Perfect Dinner Rolls

 

Making Perfect Dinner Rolls  is only one of my younger brother’s specialties. Pizza is the other. After seeing his Facebook post with the picture of his rolls, I asked for his recipe to try out, and with his permission, blog about my experience with attempting to make them. He was delighted to agree! Yeah!

I have a scale, so weighing ingredients is not a difficult thing for me. However, not everyone has one so I will attempt to relay amounts using some regular measurements where possible. For example, the bread flour amount is listed as 418 g. This may vary according to the brand of bread flour you are using. I usually use King Arthur brand bread flour. According to its nutrition facts, 1/4 cup is 30 grams. Therefore, 1 cup is 120 grams and 3 cups would be 360 grams. I need 58 grams more so that would be 1/2 cup which is 60 grams. Don’t you just love proportional reasoning? Can you tell I’m a nerdy math teacher?

However, when I measured the weight of 3 cups of bread flour, it was 474 grams…. Whoa….. After thinking about why this might be so different from what the label indicated, I figured like most things that ship, there is usually settling.  So I began to scoop off measured portions until I arrived at a number close to what my brother indicated. Removing 1/2 cup was below 418 grams, but when I removed 1/3 cup it weighed 423 grams.  Next, I sifted the 2 2/3 cup of remaining flour then spooned it into measuring cups and leveled it off. Guess what? It measured slightly under 3 1/2 cups.

After this measuring dilemma, I went to work. The flour, salt, yeast and sugar were placed in a large mixer with the dough hook attached and combine. la

Warm the milk to a temperature of 120 degrees and add to flour mixture.  Mix for approximately 3 minutes or until dough begins to release from the sides of the bowl.

Add eggs and mix on medium-low to medium speed for about 3 minutes. The dough will appear a bit sticky in appearance but will become more smooth as it’s combined.

Add in the softened butter and mix on low to medium speed, scrapping the sides occasionally at first to help the butter become incorporated into the dough. After about 10 minutes, the dough will begin to release from the sides.

 

At this point, remove dough from hook and place in a oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place for about an hour until double in bulk. One way you can assist with the rising, especially if it’s cool in your kitchen, is to place the bowl in the microwave with a glass measuring cup filled with boiling water. In this situation, I filled a 2 cup glass measuring cup with water and heated it for about 5 minutes.  Keep the door closed to allow this microwave environment to work its magic! Be patient!

About an hour later in that muggy environment, it should be easily doubled in size.

After the first rise, punch the dough down and place on an unfloured surface. If you have a scale, you can tear off dough and measure 1.5 ounce pieces. This gives approximately 20 rolls. To be more precise, if necessary, measure the dough and divide it by 20 to determine the weight of each roll. Otherwise, eyeball size using my picture below.

The bottom of the dough touching the unfloured board tends to be the smooth side once portioned out. Face this side up and smooth edges outward. 

Fold edges down over two or three fingers. Flip the bottom up and lightly twist bottom.

 

Place rolls in a 4 x 5 array in a 13″ x 9″ x 2″ pan.

We are now ready for the second rise.  Cover with a clean, dry towel until rolls begin to touch. This was a little over an hour for me, but times could vary according the warmth of your kitchen or time of year. There should be a small diamond shape at least the size that you see below, but not completely closed when ready to bake.

Another method used for this step is to preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Then, TURN IT OFF! Place pan on middle rack, covered with a clean dish towel. This takes less time, but monitor closely as you don’t want them to over rise. 

Before baking, using a pastry brush, coat each roll with an egg wash (egg, water, pinch of salt). Stroke each roll twice, both ways.

My brothers rolls looked like these. He placed his in an oiled pan, For easier clean up, I prefer to use parchment paper.

After baking for 15-18 minutes, my end result looked fabulous and tasted amazing!

Now, even though I ran into a little “situation” the first time I made them, they still tasted wonderful! In my second attempt, I perfected the process. My brother kept these Perfect Dinner Rolls  under lock and key for 6 years. I wonder what other recipes he’s keeping secret. Thanks for sharing, Paul!XO