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Sunday dinner’s finest

homemade dinner rolls that are easy

See those dinner rolls. They look light, rich, and fluffy…and you’re right, they are. I bet you wish you could make rolls like that…but maybe you think you can’t. Because although everyone loves freshly baked bread, somehow, somewhere, a hideous untruth was started and continues to this very day. That untruth is the notion that it’s difficult and time consuming to make bread, particularly dinner rolls. I don’t know who is responsible for this lie, but I suspect it was a well meaning pastry chef who wanted to keep everyone else out of his domain. Well, let me tell you I am just the woman to expose the real truth…and in 3 easy steps. You ask “but what will this truth cost me?”. Not a penny my friend…okay…how about your undying devotion. Geesh! No one wants anything for free anymore!

Vanessa’s Sweet, Sweet Sunday Dinner Rolls (in 3 easy steps)

1 stick of sweet butter, melted
2 cups milk (whole, 2%, 1%, or skim…whatever, it all works fine)
1 egg
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon yeast
1 cup of whole wheat white flour or 1 cup flour
3 to 4 cups flour

Step One (begin in the morning)

Melt one stick of sweet butter. Add to the melted butter 2 cups of milk, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons salt. Pour all of this into the bowl of your stand mixer that is fitted with the paddle attachment. Add 1 tablespoon yeast and one cup whole wheat white flour or just plain old white flour. Turn the mixer on to a medium speed and let it mix for 3 minutes. After the three minutes scrap the mixer bowl down and turn it on to a low speed. Begin gradually adding white flour by the cup, pausing between cups to allow the mixer to incorporate the flour into the dough. You should be adding 3 to 4 cups depending upon the weather.

Once the dough clears the bowl and spins freely in the bowl you will want to stop the mixer and feel the dough. If it still sticks to your hands you can knock it off the paddle and add more flour…but go easy because you don’t want the dough to be too dry…it should just barely cling to your hand. Once it’s at the right consistency you should switch from the paddle to the bread hook. let the bread hook work the dough for at least 7 minutes. Once the time is up, stop the mixer, move the dough to a oiled work bowl, flip the dough about a bit in the bowl to get the top side oiled and then cover it with saran and put it in the refrigerator.

For most of the day you should feel free to absolutely ignore it. If you feel so inclined you can poke at it, or if it’ll make you feel better you can actually take it out of the refrigerator, punch it down and then put it back in…but you don’t have to.

Step Two (1.5 hours before you wish to eat dinner)

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and toss it out onto a counter lightly dusted with flour. Give it a few punches and roll it about a bit to deflate it. Walk away from it for ten minutes.

When you return divide the dough into two equal pieces and begin to roll it and shape it with your hands into a long cylinder of dough. Once you complete one move on to the other, letting the first one rest. Don’t fret about the actual shape or anything other than just trying to create a log of dough that is about 15 inches long. The cut the logs into piece about 1.5 to 2 inches wide. Arrange these pieces on parchment covered cookie sheets. Place a clean dish towel on top of each sheet and walk away for another 20 to 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425F.

Step Three (you’re only a few minutes from eating these tasty morsels, can you believe it?)

With a sharp paring knife you will slit each roll with a shallow gash. Then slide one sheet of rolls in the oven. I have a convection oven and it takes about 12 minutes so I think 15 would suffice for other ovens. However, you actually set the timer for 8 minutes and then you keep a close eye on them thereafter. When they’re golden brown they’re done. Take them out, dump them on to a cooling rack and bake the second sheet.

You’re done! Now wasn’t that easy. No muss, no fuss, and most of all no fretting or worrying about whether you’re doin it right or not…just believe that you are!

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July 22, 2007 | Filed Under baking, bread, food, quick and easy, recipe 

comments

5 Responses to “Sunday dinner’s finest”

  1. MadLisa on July 23rd, 2007

    Hi Vanessa, these look lovely. However, I am here to defend the pastry chef (ha-ha). My husband is a European born-, bred- and trained (ex)pastry chef– & he never even learned to make bread in those 6 years of schooling. Perhaps the U.S. is different, but overseas, these are totally separate professions. So, it was a greedy BREAD baker who started the difficulty rumor..! The husb has since taught himself to make great bread and I will definitely share this recipe with him. That new Simpsons avatar is a hoot!
    Lisa

  2. Patricia Scarpin on July 24th, 2007

    These rolls look delicious – I love how nicely golden they are!

  3. Holler on July 25th, 2007

    Those rolls look great and I love the plate! Hey that rhymes! Too much wine, I had better stop now!

  4. Hannah B on August 11th, 2007

    I will definitely be making these rolls! Thanks for posting this recipe =)

  5. AndreaDomingas on October 26th, 2008

    Hi Vanessa!
    I would like to thank you for sharing this delicious recipe with all of us! I have posted this recipe earlier today, with the picture and, of course, I put your link there. :-)

    Nice greeting from Germany!

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