These vegan oatmeal molasses dinner rolls are flavoured with black treacle or molasses and rolled oats. They are super soft and fluffy with a buttery, slightly sweet flavour.
They are perfect for serving as a side, with soup or for making sandwiches.
If you fancy something a little different to plain dinner rolls to serve alongside soups, stews or even for Thanksgiving then these oatmeal molasses rolls might just do the trick! They are perfectly soft and fluffy, with a wholesome chew from the oats and a lightly sweet molasses flavour.
They are inspired by these ones by Sally's Baking Addiction, though I made several big changes to the recipe to make it vegan and to use the tangzhong method to make them extra soft and fluffy!
I love using the tangzhong method for bread making, it is a very simple extra step where you make a cooked roux with a portion of the flour and liquid and add that to the dough. It ensures that the bread will be wonderfully soft and fluffy and helps it to stay fresh for longer.
Ingredient Details:
Black treacle or molasses: Molasses is not a very common ingredient in the UK so I use black treacle which is available from most supermarkets and is very similar. In the US use molasses instead.
Rolled oats: Either regular rolled porridge oats or jumbo porridge oats is fine but do not use ones labelled as "quick" or "instant" oats as they are too finely ground.
Bread flour: White bread flour helps to give these oatmeal molasses rolls their soft, fluffy, chewy texture. Plain (all-purpose) flour will also work though the texture isn’t quite the same. I don’t recommend using wholemeal flour as that will make the bread too dense.
Brown sugar: Along with the treacle a bit of brown sugar gives the rolls a slightly sweet flavour. Either light or dark brown is fine, or you can omit the sugar if you prefer a less sweet roll.
Instant yeast: I always prefer to use instant yeast when making bread as it can just be added straight to the flour and doesn’t need to be activated first.
Salt: You simply cannot make good bread without salt. Don’t omit it.
Non-dairy milk: Soy milk is always my favourite for baking as it has the highest protein content so most closely resembles dairy milk. Any variety of non-dairy milk will work however, but go for an unsweetened one if you can, and definitely soy milk if you have it.
Vegan butter: A block style butter such as Flora plant butter or Naturli vegan block really is best. A spreadable one will work but your dough may be softer and therefore harder to work with.
How To Make Oatmeal Molasses Rolls:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
- Step 1: To make the tangzhong, place the flour in a saucepan and gradually whisk in the water to avoid lumps. Place the pan over a medium heat and whisk constantly until the mixture has thickened to a paste/pudding-like consistency.
- Step 2: Scrape the tangzhong into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and pour the cold milk on top. Add the treacle, sugar, salt, flour, oats and yeast, mix to form a rough dough.
- Step 3: Knead on medium speed for 5-10 minutes until smooth then add the butter.
- Step 4: Continue to knead until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is very stretchy.
- Step 5: Use oiled hands to shape the dough into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, cover and set aside to rise until doubled.
- Step 6: Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces and shape each one into a ball by going round the piece of dough stretching the edges up and over the centre.
- Step 7: Pinch the edges together to seal them.
- Step 8: Flip the ball over so that it is seam side down, cup it with your hands on either side and roll it until it is smooth
- Step 9: Place the balls of dough slightly spaced apart in rows in the lined tin.
- Step 10: Cover and leave to rise until puffy, about 1 hour.
- Step 11: Gently brush the risen rolls with milk and sprinkle with oats.
- Step 12: Bake for 28-30 minutes.
Top Tips:
USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
Tablespoon and teaspoon measurements are for proper measuring spoons, NOT regular kitchen spoons. A Tablespoon is 15ml and a teaspoon is 5ml and they should be level, not heaped.
Make sure that your yeast isn't out of date! Old yeast can lead to dough that doesn’t rise.
The rising time of the dough will vary depending on how warm it is; on hot days it will rise much faster than on cold ones.
If you want, you can give the dough it’s first rise overnight in the fridge rather than at room temperature. This breaks up the workload and gives the bread an even better flavour.
The best way to tell if a loaf of bread is cooked in the middle is to use a probe thermometer. It is impossible to give a one-size-fits-all baking time as ovens vary so much. The bread should be done when it reaches 90°C / 195°F in the centre.
FAQ's:
These oatmeal molasses rolls are best eaten on the day they are baked, but they will keep for 2-3 days well wrapped or in an airtight container at cool room temperature. Warm them through in the microwave or a low oven to refresh them before serving.
Yes, these oat treacle rolls freeze well. Freeze them on the day that they are baked to preserve freshness, but make sure that they have cooled completely first. Freeze them in an airtight container or ziplock bag. Allow to defrost at room temperature then refresh them in a low oven before serving.
