A freshly baked yeast roll can make even ordinary soup taste wonderful, or put the finishing touch on a meal you slaved over for hours. Homemade is the secret. I don’t care what the package says about the ‘homemade’ taste of a frozen hunk of dough. It doesn’t measure up to these rolls. The yeast bread is packed with flavor, the texture is a perfect for soaking up a pat of melting butter, and don’t forget the fragrance. I swear there is nothing like the smell of fresh baked bread. No wonder the dog, the cat, and the mouse came running to Little Red Hen’s kitchen! This recipe is quite flexible. It can be made totally by hand on your counter. If kneading bread isn’t your thing, pop all the ingredients in your bread machine and select the dough cycle. They both result in these yummy rolls. I have used this dough for dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, and even sandwich buns. The real convenience of this dough is you can shape your rolls, cover them with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator overnight or until you are ready to bake. I love doing this and have them baking away just as guests are arriving, better than any scented candle, that’s for sure! Hmm, maybe someone should make a candle scent ‘Baking Bread’. I might even buy that one!
Yeast Rolls
4 ½ cups flour
1 package dry yeast
1 cup milk at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter or margarine at room temperature
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
Mix all the dry ingredients, minus 1 cup of flour, in a large bowl. Blend butter into milk and add milk mixture to flour. Mix well. Slowly add beaten eggs, mixing well again. Add remaining flour and beat well, being sure to scrape sides of bowl often. Turn out on floured surface and knead about 8 – 10 minutes. If dough is overly stickly, slowly sprinkle in additional flour to form a dough that is elastic. Place in oiled bowl, flip dough so all sides have been oiled and cover loosely. Allow to rise is a warm, draft free spot until dough is doubled. This takes about one hour. After dough has doubled punch dough down and form rolls. I like to use a scale to be sure all my rolls are about the same size to insure even baking. I form a 2-ounce roll and usually get 24 dinner rolls from this recipe. Loosely cover rolls and allow to double in size, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake 12 – 14 minutes. Immediately prior to baking, snip the top of each roll with a kitchen shears to form a small ‘x’. This allows the rolls to expand and bake through while in your oven.Once rolls have cooled 5 minutes run a stick of cold butter over top of each roll when you remove them from the oven if you want them to look glossy, or like I do, spritz with a mister filled with olive oil. Get ready to eat the best dinner rolls ever!
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