Honey Milk Bread Rolls

In a small saucepan whisk together the ⅓ cup water, ⅓ cup of the milk, and ¼ cup of the bread flour. Cook and stir over medium until consistency of paste. Remove from heat and cool 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl stir together 2½ cups of the flour and the yeast. In a medium saucepan combine the remaining 1 cup milk, the sugar, ¼ cup of the honey, ½ cup butter, and salt. Cook and stir over medium until warm (120°F to 130°F) and butter almost melts. Stir milk mixture, cooled paste, and two of the eggs into flour mixture. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that is smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky but not sticky (3 to 5 minutes). Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning to grease surface of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (1 hour).

Punch dough down. Let rest 10 minutes. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan. Shape dough into 20 balls. Arrange in prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (30 to 45 minutes).

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl whisk together remaining egg and 1 Tbsp. water. Brush rolls with egg mixture. Sprinkle with oats. Bake until golden, 25 minutes. Cool slightly. In a small bowl whisk together remaining ¼ cup honey and the ¼ cup butter until fluffy. Serve rolls warm with honey butter.