TAK's Dinner Rolls | Recipe
A light and fluffy homemade yeast roll, slightly sweetened with honey and baked to perfection. See video for a quick step-by-step tutorial.
Who doesn't love freshly baked bread? It's truly got to be one of the very best, most comforting smells (and tastes) on the planet. Sad to say, homemade dinner rolls didn't make many appearances on my family table growing up, but hey, my momma was a hard-working lady and as it turns out, you need to be able to invest a little time to make these golden brown beauties. If you would take to heart one piece of advice from me on the subject, take this: Don't let this one be a rushed process. I learned that lesson the hard way. Baking bread from scratch takes time, attention and patience. Sadly, patience had never been my strong suit. Lesson 1 learned.
The second little piece of advice I'd love to lend to you is this: Read the recipe in advance. I had read about the technique, the proofing, done my research and properly prepped myself for the task ahead...so I thought. What I hadn't taken the time to study was the actual recipe itself, and throughout the process I found myself rushed and somehow feeling one step behind. Lesson 2 learned.
Praise The Lord, with the first two lessons learned, I finally got it right my third time around. And to be honest, the bread was certainly edible, even pretty tasty, the first two times...it was just the process itself that left a bad taste in my mouth. If only I had known to take my sweet time and read that dadgum recipe top-to-bottom. Sometimes you just have to get into the kitchen, get your hands into it (literally) and put some experience under your belt. If your first bread-making experience isn't a great one, try again...and again if necessary. I'm sure glad I did. I adore being able to pull homemade rolls out of the oven at family meals and treat my loved ones to one of the greatest all-time comfort foods. I've attached a little video tutorial to help you along your way. I'm wishing you the very best of experiences and a batch of pillowy-soft, golden goodness at your family table.
Tips:
1) Baking yeast bread should be a soothing process, not a stressful one. Give yourself more than enough time to prepare the rolls. You will need time for preparation, two proofs and also baking time.
2) Read the recipe start to finish before you begin.
3) It is important that the water is warm to the touch for the yeast to properly develop.
4) Homemade rolls are best served fresh and warm.
Materials:
stand mixer
paddle attachment
dough hook
two 9” cake pans
pastry brush
cooling rack
Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon warm water, separated
2 1/2 teaspoons (1 package) active dry yeast
5 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, separated
2 teaspoons Sea Salt
3 eggs, room temperature, separated
Add milk, butter, honey and sugar to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool, until just warm to the touch.
Add warm water to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sprinkle in yeast, gently stir and allow to sit for 5 minutes or until foamy.
In the meantime, in a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together 4 1/2 c of flour and the sea salt. Set aside until ready to use. Also, have the remaining1 c of flour set aside in a small bowl.
Once the yeast has become foamy, beat two eggs in a small bowl and add them to the stand mixer along with the milk mixture and the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together. Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook and begin to knead on medium-low, for 5-7 minutes, adding extra flour as needed, a tablespoon at a time, to prevent the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl. You many not need all of the extra flour. The dough is ready once it is no longer sticky, but is still soft to the touch.
Have ready a large, greased bowl. Using floured hands, form it into a ball and place it in the greased bowl. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof in a warm area for 1 1/2-2 hours, until doubled in size.
Have ready a large floured work surface and two greased 9” cake pans . Punch down the dough and transfer to your work surface. Using a knife or a bench scraper, cut the dough in half. Divide each half into 8 equal pieces. Roll dough balls into small cylinders and then tie in a knot. See video for demonstration. Alternatively, roll dough into a ball. Place 8 dough knots/balls in each pan, spacing them evenly apart. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to proof in a warm area once more, for another 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400°.
To make the egg wash, beat the remaining egg, along with remaining tbsp of water in a small bowl. Remove the plastic and lightly brush the top of the rolls with the egg wash. Sprinkle evenly with Kosher salt and bake for 18 minutes, or until the rolls are cooked through and golden in color. Do not over bake. Place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Remove the rolls and serve immediately alongside room temperature butter for spreading.
Would pair well with:
