Garlic Poppyseed Rolls

I’m a big fan of free bread. O’Charley’s was my longstanding favorite, followed by Texas Roadhouse, and after that Olive Garden, but then I visited Stoney River Grill in 2018 and tried their Garlic Poppyseed Rolls. They immediately shot to the top of my list, displacing all the others.

They serve these small, golden-brown yeast rolls that are flavored with garlic, peppered with poppy seeds, and made even better by a honey butter spread served alongside them. I was taken aback by how good they were – y’all know I’m picky and I don’t like nothing, never – and so has every other person we’ve taken there for a meal.

For those of you that are, like me, still avoiding restaurants and other public places since COVID ramped up a couple of years ago, being able to make these at home is wonderful. Looking for a fried starch that’s a bit easier to put together? Check out my Fried Breadsticks recipe.

This recipe was originally in my ebook ‘A @deepfriedhoney Holiday‘. The instructions have been corrected and fleshed out, but the ingredients are still the same.

Garlic Poppyseed Rolls Ingredients

Feel free to jump to the full recipe, but here are useful notes about the ingredients you will need to make this Garlic Poppyseed Rolls recipe:

• Whole milk, honey, active dry yeast, egg, melted butter: The basics for most yeast rolls. Make sure your yeast isn’t dead, and your milk isn’t so hot it’ll kill it!
• Sea salt: Fine sea salt, to be particular. Also another common ingredient for yeast rolls.
• Bread flour: Bread flour contains a higher amount of protein to help it produce more gluten than all-purpose flour. Using it is key for the right texture.
• Garlic powder, minced garlic: I mean, they’re called Garlic Poppyseed Rolls, after all.
• Poppyseeds: They have a very mild flavor, and are more for appearance and texture than anything else.
• Vegetable oil: For greasing the bowl the dough will rise in, and for frying the Garlic Poppyseed Rolls.

How to Make Garlic Poppyseed Rolls 

Full instructions are included in the recipe below, but here is a basic overview of what you’ll need to do, along with some important tidbits to help you make the most of this Garlic Poppyseed Rolls recipe:

• Get the yeast going. Warm your milk to 115°F and whisk in the yeast and honey. Set aside until the yeast become foamy on top.
• Make the dough. Measure 2 cups of flour into the bowl of your stand mixer and stir in the salt. Pour in the milk mixture, the egg, and melted butter. Use the beater attachment to combine into a dough on medium speed. It’ll take about 2 minutes. Switch to the dough hook and add the garlic powder, minced garlic, and poppyseeds. Knead the dough on medium for 7 minutes. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl, and be only slightly sticky to the touch. Add more flour, about 1 tbsp at a time if needed to reach the right consistency.
• Rise the Garlic Poppyseed Rolls dough. Oil a large mixing bowl with the vegetable oil and transfer the dough to it. Cover and let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
• Shape the rolls. Once the dough has risen punch it down and transfer it from the bowl to a floured surface.  Form with your hands into a round shape, then cut the shape into wedges, like a pizza, then slice those in half. I usually end up with sixteen pieces. Shape the slices into rolls, folding the dough underneath itself and rolling it between your palms as you go. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and let rest for 10-15 minutes until slightly puffy.
• Fry ’em up. Heat about an inch of oil in a deep skillet until it’s 350°F. Fry the rolls in small batches for about 3-5 minutes on each side, turning as needed so they brown evenly. Drain on a wire rack and serve the Garlic Poppyseed Rolls hot alongside some honey butter. Dassit!

What To Serve With Garlic Poppyseed Rolls

They go with literally everything and are great alone. Below are some things we’ve eaten them with at my home:

Obligatory Pinterest graphic options – 

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