Buckwheat Honey and Caraway Rolls are lightly sweet with the unique aroma of caraway seeds (they’re what give rye bread its amazing flavor!) These rustic dinner rolls turn your favorite soup into a hearty meal.
This post is in association with Roxbury Mountain Maple, a 2020 View from Great Island brand partner.
Have you ever tasted buckwheat honey?
I had never tried it before, and I was blown away by the intensity of the flavor. It has a spicy, rich molasses-like quality that is simply unlike any other honey out there. It lends subtle flavor and a light sweetness, not to mention an appealing color, to these rolls.
What’s the difference between buckwheat honey and regular honey?
- Bees make buckwheat honey from buckwheat flowers.
- Buckwheat honey is slightly less sweet than regular honey, and darker in color (because the flowers are dark.)
- Buckwheat is highly nutritious. and the honey is, too! It’s high in protein and minerals, and is purported to have lots of health benefits including anti-bacterial and antioxidant properties. You’ll be hearing a lot about it going forward, it’s one of the hot new super foods for 2021.
These dinner rolls are another example of how fabulous ingredients can really define a recipe.
My buckwheat honey comes from Roxbury Mountain Maple, an organic maple farm in upstate NY. I discovered them as I’ve been doing an awful lot of online sourcing of ingredients these last 6 months (when I couldn’t get out to physical shops, I turned to the Internet.) The honey is raw and unfiltered, so the natural enzymes are fully preserved. And, like with fine wine or cheese, when you taste fine local honey, you’re tasting the unique terroir of that specific place. It’s lovely. I’ll be cooking and baking with Roxbury Maple’s organic syrups and honey throughout the fall, so keep an eye out for them.
Earthy caraway seeds balance the sweetness in these rolls.
What are caraway seeds?
- Caraway is a feathery plant in the carrot family.
- Caraway ‘seeds’ are actually the fruit of the plant.
- The plant has been used as an herb and tonic since Greek times.
- The flavor is a little bit like anise and you’ll know it from rye bread.
- Caraway is commonly used in European and Scandinavian cuisine, but not as much here in the States. I love it because, for such a small seed, the flavor is unique and lingers on the tongue.
These soft plush rolls just beg to be set down next to a big mug of Corn and Cheddar, Beef Barley or Finnish Salmon soup. Homemade breads and rolls are perfect for rounding out minimal meals so they never feel skimpy 🙂
6 simple ingredients you’ll need to make buckwheat honey and caraway rolls
- all purpose flour
- butter
- buckwheat honey
- caraway seeds
- salt
- yeast ~ use dry active or fast acting instant yeast.
Things to remember when working with yeast
You’ll want to use lukewarm water, and that is water that is 105-115F. It’s warm but not hot to the touch. This is because yeast is a live ingredient and it needs certain conditions to grow. If the environment is too cold or too hot, it won’t work.
Make sure your yeast is fresh and not expired. Check the dates.
You can use regular dry yeast, or fast acting ‘instant’ yeast.
I prefer to use instant yeast because it’s easier: there’s no need to dissolve it in water first. It acts up to 50% quicker than regular yeast, so bread rises faster.
Find a warm environment for your rolls to rise. Once you’ve baked bread a few times, you’ll know where this is in your house. Yeast will rise anywhere, but the warmer the temperature, the faster the rise.
If you love to bake bread and you live in a cold house, you might consider investing in a proofing box ~ I love mine. You’ll always know your dough is perfectly cozy at the right temperature for rising.
A dinner roll for every meal ~
- Pumpkin and Cranberry Dinner Rolls
- Crusty Anadama Rolls
- Quick Whole Grain Oat Rolls
- Homemade Hawaiian Rolls
Buckwheat Honey and Caraway Rolls
Ingredients
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened, divided
- 1/4 cup buckwheat honey, (or substitute another kind of honey)
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast, (1 packet, or 1/4 ounce)
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3 tsp caraway seeds, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Place 4 Tbsp of the butter, honey, salt, yeast, and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix briefly until combined.
- Add the flour and caraway seeds, switch to the dough hook attachment, and knead for about 7-9 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. It will still be fairly sticky.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise for about 90 minutes until puffed up.
- Gently remove the dough from the bowl and divide into 10 equal sized portions. If the dough is sticky, lightly oil your hands and work surface. You can also divide the dough into 12 or 16 portions for smaller dinner rolls, you'll just need to bake them for a bit less time.
- Roll each portion into a ball and place in a lightly greased baking dish to rise again. You want the rolls to fit in your baking dish with a little room for expansion as they rise.
- Cover and allow to rise again for about 30-60 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 350F.
- Melt the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter in the microwave, and gently brush it on the tops of the rolls and sprinkle with a few more caraway seeds, if desired.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes (or less if you have made smaller rolls) until golden on top.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly in the pan before removing.
Sue, I really think these rolls are some of the best I have had!
We are very lucky to have several honey local producers where I live, so I was able to get a jar of Buckwheat honey warm right out of the vat! Alone, the honey has ‘personality’ but with this first-time experience using it in baking, I’ll be using it time and time again!
The combination of the Buckwheat honey and the caraway seeds – I used toasted seeds – is delightful! The buns are not too sweet, and the ‘licorice’ flavour of the caraway seed is not overpowering, but rather, just perfectly balanced with both flavour profiles.
The texture is light and airy with a soft, but sturdy crust. The process could not have been easier, and the time spent waiting is mostly hands-off.
Did I mention the heavenly aroma that wafts from the oven during baking?!
If you could please share the pan and shape size you used, Sue, that would be appreciated. It appears to be an oval or a round based on the posting snaps. I followed your directions for 10 buns and used a 11.5″ x 9″ rectangle pan. That allowed for 2 neat rows of 3 and then a last row of 4 offset balls which baked up a wee bit misshapen! Not that that affected the taste in any way from my sampling! LOL! I’ve made them to serve tomorrow at our Thanksgiving supper (Canada) so I just wanted to know for next time to get the ‘pretty’ effect!
Thank you, Sue, for yet another fabulous recipe and introduction to a honey that I likely would not have tried . . . .it has been a wonderful experience!
Okay . . . I must will myself to stay away from the pan so my guests can share in the taste treat!
With “Thanks”, Sue from the Canadian Prairies!
Can these be frozen? And would they be before baking or after?
You can freeze them before or after baking.
Love your use of buckwheat honey. What size of a baking dish do you recommend?
These sound delicious, is the Honey bottled in glass or plastic?
Thank You!
It’s plastic.
Sounds lovely. I wonder how the rolls would turn out with a bit of buckwheat flour replacing some of the AP flour as I always have buckwheat flour on hand for pancakes? Hmm…
Well.. I won’t know unless I give it a go eh?!
Have the best of days considering
Stay safe
We love buckwheat flour and I think that’s a great idea! Report back and if it works for you I’ll make a note in the recipe.