Or that your honey did. Something was spoiled because these rolls are a bit sweet, with just a lovely flavor. Nothing bad about them at all. And I actually think coconut oil is a fine oil to use; I don’t like olive oil in baked goods. I recommend canola or vegetable b/c it’s neutral-flavored. Go buy a 99 cent jar of oil! Start fresh with new oil, and new honey. Or maybe it was your oats? SNIFF everything, taste everything before it goes in. Something somewhere is bad/spoiled. Sour butter? I would start fresh with clean, new ingredients. There are so many things that could go wrong but I would suspect first and foremost, it’s the oil, then the honey.
“Does the type of oil used affect the flavor of these?” <-- of course. I mean, if I put peanut oil in them, of course it would effect taste. As would coconut, olive, hemp, grapeseed. I always call for neutral oils. Just buy a small bit of new oil and try again! And write back and LMK how it goes!
Hmm..that’s interesting because all of my ingredients are practically new. I used the oil just the other day, I tasted the honey before pouring it in the mix, I used the oatmeal a couple of days ago, the flour is practically new, etc. Nothing seems to be spoiled! I think maybe the butter? Because when I tasted the honey butter, it was an alright taste.
Oh and I wasn’t doubting your recipe! I’ve made recipes on here and have LOVED them. I’ll figure it out on my end and definitely let you know. Thanks for the help!
Good luck getting to the bottom of it. Sometimes food can react when in the presence of other foods; maybe the coconut oil reacted with say, the raisins. And they gave off a chemical that then reacted with the oats while baking (just hypothetical) and that created a strange taste. I just don’t know. I recommend trying the recipe exactly as written, with fresh ingredients, and I bet it’s going to be fine! But keep me posted and I knew you weren’t doubting the recipe, but thanks for saying that anyway!
Hi Averie,
This is my first time commenting, but I must confess that I have been stalking your recipes for a few months now and love everything I’ve tried so far. Your Cranberry White Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Chip and Chunk cookie recipes made wonderful Christmas gifts for my son’s school teachers last week…So needless to say, I love your blog! I just made the Oatmeal Raisin Rolls recipe and it came out AMAZING!
You mentioned you’ve never made these in a bread machine…so in case anyone wants to try Averie’s recipe, it works! I kept the recipe intact, I used the dough setting and then let it rise an additional hour. Then I split the dough into two loafs and left them to rise for an extra hour. Then I spread your honey butter topping and baked it for 35 mins. at 375. Success!
Averie, Thank you so much for this blog!
Jessibel hi and thanks for reading, writing, and making my recipes! First, glad the white choc/cranberry & choc chip/chunk cookies were both hits. They are two faves of mine, too!
And I am so glad to hear you just made these! I don’t have a bread machine but it’s nice to know the recipe works in it! And that you made the recipe into 2 loaves with the honey butter topping – oh yes, can’t forget that :)
Please keep trying things as you have time and thanks for the feedback – I love to hear all the field reports!
Wauw! So shiny! As I scrolled down and read the delicious descriptions and process I became more and more convinced that this was going to be a near-future late Sunday morning treat with some heated soy milk, cinnamon , chia and linseed seeds drink of delight! I’m going to have to substitute the egg for the chia seeds, but otherwise this is lush and gloriously enticing.
If you make a vegan version, please LMK how they turn out! I honestly think you’ll be FINE without the egg. They are super dense and not a light and airy roll so the egg really isn’t there to keep them fluffy – more to just bind. I think chia will be just fine!
These look amazing Averi! I will be making these soon!
Can you make me some of that amazing vegan lentil loaf of yours, too! LMK if you try the cookies and what you think :)
There is a bit of a time investment here but I’m sure it’s so worth it! You know me and my obsession with rolls!
I’ve never made oatmeal raisin anything! Haha, but I really like oatmeal raisin stuff.
These look so perfect for fall-yum!
You are really on a roll, here, Aver ie – sorry I couldn’t resist the pun. I think I can smell these all the way down Washington Street to my house…Happy Thanksgiving!
I was seriously thinking of making a bread donation to you a few weeks ago when I was in carb city over here :)
You know, you make pinning very time-consuming – I have to choose just one from among all these amazing pictures! :)
Definitely making these. Have an amazing Thanksgiving Averie!
