What I really want to talk about today is the importance of dinner rolls (queue the eye rolls). But seriously, dinner rolls have a special place in my heart, particularly in the context of Thanksgiving dinner. How many times have you gone to a catered dinner or restaurant and the rolls really left something to be desired? They were dry, flavorless, too chewy, or had one of myriad other problems. So, I am here to make all your Thanksgiving dinner roll dreams come true.
I have made a number of different dinner rolls over the years, tried lots of different kinds and these are by far the best. I accidently stumbled onto them in college and I have never looked back. They are best fresh out of the oven, but making them as part of a huge dinner doesn't always allow for that, so if you need to make them in advance, that will work fine too.
You can try to make them healthier if you really want to, but if you decide to add wheat flour or bran or something healthy, I take no responsibility if they don't turn out as light, fluffy, buttery, and delicious as you are expecting. White flour is a must. All the sugar is a must. Loads of butter is a must. You will not regret it.
And the pear butter? It got a 9/10 in my book. It was like eating pear caramel. So addicting, and incredibly tasty.
As an unrelated side note, don't forget that the Minimalist clothing challenge starts today! If you are interested in participating, I would love to see your photos on Instagram, tagged #mwminimalistchallenge! Hope to see you there!
Dinner Rolls:
makes 16 small rolls
from AllRecipes
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup warm milk
2 tsp yeast
1 egg
1/3 cup soft butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 3/4 white flour
3 Tbs butter
In a large bowl, add our water, milk and yeast. Let them proof for 10 minutes or so, until the yeast is frothy. Add your egg, softened butter, sugar and salt and briefly stir. Then add your flour, 1 cup at a time for the first two cups. After that, add the flour 1/2 cup at a time until you have a nice soft dough.
Knead for 5-7 minutes, adding a small sprinkling of flour if the dough becomes sticky. Once it is smooth and elastic, oil your bowl (or spray with cooking spray), put the dough back in the bowl and cover with plastic or a wet towel. Let it sit for an hour or so until it has doubled in volume.
Lightly flour a clean surface. Split the dough into two halves. Take the first half and roll it into a circle, about 1/2 thick. Melt your second set of butter and pour 1/2 of it over the rolled out dough. Spread it in an even layer across the dough, and cut the dough in half, then in half again, and so on until you have 8 rounded triangular pieces. Starting from the large end of the triangle, begin rolling the dough until you have a lovely crescent roll. Tuck the end underneath and place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough wedges. Roll out the other half of the dough and repeat.
Cover with greased plastic wrap or a wet towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes, or until almost doubled in size.
Preheat your oven to 400°F and cook the rolls for 10-15 minutes, until the edges are beginning to brown. Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes and eat with pear butter.
Pear Butter:
3 pears, peeled, cored & diced
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Put your pears, sugar, and cinnamon in a saucepan and cook on the stovetop over low heat for an hour and a half. If it looks like they are starting to get too dry, add a teaspoon of water. Once they are completely soft and turning brown, blend them with an immersion blender or in a food processor. Eat with warm rolls.
Yes, yes, yes! Dinner rolls are probably my favorite part of Thanksgiving, which might make me sound crazy... but it's so true! Dry, hard rolls are the worst. This recipe looks so delicious, and I really want to try the pear butter, too!
ReplyDeleteThis looks amazing! I wish I was downing those rolls right now for my lunch... and that pear butter looks incredible.
ReplyDeleteThis combo might just be one of my favorite things you've ever made! Both of these recipes are FABULOUS!
ReplyDeleteThese really are the best rolls ever.
ReplyDeleteWould these lovely rolls still turn out if I completed all the steps, save baking, and refrigerated them over night and popped them in the oven in the morning? I'd like to serve these with a late breakfast, but absolutely don't have time to start from the beginning in the morning. Love, love your blog, your recipes are amazing!
ReplyDeleteAn excellent question, Deana! I have never done this before, but I would do everything but that last rise once they are formed, and then let them sit in the fridge overnight, covered with greased plastic wrap. I would let them rise for longer for that second rise time in the morning (maybe an hour or so?), because if the rolls are too cold in the middle, they won't cook all the way through, and will be doughy in the middle. I would keep a pretty close eye on them while they are rising because you don't want them to over rise. I hope they turn out well for you! Also, thank you! I am always thrilled to get good feedback from my recipes!
Delete