Sunday, January 27, 2013

Soft Dinner Rolls

There is almost nothing I love better than a soft, buttery, freshly baked roll. Still slightly warm from the oven, smeared with softened butter, it can't really get any better than this. I've been making these rolls for several years now and they are my absolute favorite. I found the recipe in a memoir by Katherine Darling about her time at The French Culinary Institute. She calls them Mama's Rolls because the recipe came from her mom, obviously. I don't know her or her mom but every time I make these rolls I thank both of them for sharing the recipe.

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Throughout the years I've made this recipe into dinner rolls, sandwich rolls, hamburger buns, whatever I need. I just change up the size depending on what I want. The recipe makes quite a big batch, which usually isn't a problem for me. I just stick the leftovers in the freezer to have whenever I need them. However, if you really don't need a huge batch this recipe halves very nicely too, I've done it several times. So whatever you need, these rolls will work beautifully for. Give them a try, I promise you you won't regret it.



Soft Dinner Rolls
Adapted from: Under the Table: Saucy Tales from Culinary School by Katherine Darling
Ingredients
  • 7 to 8 cups (36 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup (2 1/3 ounces) sugar
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil or 1 stick butter
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 cups (about 18 ounces) milk
Directions
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, place the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Mix briefly to combine. Add the oil or butter, water and milk. Knead dough until a soft, supple dough forms, about 5-6 minutes, it should not be too sticky or too dry and tough. Place the dough in a oiled bowl and let rise until doubled, about an hour and a half. 

Butter a rimmed baking sheet. Cut the dough into 36 equal size pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a smooth ball and place on the baking sheet. When all the rolls are formed, let the dough once again rise until doubled in volume. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the risen rolls with a little butter if desired and then bake for 25 to 30 minutes. If they begin to get too brown, cover the top with foil. 

33 comments:

  1. Found this recipe on TasteSpotting yesterday and I just had to try it today. The result was so great and the recipe was nice and easy, will definitely make these again. Thanks for sharing! Greetings from Finland.

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    1. I'm so glad you liked them! They are really quite easy, and delicious too! Thanks for the comment!

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  2. I used oil, and these turned out like mini loaves of bread, not the soft dinner rolls that you got. Bummer, because they smelled so good baking! Although it won't be a total loss, I plan on using them to make mini sliders and breakfast sammies.

    Just curious, did you use butter in your recipe?

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    1. I'm so sorry they didn't turn out for you! What a disappointment!

      I always use vegetable oil when I make them because it's just easier and they've always turn out great so I don't think that would cause a problem for you. Have you had success with other rolls in the past? My bread baking skills have definitely gotten better over time. These really are my favorite rolls so if you're game I wouldn't give up on them! I hope they work well for your mini sliders and breakfast sammies anyway!

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    2. Mine turned out hard...really hard...because it didn't rise perharps...

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    3. I'm sorry, it definitely takes practice, I'd give it another try! My yeast breads have definitely improved with practice over the years. I think they are worth another try if you're up to it! How fresh is your yeast?

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  3. I make these all the time now! These are the best dinner rolls/buns and they turn out great every time!

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    1. I agree, they are my favorite! I'm glad they work for you too!

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  4. Does the milk and water need to be warmed up?

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    1. Like most yeasted bread recipes, the dough will rise faster if the liquid is warmed up. For this recipe I usually do warm up the water/milk until fairly warm, but not hot. You don't want to kill the yeast! However, if you didn't warm it up the recipe should still work, it just won't rise as fast. Hope this helps!

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  5. Very great post. I simply stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your weblog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing on your feed and I am hoping you write again very soon!

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  6. I really appreciate your professional approach. These are pieces of very useful information that will be of great use for me in future.

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  8. Do you cut and measure your dough to get even rolls? If you do can you give the measurements that you use

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    1. I do usually weigh my rolls to make then nice and even. I don't remember exactly how much the rolls in the pictures above were, but in general if I want some nice big rolls I'll do 100 grams of dough each. If I don't need them quite as big 75-80 grams is a nice middle ground. For little buns, maybe for sliders, I think around 50 grams works. Hope this helps!

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  9. Hi Jana,

    Just saw your recipe and am definitely going to try it. Just one question: I don't have a stand mixer so will it make a big difference if I simply mix the ingredients and knead the dough by hand?

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    1. Nope, should make no difference! Kneading by hand is perfectly fine. It will take a little longer to knead by hand, but the end result should not be affected. Good luck!

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