Olive and Onion Knots...Now with Omnivore Goodness!

We are soooo not vegans in this house. We're not even quazi-vegetarians. If there ain't meat on the table Mrblocko's brain will implode. Or so he would have me think. Hopefully, I won't offend the nice ladies over at Strawberry Pepper. I totally ruined any vegan-ness in this recipe. I wanted some bread to have with dinner. I didn't have soy milk and egg replacer, but I did have all the other ingredients.

They were really good! They were surprisingly dense. The closest thing I can think of to describe them was a lighter version of a bagel from a chain store like Bruegers, Panera or Einsteins. Were they supposed to be like that? I don't know. Maybe I added too much flour, or kneaded it too much or not enough. I'm still trying to figure out this whole bread thing. Even if I screwed them up they were a tasty tasty side to spaghetti.Blockette did not see me making these rolls. I was a horrible parent and plonked her in front of the TV. I knew if she saw the olives she would make up her mind to hate them before the first crumb hit her tongue. She could smell that I was caramelizing onions so she just assumed the dark spots were "brown onions."

I told her half way through dinner that the black parts were purple olives from Greece called Kalamata Olives. She didn't even care! She was too busy having a heated discussion with Mrblocko whether or not rolls were flowers or knots. I never did figure out who won that debate.

Here is the link to the rolls in their vegan glory: caramelized onion and olive rolls . If you try them with regular eggs and milk let me know what kind of texture your rolls had!

Caramelized Onion and Olive Rolls from Strawberry Pepper 16 Bread Rolls
3/4 cup soy milk, warmed
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 cup flour, in 1 cup and 1 1/2 cup batches (I used half all-purpose, half whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 egg replacer, I used Ener-G brand (1 1/2 tsp + 2 tbsp water)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup caramelized onion (1 large yellow onion)
olive oil for brushing rolls

Drop t vinegar into warmed milk, let sit for 5-7 min. Mix 1 c flour with sugar, salt, and yeast. Stir in warmed curdled milk, prepared egg replacer, and olive oil. Beat til smooth. Set aside somewhere warm for 20 min to rise. Mix in remaining flour, olives, and caramelized onions. Turn onto a clean floured surface, and knead til smooth and elastic, 5-10 min. Add more flour to surface as necessary while kneading. Divide in 16 equal pieces. Tip: divide in half, then each half in half, and so on until there are 16 pieces. Cover pieces before shaping so they don’t dry out. Shape dough: Roll into a thin log, 10-12″ long. Tie in a knot with long ends. Wrap one of the ends underneath. Wrap other end over. Set on a greased baking sheet, and cover while shaping the rest of the rolls. Preheat oven to 375 ºF. Meanwhile, let bread rise for 15-20 min, til doubled in size. Brush tops with olive oil. Bake at 375 ºF for 15-20 min, til golden brown.