This is a soft, sticky dough so it is easiest made in a stand mixer. You absolutely can knead it by hand if you don't have one, just be prepared to get a bit messy.
When kneading, you shouldn't flour the surface as you will end up incorporating too much flour and making the dough too dry. Instead, if the dough is sticking too much, you can lightly oil the worksurface and your hands to help, or just be prepared to get a bit sticky!
A bench scraper is incredibly handy when kneading dough by hand to unstick the dough from the surface.
No, I’m afraid that you cannot use gluten free flour. Making gluten free bread is tricky and the entire recipe would need reworking. Gluten free baking is not my area of expertise so I cannot advise you. It is best to use a recipe that is designed to be gluten free rather than trying to adapt a non gluten free recipe.
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Oatmeal Molasses Rolls (vegan)
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook
- 23 x 33 cm/9 x 13 in baking pan
Ingredients
Tangzhong:
- 35 g (4 ½ Tablespoons) white bread flour
- 170 g (⅔ cup + 2 teaspoons) water
Dough:
- 190 g (¾ cup + 2 teaspoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy) cold
- 30 g (2 Tablespoons) dark or light brown sugar
- 65 g (3 Tablespoons) black treacle or molasses
- 10 g (1 ½ teaspoons) table salt
- 420 g (3 ½ cups) white bread flour
- 85 g (1 cup) rolled oats
- 10 g (1 Tablespoon) instant/fast action yeast
- 45 g (3 Tablespoons) vegan block butter softened
To Finish:
- milk for brushing
- oats for sprinkling
Instructions
- To make the tangzhong, place the flour in a saucepan and gradually whisk in the water to avoid lumps. Place the pan over a medium/low heat and whisk constantly until the mixture has thickened to a soft paste/pudding-like consistency.35 g (4 ½ Tablespoons) white bread flour, 170 g (⅔ cup + 2 teaspoons) water
- Scrape the tangzhong into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and pour the cold milk on top. This will cool the tangzhong down so that it doesn't kill the yeast.190 g (¾ cup + 2 teaspoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- Add the sugar, treacle or molasses, salt, bread flour, oats and finally the yeast. Mix to form a shaggy dough.30 g (2 Tablespoons) dark or light brown sugar, 65 g (3 Tablespoons) black treacle or molasses, 10 g (1 ½ teaspoons) table salt, 420 g (3 ½ cups) white bread flour, 85 g (1 cup) rolled oats, 10 g (1 Tablespoon) instant/fast action yeast
- Knead with the mixer on a medium speed or turn out onto an un-floured surface and knead by hand for 5-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough will be sticky at first but resist the temptation to add extra flour, it will become smooth after a minute or two of kneading (you may need to scrape it off the surface with a dough scraper).
- Add the softened vegan butter. Continue to knead until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic. It may seem greasy and messy at first but keep kneading and I promise you the butter will all mix in and the dough will become smooth.45 g (3 Tablespoons) vegan block butter
- Once the butter is fully incorporated the dough should look smooth and silky and it should pass the windowpane test (you should be able to stretch a portion of the dough thin enough to see light through it without it tearing). It should still be soft and slightly sticky however.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and set aside to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Line a 23 x 33 cm/9 x 13 in tin with baking paper.
- Punch down the risen dough and give it a very brief knead to knock out any air bubbles then divide it into 15 even pieces - use a scale for accuracy, they should be around 68 grams each.
- Shape each one into a ball by going round the piece of dough stretching the edges up and over the centre, keep going until you have a neat ball then pinch the edges together to seal them. Flip the ball over so that it is seam side down, cup it with your hands on either side and roll it until it is smooth; you are trying to create surface tension but don't go so far that the surface tears.
- Place them slightly spaced apart in rows in the lined tin. Loosley cover with oiled clingfilm and set aside to rise until puffy, about 1 hour. If you press one gently the dough should spring back slowly most of the way but leave a small indentation. If it springs back quickly and fills in all the way then they need a little bit longer. While they are rising preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4.
- Gently brush the risen rolls with milk, then sprinkle with oats. Bake for 28-30 minutes until browned and the temperature in the centre registers 90°C/194°F on a probe thermometer.milk for brushing, oats for sprinkling
- Remove them from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
- See post above for tips, details, storage instructions and step-by-step photos. If you have a question about the recipe I may have already answered it above!
- As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
- If you want, you can give the dough it’s first rise overnight in the fridge rather than at room temperature. This breaks up the workload and gives the bread an even better flavour.
If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
Inne
I can't wait to try this recipe; the color and texture look so appealing!
Just a side note: I buy molasses at a Turkish grocer; ask for 'Pekmez'. There are many varieties; the syrup can be made from grapes, mulberries, apples, dates, figs, apricots, carob, pomegranates... Plenty of choice!