Dinner Rolls
Little is better with dinner than bread, and for Thanksgiving, I really like soft yeasty dinner rolls. This dough is a great dough for dinner rolls or hamburger or hot dog buns. It can even be baked as a loaf for super soft sandwich bread.
Bakers, when given a choice, will often opt for fresh yeast instead of any of the dry versions. Fresh yeast acts quickly, is highly perishable, costs more and isn’t available in all places, such as Florida. I’ve seen it in stores in New Jersey and New York and also Oregon. The theme there is states which are not hot. Fresh yeast doesn’t like that. I’ve made these rolls with both fresh and instant and have seen no difference in rise. There is, to me, a “yeastier” flavor and aroma with fresh yeast.
Between fresh, active, or instant yeast, I opt for fresh and if not that, instant. Both yeasts can be added to the flour and mixed as is. Take care to avoid putting salt in direct contact with fresh yeast as you are preparing your ingredients. Yeast and salt are not friends but are needed for flavor and controlling yeasts function. Additionally, active dry yeast requires “proof” of its viability. That’s an extra step which isn’t necessary.
I had an idea to make garlic knots a new way. So, I tried it and it worked. Oh, I was so excited.
Watch the embedded video below to see how I made those rolls.
So yummy when still warm and dipped into pasta.
Dinner Rolls-aka Red Neck Rolls
It is not a bad term Red Neck Rolls. It refers to the soft white bread which makes these yeast rolls so darned good. They are simple rolls, but simple does not mean boring or uninteresting. And, I've developed a twist, pun intended (you'll see) in the notes.
Ingredients
Milk Bread
- 18.75 g Fresh yeast 7 g Instant
- 240 g Whole milk, room temperature
- 228 g Bread flour
- 185 g Cake flour
- 18 g Sugar
- 8 g Salt
- 56 g Whole unsalted butter, room temperature, diced
Instructions
Mix the dough
-
Add the flours, salt, sugar, butter and yeast to the mixing bowl. Use the dough hook on slow, add the milk slowly to allow it to form a ball. As the dough mixes, the butter will blend into the dough. Mix the dough until all the ingredients are incorporated and the dough forms a ball.
-
Place the dough into a lightly buttered bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a slightly warm area to ferment for about 30 minutes. Remove the dough to your work space and start portioning the dough.
-
I like big buns. Yeah, that’s silly but it’s true. Dinner rolls I scale at 2 ounces and hamburger buns 5 ounces. Hot dog rolls I make 4 ounces.
-
I prefer baking my dinner rolls in a cake pan so they are forced to rise high and I also like them touching so I get all the soft edges. If you prefer individual rolls, place them spaced on a sheet pan instead. In either case I brush them lightly with milk to help get the color. For an extra yummy treat, when they come out of the oven, brush the tops with Parmesan cheese and garlic powder mixed with melted butter!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
As rolls or burger or hot dog buns, these are good.
I've lit on an idea which makes perfect sense for garlic rolls and it worked.
I prepare the dough as if I were making Danish, but instead of cream cheese filling between the dough, I add garlic butter! Then, proceed as if making Danish.
Boy, Howdy!, are those good.
Here's a link to a video of me making them.