Amazing Yogurt Rolly Buns

Why is it that whenever I go to the grocery store to pick up one thing I always end up leaving with a bunch of other stuff I didn't even plan on buying? I guess it is due in large part to my inability to pass up a good deal. If it's on special, chances are I will buy it. This is how I ended up with a BUNCH of those little 100 calorie Yoplait Lights. They were on sale for something like ten for two dollars, so of course, I bought about 20! I have been trying to eat one a day but still have at least ten left. I was browsing the Baking Bites website and did a search for recipes using yogurt. One of the recipes I found was for Yogurt Dinner Rolls. The recipe calls for plain yogurt and of course, all I have are fruit flavors and vanilla, but I thought hey, why not try it out with flavored yogurt and see what happens! I have to say, it turned out fabulously! I wasn't sure, as the original recipe is for a more savory roll, and I also wasn't sure how the yoplait fruit yogurts would work since they are fat free. But the rolls turned out beautifully! Soft and moist with a sweet, light blueberry flavor. Topped with a bit of butter and my mom's homemade apricot jam, these are DIVINE. They are best when eaten warm out of the oven, but they also keep well, and toasted are a superb breakfast roll. This is now my favorite roll recipe and I am beyond excited to try out other yogurt flavor combinations, maybe peach with whole wheat flour? I may be returning to the store to buy MORE yogurt now... they are seriously that good! The recipe is healthy as well, because the only sweeteners used are the yogurt and a bit of honey. I sprinkled them with a touch of cornmeal and raw sugar before baking which gave them a satisfyingly sweet crunch. I increased the kneading time and the rising time quite a bit for my version of the recipe. Mine took a lot longer to rise than the guidelines in the original recipe. But believe me, the extra work is definitely worth it in the end! Unfortunately I didn't take as many pictures of the process of making these tasty little buns as I normally do when I cook. The reason for this is that I didn't actually think they would turn out very well. I made up for it though by taking TONS of pictures once I realized how delectable they are! Seriously, my new favorite thing, yum! Well, hope you enjoy these healthy little treats as much as I did! Happy Baking!

Yogurt Rolly Buns

Recipe adapted from bakingbites.com

Ingredients

4-5 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp active dry yeast

3 tbsp honey

1 cup water, warm (100-110F)

1 cup light yogurt (pick your favorite flavor combo)

*The Yoplait ones are 1/2 cup each little container

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

Crunch Topping

3 tblsp cornmeal

2 tbslp raw sugar

1 tbsp melted butter

In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour, yeast, honey, and warm water. Stir well and let sit for about 15 minutes, until foamy.

Stir in yogurt, vegetable oil, salt, and 2 cups of the remaining flour. Gradually stir in more flour until you have a soft dough that stick together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl (this took me a while as the yogurt I used is pretty runny so I needed a lot of flour to get it to stop sticking.) Don't worry about over mixing the dough, it will turn out fine :)

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding additional flour if needed to prevent sticking (again, I had to add quite a bit to get it to not stick.)

Continue kneading until dough is smooth and elastic, mine took about ten minutes.

Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover bowl with a wet dishtowel and place in a warm dry place. I put the oven on warm for two minutes, turned it off, waited a minute and set the bowl in there. Let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Turn risen dough out of bowl and onto a lightly floured surface. Gently deflate, pressing into a rectangle. Divide dough into ten even pieces with a knife or pizza cutter.

Shape each piece into a round roll. To do this, take all the corners of one of the squarish pieces and pull them together, pinching them to create a seal. This will pull the rest of the dough tight across the top of your roll, giving it a smooth top. Place on prepared baking sheet.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Once all the rolls have been formed press down firmly on each to flatten. Cover with a clean moist (not wet) dish towel and let rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes.

Using a pastry brush (or your fingers) brush tops of rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and cornmeal.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until rolls are golden on the top and the bottom.

Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Makes 10 large rolls.

Happy Baking!