Simple Dinner Rolls Recipe

Mmmmm, I love homemade bread.  And my husband loves it even more. I don't think I can overstate how much he loves bread.  To him, a multi-course gourmet dinner is not a complete meal without dinner rolls.  

I am a victim of my own success in the kitchen, and we are now food snobs:  since I have started making these rolls, we can barely stand eating rolls from a can or plastic bag.  They just don't have the delicious flavor and texture.  I always try to keep a stash of these delicious dinner rolls handy, so we can eat them with our chicken soup, ham and bean soup, or just about every other dinner I make. 

I love this recipe because it's so simple.  Many dinner roll recipes have you heat milk, add eggs, let the dough rise overnight, etc.  Compared to those recipes, this one is very basic (similar to my simple pizza crust).   I like to make a double batch and freeze half.  That way we always have rolls on hand, just as convenient but much more delicious than a can-o-rolls.

What you need:  for 12 rolls 

• 2 1/4 tsp (1 package) yeast
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1/8 tsp plus 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
•  1 cup milk

 Let's get cooking:

1.  Add 1/8 tsp sugar to water.  Mix in yeast.  Let sit about 5 minutes, until beginning to foam.

2.  Meanwhile, mix sugar, salt, and 3 cups of flour in a medium bowl.  

3.  Add milk to the yeast mixture.  Stir into the flour mixture.  Stir until well combined.  Dust a flat surface with the remaining 1/2 cup of flour.  Knead until dough is smooth.  Form into a ball.

I like to knead my dough on a plate.  Then, when I'm done I can put the plate in the dishwasher--no mess!

4.  Place the dough in a large, greased bowl.  Cover and let rise until double, about 1 hour.

5.  Shape dough into 12 smooth rolls.  If you like pillowy soft rolls, place them in a well-greased 9 x 13 glass pan to rise.  If you like golden brown rolls, place them 2" apart on a floured surface. Cover and let rise about 30 minutes.

6.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  If you're baking in a glass pan, bake 15-20 minutes until the tops are turning golden.  I like to bake my rolls on a preheated pizza stone for about 15 minutes.  Then they're golden on the outside, but still soft inside.  

After they're completely cool, store in an airtight container 1-2 days on the counter.  Or, put them in ziplocs in the freezer and they save at least a month.  I don't think I've ever had them sit in the freezer longer than that.  They usually disappear in a few days. 

Enjoy!
-Lily

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