Flour For Irish Oaten Rolls

Asked by Cehoffer. Answered on 3rd April 2017

Full question

I tried the Irish Oaten Rolls recipe, but had to substitute all-purpose flour as I didn't have whole wheat on hand. The dough/batter was so runny it wouldn't hold its shape in rolls, so I had to bake it as a loaf (guessing at the time). Can I adjust the recipe for all-purpose flour?

Irish Oaten Rolls

By Nigella

Our answer

Nigella's Irish Oaten Rolls (from KITCHEN) are soda bread rolls made with wholemeal (whole wheat) flour and rolled oats. They are quick to make and can be baked as 12 small rolls or one large loaf. Whilst you could use plain (all-purpose) flour as an alternative, the liquid would need to be adjusted as wholemeal flour absorbs more liquid than plain flour. You may find that the dough will firm up a little if you let it stand for 10 minutes, though no longer as the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) will expire and the rolls will not rise as they bake.

Unfortunately we have not tried the rolls with plain flour so are unable to give exact quantities of liquid, but we would suggest initially adding around 2/3 of the liquids (so 200ml/scant 1 cup stout and 100ml/7 tablespoons buttermilk) and mixing the dough, then adding more as needed to make a soft, slightly sticky dough.