Rich & Tender Dinner Rolls

Rich and Tender Dinner Rolls

These have become my go to Sunday dinner rolls. Sunday, because I am usually around the house all day and they have time to properly rise. Baking and kneading bread is one of my favorite things about being in the kitchen. For years my attempts at bread making were not very successful. I finally figured out that by the time I got my nerve up, my yeast would be old and my bread would end in failure. There are still lots of different types of bread that I want to try and I will eventually get around to them. For now, this is a great all around classic dinner roll. Made with all purpose flour and whole wheat flour they are the perfect roll for just about any Sunday dinner. This makes a pretty good sized batch, it fills my 11" x 15" pan or two 9" cake pans. After dinner, we all enjoy them during the week as a snack and they are a great breakfast treat smeared with a little butter and honey. The recipe is adapted from the King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook, a must for any baker.

Recipe: Rich and Tender Dinner Rolls

: adapted from the King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook

Ingredients

1 ½ cups warm water
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
¼ cup butter
1 egg
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoons salt
4 ½-5 cups all purpose flour
additional butter to brush over rolls

Cooking Directions

In a large bowl, add water, sugar and yeast and stir to combine. Allow to sit for five minutes or so until small bubbles start to appear.

Stir in butter and egg. Add whole wheat flour, salt and two cups of all purpose flour and stir until all incorporated, adding additional flour until mixture starts to hold together and pulls away from sides of the bowl.

Pour dough onto a clean, well floured surface and knead for 3 to 4 minutes, adding flour to the board in small amounts (⅛-1/4 cups) as needed. Allow dough to rest for a couple of minutes. Continue kneading an additional 3 to 4 minutes until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky.

Place rounded dough into a well greased bowl, turning to coat topside of dough and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise 1-2 hours or until it has doubled in size.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead out any air bubbles.

Shape into rolls and place in a well greased pan. If you want regular dinner rolls, pinch off about an inch to inch and a half piece and either roll into a ball or the way I do it is to pat into a disc shape fold downward while pushing up the middle with my thumbs and pinch the bottom together, tucking it in. Try to keep them close to the same size, but they don't have to be perfect! Place a damp towel over pan and allow to rise about an hour or until it has about doubled in size.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 to 17 minutes.

Remove from oven and brush with butter. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Store cooled rolls in an airtight container or zip top bag.