Dinner Rolls

As a chef I have always loved cooking and baking. Growing up in rural Ohio my mother and grandmother made fresh homemade bread all the time but that was something that, as much as I enjoyed it, I didn't have the time for while working full time. Since most of us have been unable to work with the COVID-19 pandemic I have started baking bread almost weekly and am loving it!

Although we did make bread sometimes when I was younger we never really made dinner rolls. Usually these type of buttery rolls were reserved for the holidays, typically Thanksgiving dinner and they were always the kind you get in the freezer section of the grocery store and bake or warm up at home. Now there is nothing wrong with those rolls, they are delicious and quick when you don't have much time. But recently I decided to adapt a bread recipe to make them fresh and the end product was beyond my expectations.

If you can find yeast - I am aware it is scarce right now - give this recipe a try, you won't regret it!

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour (spooned and leveled)

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (I use instant but any yeast will work)

2 1/2 teaspoons fine salt

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 1/3 cups warm water (90-110 degrees)

1/3 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Mix the water and sour cream together in a 2 cup measuring cup.

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Begin mixing on a low speed until a dough ball forms. Slowly increase the speed to medium high and knead the dough in the mixer for about 7 minutes. The dough should form a ball and pull pretty cleanly away from the dised of thebowl. If the dough is too sticky add more flour a tablespoon at a time until it pulls away from the bowl.

*If you don't have a stand mixer you can use a hand mixer with dough hooks or start mixing with a wooden spoon and knead the dough by hand.

Spray a bowl with non stick cooking spray or lightly oil with olive oil, place the dough in the greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. You can either use a separate bowl or lightly clean the one you used to mix the dough. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Butter a 9 x 13 baking pan and preheat the oven to 450.

Gently turn the dough out on your counter and divide into 15 equal portions. I ususally use a scale to weigh the dough and then weigh each portion out so they are as close to the same weight as possible. Cup your hand over each piece of dough and roll it on the counter to form a ball.

Place the dough balls in the prepared baking pan 3 across and 5 down spaced as evenly as you can. Cover with a clean towel and allow to rise agian for 45 minutes.

Brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter and bake at 450 for 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature is about 190 degrees. Remove from the oven and brush the tops with more butter.

Allow to cool slightly before serving with more butter.

These will keep well on the counter for 5 days. Just cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and try to keep from eating them all at once :-)

Try adding some herbs, garlic powder, and/or even parmesan to the butter you brush them with when they come out of the oven.

*Bakers Notes

1. This is an all in bread meaning I don't bloom the yeast before adding it to the other ingredients. If you think your yeast may be too old you can mix the sugar and water together with the yeast and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. If it become frothy on top the yeast is ok, if not you need new yeast.

2. You get a more accurate measurement of flour if you spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a butter knife or your finger. Scooping the flour with the measuring cup compacts it which may result in a dryer dough.

3. I don't like to use iodized table salt but you need a finer salt for this recipe. If you can find fine Kosher or sea salt those are best but any fine salt is preferred over coarse.