When I read the first sentence of your comment before the punchline I had a mini heart attack, thinking what now is wrong with my site! Lol
Happy TG to you! :)
Oh my! You are on a bread roll!! So to say! Your rolls looks so amazing!!!
This is my last bread for awhile now :) I was in carb city & loving it! LMK how things go if you make anything!
What a lovely combination of flavors for a roll.
Oh yum!! I love anything with oats and raisins! I have to make these, just pinned them so I keep drooling over your gorgeous photo and make some for myself! :)
Thanks for the pin!
Gorgeous photos, Averie! Those rolls look absolutely perfect :)
Thank you, Colleen!
I love oatmeal raisin anything and everything. The oatmeal cookies on my blog are still one of my favorite things I’ve made. I’ve never had oats in bread before. I bet it gives amazing texture. I would definitely love one of these for breakfast!
Oh you have to try oats in bread! It does give great texture and these are rolls, so it’s amplified b/c the oats are worked into the dough as a dry ingredient, rather than just dusted on top like many loaves of bread are with oats just sprinkled on.
I love the depth of textures in these rolls! When I was in college, every morning I would eat a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel and a bowl of oatmeal on campus at 7 am before my day began. I love that combination of flavor and while I love cinnamon rolls, it is nice to have the raisin and cinnamon trump over a sweet frosting.
I am set to make your honey rolls tomorrow for Thanksgiving. I always get nervous when I am getting ready to make a bread recipe I have not tried before. They look amazing and my family will love them, I know! Wish me luck! ;-)
They have so much depth & texture and I used to eat a cinn-raisin bagel with rock hard cream cheese every day in h.s. and college! And I loved it. And these trump those bagels by a million miles!
Don’t be nervous about the rolls – they are foolpoof! Use your bread flour and good yeast and you know the drill from there. Keep me posted!
These look like a wonderful combo of some of your previous bread recipes–oatmeal adds nice texture and “heartiness” for me! This is like a bowl of oatmeal baked up into a portable package. Perfect for eating on the run too–no spoon required! I took a look at those cookies you bookmarked and the frosting and cookie base is pretty much a dead ringer for mom’s cashew cookies. I have thought about just using cashew (or pecan) butter in place of the actual nuts in that recipe–should still be nutty without the chunks.
I was looking at that link, and there are others Ive seen on Pinterest floating around that are similar to that, and I’m going to do something with those, and soon here…I’m just not sure how/what exactly. I am going to avoid as many whole nuts as possible….we shall see…
And this bread is so HEARTY! Yes, I feel real…’wholesome’ as I’m chewing on all those whole grains :)
You are on a roll with bread making!…so punny :P
Seriously, I am drooling over these and your honey dinner rolls.
Thanks, Christina!
Hey girl! Welcome back to Cali. You are truly becoming the baker queen. Give Averie some yeast and watch her go! Your bread baking skills are growing by leaps and bounds and you’re inspiring me in so many ways!
I have been dealing with my word press move all week and it’s been fun (not really). I lost all of my pin counts (just like before with that daily meal fiasco) and some links got botched up, but they all seem to be working now. It’s tough not being in control of your blog while someone else does the work. I’m glad it happened on a “vacation” week. Anyway, I’m staying put at word press (I guess I’m not really officially with word press, I’m my own site not word press.com) Yaay! I do wish I had listened to you earlier and made the move in the beginning months of my blog, before I started getting real traffic. Oh well, at least I did it when it was just over a year, right?
Jackie :)
Glad you are doing the migration now! You will look back in a year and be so happy you did it now, not then. The sooner the better! And sorry about everything you lost – I lost 100% of all my comments on 100% of all my posts spanning about an 18 mo timeframe. People leave nice things in the comments, useful links, they tell me they made something and alterations they made or their results and to lose those….ugh….
this looks amazing! I want some
Beautiful! I love a nice chew to my rolls. And thanks for reminding me that I need to pick up some bread flour! :)
Thanks for LMK that you love-love-love those pumpkin rolls. Just went back to your site and saw that!
I love that these rolls are like a healthier version of cinnamon rolls. I love cinnamon rolls but the calories…not so much! Actually are these lower in calories? hehehe
They look too delicious to be true!
Yeah I woulnd’t call them healthy or low cal. “Better for you” than a Cinnabon probably but hardly “good for you” if you know what I mean! Broccoli is good for you :)
Beautiful! Love the shot of all the rolls lined up in the pan looking fresh out of a magazine. I want to eat one now!
