Thursday, December 20, 2012

buttery make-ahead dinner rolls; pinned it and did it!

my note to add a photo!


Pinned it and Did it!
These were the best rolls I've ever made.  I have to find the photo.. it's amazing.  I made for Thanksgiving dinner.  I put the dough together the night before (like 1am, wink) and left it to rise overnight.  Made them the next morning and whoola!
Note:  When I put in the pan (with sides) I put them pretty close together and that made them even better.  I know, because I tried smaller and they never ended up touching and got hard pretty quick for dinner time.

These are really so good, my cousin called me today and asked to bring for Christmas Eve.  Which reminded me that I never posted about it!  Thanks Con!
buttery make-ahead dinner rolls
makes 30 rolls
ingredients
1/4 cup warm water (115 degrees)
2 packets (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm whole milk (115 degrees)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for bowl and pans
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
6 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for work surface

Directions
Place water in a small bowl; sprinkle with yeast, and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together milk, butter, sugar, salt, and 2 eggs until combined. Mix in yeast mixture.
With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, until you have a soft, shaggy dough (if necessary, add up to 1/2 cup more flour). Replace paddle with the dough hook and process until smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes.  (No mixer? That's OK. You can do this with a whisk and a wooden spoon for the flour. Then knead by hand for 5-10 mis.)

Butter the inside of a large bowl; place dough in bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel; let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/4 hours.

Butter two 13-by-9-inch baking pans. (Or 3 8x8 pans if you want smaller batches.) Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 15-inch rope; cut each rope into 15 1-inch pieces. Press each piece into a disk, then shape into a ball. (Don't handle the dough too much or it will become tough.)

Arrange dough balls in prepared pans. (To make ahead: Wrap pans well, and freeze, up to 2 months.)
Cover pans loosely with kitchen towel; let stand in a warm spot until rolls have doubled in size, about 1 1/4 hours (2 hours more if frozen).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a small bowl, beat remaining egg until blended; brush onto rolls. Sprinkle with sea salt or herbs. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, rotating pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through. Let rolls cool 15 minutes before serving.