Jim , "sliders" are very trendy now. Here is the recipe that appeared in Bon Appetit. I made them awhile back and they were very popular. Meatball Sliders Bon Appétit : September 2007. I served them in small puffs because I couldn't find small rolls. Next time I'll make small savory rolls. 1/2 Lb ground beef 1/2 Lb ground pork 1/2 Lb ground veal 1/2 Cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) 1/2 Cup water 8 Tbl freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese divided 1 large egg 1 large egg yolk 1/4 Cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1 Tsp salt 1/2 Tsp ground black pepper 1/4 Cup vegetable oil 2 Tbl olive oil 1 Cup chopped onion 6 garlic cloves chopped 1/4 Cup (packed) fresh basil leaves 1 1/2 Tsp fennel seeds 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes 1 14.5-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes Arugula leaves (optional) small soft rolls split horizontally Mix all meats, panko, 1/2 cup water,6 tablespoons cheese, egg, egg yolk,1/4 cup parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2teaspoon black pepper in large bowl.Form into eighteen 2-inch-meatballs.~ Heat vegetable oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Working n batches, fry meatballs until brown all over. Transfer to plate. Pour off drippings from skillet. Reduce heat to medium. Add olive oil to skillet. Add onion, garlic, basil, and fennel seeds.Saute until onion begins to brown,about 5 minutes. Add all tomatoes with juices. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Reduce heat to low,cover with lid slightly ajar, and simmer,stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Puree sauce in processor until almost smooth. Return to same skillet.Add meatballs. Cover with lid slightly ajar and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, stirring occasionally,about 30 minutes longer. DO AHEAD:Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Place arugula leaves on bottom of each roll, if desired. Top each with meatball. Drizzle meatballs with some of sauce and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and 2 tablespoons. cheese. Cover with tops of rolls. I also like mini Rubens using cocktail rye and mini bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon .

Liz, if you don't have enough egg rings, can you use things like tuna cans with the tops and bottoms cut out? The newer cans have those weird bottoms that can't be cut out, but some of the "store" brands still have them. I'm afraid if you cook them on a sheet, you're going to have flatbreads. Sigh. That said I did make Elery some bagels which got boiled first and then baked and they held their shape. So, if your package has bagel directions, maybe that would work. The texture of the gluten free bagels were more like a bun anyway. Annie

Here is the sourdough English Muffin recipe that I have made several times. You can use all bread flour or half bread/half whole wheat as I do. These are cooked on a griddle or in a large fry pan for about 6-7 minutes each side. The recipe makes 10-12 and comes from Dean Tucker's book, Sourdough Cookin', 1976. Sourdough English Muffins 1 cup sourdough starter 2 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal, plus 2 TB 1 t. soda 1/2 t. salt Take the buttermilk and the starter from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before preparing the recipe. When all ingredients are at room temperature, combine all and stir well. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth - or knead 5 minutes on low in an electric mixer, adding more flour if necessary to prevent sticking. Roll dough to a half inch thickness and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Cut with a floured 3" cutter. Sprinkle 2 TB of cornmeal on a sheet of waxed paper. Place muffins on cornmeal and press lightly to coat each side. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour. Bake on a lightly greased griddle heated to 350 for about 10 minutes each side, [mine did not take that long to cook] turning occasionally while cooking. Cool on a rack or serve right away. These freeze very well! I put 2-4 in a freezer zip bag when they are completely cooled and freeze.

This is a smaller, and more manageable version, of 30-Minute Hamburger Buns I used to make from the cookbook "Whole Wheat Cookery - Treasures From the Wheat Bin" by Howard and Anna Ruth Beck (1986). The recipe made a really HUGE amount of dough (so much dough you had to retard it in the refrigerator if you didn't have more than one oven and LOTS of pans to bake the buns on - or you risk over-proofing the buns before you can get them baked). The recipe called for 10-1/2 c. stone ground whole wheat flour and makes at least 4-dozen buns (I would scale the dough to 2.5 to 3-oz. for large buns, 1.5-2-oz. for dinner rolls, and for hot dog buns - make the dough cylinder about the same size - or a little larger - as the hot dogs you are going to use). The rule of thumb: The dough size is about 1/3 the size of the finished product. You allow the dough to rise to "double", and that accounts for 2/3 of the finished size. The oven spring (the amount the dough continues to rise in the oven) accounts for the last 1/3 of the finished size. And yes, you could really make the recipe in 30-minutes, especially if you are an experienced bread and roll maker. The dough is so fast because there is an inordinately large amount of yeast in the recipe (the 30-Minute recipe calls for 6 T. of yeast). It's not a really "great" bread recipe (there's not enough time for the bread to develop really great flavor), but when time is an issue, it's a go-to recipe. ;-) -Grainlady