Thanks for the compliment, Rachel!
I LOVE cinnamon rolls, but I am generally turned off once I read the ingredient list. I must say that I am definitely looking to try these soon. Pinned and on the list to go! Thank you Averie- you are pretty much amazing.
Glad you want to try them and thanks for pinning! They are definitely more dinner roll than cinnamon roll, but there’s a cinn roll resemblance, for sure!
Ahhhh! I agree with Paola. The ingredient list is perfect and does not scare me away like most rolls/buns (plus, I already have everything in my cupboard).
Just came across your blog today, and love it. I will be back :)
You really should start an Averie Bakes Bread blog… :) I love the idea of having something, just a little something, on Thanksgiving Day that has the taste of cinnamon raisin in it. Even for T-Day morning breakfast! It’s just such a classic, comforting flavor combination that’s perfect for the season. I love these rolls and I really love how natural and straightforward your recipe is, including that you bake the rolls in a 9 x 13 pan. Fantastic!
Anyway, I hope that you’re thoroughly enjoying your travels and I really hope that you and your family enjoy a wonderful, WONDERFUL Thanksgiving holiday, my friend!! :) HUGS!!!
I promise this is the last roll/bread recipe for awhile. I have nothing more in my drafts :) And yes these rolls in a 9×13 pan – so much easier than some of the ways I see people bake bread! In unmpteen small circular pans…ummm, no.
And what a sweet, sweet, heartfelt comment, thank you, Meagan! I hope the same for you and your fam and I’m back – whirlwind!! But fun!
LOVE these, but you know how obsessed with bread I am these days. You should start a new blog called Averie Cooks Bread ;)
The commenter right after you said the same thing!!! I promise this is the last roll/bread recipe for awhile. I have nothing more in my drafts but there for awhile, I was in bread back-log :)
In love with these rolls – the honey-butter is a must!
Yes it totally is and it just adds SO MUCH to the overall flavor! Thanks for the pin! I repinned some things from your fab boards!
OH. MY. GOSH. I don’t even like raisins but I am clawing at the screen for one of these rolls. They look INCREDIBLE!!
You’re one of those don’t like raisins people, eh? We need to work on that :)
GORGEOUS Averie! I love adding all kinds of yummy mixins (like cinnamon and raisins) to my oatmeal and can only imagine how delicious it would be transformed into these beautiful rolls. Another wonderful bread recipe. Thanks!
And they rise, perfectly :)
And yes cinn/raisins and add-in’s are so fun to play around with!
Wow–these look incredible! Well done, Averie. :-)
I need a taste of that vegan sweet potato pie of yours!
These sound fantastic and look perfect! I love homemade rolls packed with cinnamon and oats!
And I love the sounds of your eggnog chai!
These are gorgeous, Averie. They are so comforting and full of such delicious things, I can imagine being very happy to wake up to smell these baking on a winter morning!
And I was so.cruel.to.myself b/c I started these at like 10pm one night. So they finished up about 130am or so & then I went to bed but I couldn’t.have.one until morning til the light came out and I could take pics of them! Need to work on my timing for the next round!
How fun, great idea turning cookies into rolls and the texture looks wonderful. They look perfect!
Would it be wrong if I made these and cover them in icing?! They’d be healthy because there’s oatmeal & raisins in there, right? ;)
Omg the first commenter on this post said the same thing about icing and although it would have.been.so.easy to add it, I restrained myself. Lol
Omgosh Averie these look DELICIOUS! But I’m so impatient and hate waiting for bread to rise. It’s pretty bad…I call myself a food blogger and yet I avoid most things that take more than an hour. When I do finally get my patience in line, I’m making these for sure. They look so doughy and soft and delicious. There isn’t much that beats freshly made bread!
Three hours is nothing! There are certain desserts I have to make in day(s)-long stages b/c of setting up, baking it, when they will be done & cooled with regard to lighting, time of day, so I’m used to it! But years ago I would have laughed at myself :) But I hope you do try them!
Oh I love the way those look – the density looks perfect. And I’m guessing just a hint of sweetness. I use King Arthur bread flour as well. I’ve not been able to find a WW pastry though. Not sure if they just don’t make it or our stores just don’t carry it.
