Mary brought me fresh eggs tied with a ribbon this morning.  It was the perfect excuse to spend an hour prepping these rolls.  I know they’ll be delicious out of the oven, and good reheated or toasted tomorrow.  She says she selected her “Silver-laced Wyandottes (“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyandotte (chicken) and “Dominiques” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominique (chicken)  for color/curb appeal.  The eggs these gals are laying are delicious!

I’ve fanasized about raising hens for several years.  Gary at Amity Furniture in Falmouth has a group that wanders the pea-stone circle in front of his barn.  Painter Brita Holmquist, (http://www.britaholmquist.com/) and husband Roberto Bonechi, (http://www.bonechiimports.com/) have a flock I enjoy seeing when I visit their farm in Cumberland.  Bruce used to give me a dozen brown and green eggs from the “gals” he raises in Yarmouth.  I loved the Cirque du Poulet operating at Villa Montara in California, providing fresh eggs for their guests. Last summer one of Gus’s friends built a coop for his family’s chickens (dad is on an organic Paleo Diet and wanted to know where his eggs were coming from.)  Gus even harvested fresh eggs on the Stanford campus as part of a Human-Bio Seminar: “From Farm to Fork”, reporting one of their chickens was a “rogue” layer so students had to hunt for her eggs in none of the usual places.

As much as I love the romance of walking out the back door to get eggs for the day’s baking, I’m resigned to supporting local farmers by buying dozens of their fresh ones.  But today, I was the happy beneficiary of eggs from Mary’s Dominiques and Wyandottes!

Orange Anise Sweet Rolls

Ingredients:

2/3 cup (3 oz.) millet flour

1/3 cup (1.5 oz.) sorghum flour

1/3 cup (1.5 oz.) cornstarch

1/3 cup (2 oz.) potato starch flour

1/3 cup (1 oz.) tapioca flour

1/4 cup (2 oz.) granulated sugar (plus extra for dusting on the rolls after they’re baked)

1 packet (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast (not quick acting.)

1 teaspoon xantham gum

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Anise Seeds (mine come from Penzey’s Spices: www.penzeys.com/)

7/8 cup butter milk, heated to 110F

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tablespoons good quality olive oil

2 tablespoons melted butter, slightly cooled (plus another 2 for brushing on AFTER they’re baked)

1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest, firmly packed

Directions:

1.  Prepare a “bundt” muffin pan, or regular muffin pan by spraying it with olive oil or vegetable oil.

2.  Measure the buttermilk into a heat proof glass measuring cup – add the anise seeds, and heat to 110F.

3.  Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix to blend.

4.  Add the warm buttermilk, eggs, butter and olive oil. (Use all butter or all olive oil if you prefer.) Mix on Low to blend, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and mix on High for 3 minutes.  Add the orange zest and mix on medium for a few seconds until it’s evenly blended in.

5.  Spoon the dough/batter into the prepared muffin tins, taking care not to overfill, allowing space for the rolls to rise.

6.  Cover and place in a warm (80F), draft free spot to rise, about 45 minutes. 10 minutes before they’re ready, preheat the oven to 400F.

7.  Bake the rolls for 18 – 20 minutes or until they are a little darker than golden brown.   (“Bundt” style requires less; muffin-style, more.)

8.  Let them cool slightly before turning (or tugging, depending on how effectively the greasing worked) the rolls out onto a rack. Brush with butter and dip into sugar, and set on the rack until cool enough to eat.  Store wrapped air tight in the refrigerator (as you would most baked GF foods since they dry out easily.)  These can be re-heated or sliced and toasted the next day, but they’re best outta the oven!

Fresh eggs from Mary

One of her “gals”

Preparing the pan

Measuring the buttermilk and anise seeds

Stirring to heat through to 110F

Measuring the dry ingredients

Blending the dry ingredinets

Adding the wet ingredients

3 minutes on High

Folding in the orange zest

Batter is sticky!

Out of the oven

Brushing the tops (formerly bottoms) with butter

Dipping in sugar

Ready to eat.