They only make whole wheat, not WW pastry. As far as I know, I’ve checked their online store. I use white whole wheat that’s a store-brand of Kroger/Ralph’s and also use the K.A. whole wheat – and have added vital wheat gluten here and there to my wheat doughs for some extra oomph!
Seriously we are on the same wave length these days. I posted an oatmeal bread/roll recipe yesterday. I love that you put raisins in yours. I loooooove raisins in everything my husband does not so I rarely bake with them :(
He’s a raisin un-lover? There are some people that don’t like them – more for us! :)
healthy cinnamon rolls, sign me up! ;) these look gorgeous!
Well – they may not be a true ‘cinn roll’ but they’re along those lines – and I tell myself they’re healthy-ish :)
Averie you have completely mastered the whole bread baking! These look absolutely divine!!
And I promise this is my last bread recipe for awhile – I had to get rid of the bread backlog though!
Way to capture all of that comforting, amazing oatmeal power in a beautiful roll! Wow, these look amazing. I’m happy to hear that I’m not the only one that requires carbtastic pick-me-ups every once in awhile!
I could live on carbs, some fat, and protein is almost not necessary for me. I joke. Sort of. I really could just exist on carbs quite happily :)
Anything based on your recent honey dinner roll recipe is going into my “to-bake” list. Averie, I have GOT to make these. I love cinnamon rolls SO much and more often than not, I prefer them with raisins or some sort of chunk. Oatmeal raisin cookies are the bees knees and my absolute favorite cookie (like you!). Each recipe you are convincing me more and more to buy bread flour. It’s happeneing the next grocery store run I make and I can’t wait to start baking with it. And with the oats, the raisins, and the honey – you better believe I am considering this a health food! I love their soft interiors and beautifully brown & golden tops!
The photos are just beautiful. The lighting is outstanding – did you have a good lighting atmosphere and weather condition the day you shot these? I had some crappy weather this past weekend – WAY too bright and harsh, but I’m looking forward to shooting in a different atmosphere at home this weekend. :)
You will use bread flour as much as AP, if not more. In cookies for chewiness and in bread, buy it.
Raisins, honey, chunky & chewy, and yes ‘health food’ :)
There was a stretch about 2-3 weeks ago where I had TONS of food I needed to make/prep in advance of my trip and for posts and the lighting was clear and crisp and I found out time of day that I can shoot best – and then right as I was ended that streak, the clocks changed. Now everything is an hour earlier and I am not kidding – I just finished a shoot at 130pm (so that would be 230pm just 2 weeks ago) but due to the days being so short now, it just never really POPPED with the bright bright light. I played with lighting/shadows but the over *quality* of the light was not intense. Not a cloud in the sky, blue skies and pretty, but just….the tonality of the light right now is so hard this time of year, even in the.middle.of.the.day!
I love anything oatmeal-raisin. Dinner rolls are such a great idea! I think I grew up on oatmeal raisin bagels–there was a shop on my way to classes in college where I’d stop all the time. They had the best I’ve ever tasted.
I grew up on oatmeal raisin bagels with rock hard cream cheese from the school caf, too! In both h.s. and college. These rolls at least have some texture b/c boy those bagels I used to eat where dry cardboard city but I still liked them!
It’s like portable oatmeal – perfect bread recipe! Thank you for posting this, cinnamon and raisins are a winning combination! :)
Portable oatmeal – there you go!
These really ARE portable…I even described them as such! ha!
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/09/cinnamon-oatmeal-date-bars-with-chocolate-chunks.html (nobake,vegan,GF)
These are the most delicious rolls!
Why is that everytime i visit your blog i get suddenly hungry?
:)
Thanks for the shots, recipes and inspiration!
Thanks for visiting and getting hungry!
I’ve just pinned it to my list “to do”. Looks great, perfect for a breakfast.
Thanks for the Pin! LMK if you end up trying them!
Wow, these look great-I love dense breads, more than fluffy brioche types, actually. I have a recipe for healthier cinnamon rolls that have raisins and a nice powdered sugar/milk type frosting on top(I favor that to the cream cheese type). I actually sort of want to make these and top it with that glaze…
Anywho, these rolls look rad;)
I was going to do the frosting thing and then honestly, the cinn-sugar butter I was using was so good. Plus, I didn’t ‘need’ another thing to put frosting on, but I totally could have :)