Easy Baking: The Best Dinner Rolls

I've never had much luck with bread - it always turns out too dense, tastes a bit too "yeasty" and mostly winds up in the garbage after everyone has the obligatory first bite. I'm trying to start with the easy stuff and giving myself every advantage by splurging on a fancy mixer with a dough hook. I hope today's experiment is any indication of good things to come.

I love dinner rolls -- particularly those with a touch of sweet. I came across this recipe from allrecipes, well rates by over 1,800 people so I figured what have I got to lose! The recipe below is adjusted from the allrecipes version which is intended for bread machines.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/2 cup warm milk
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour [I reduced to 3 cups]
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

Directions

1. Warm water and milk to 110 degrees, add sugar and yeast and proof for 10 minutes in the mixer bowl.
2. Once yeast is puffy, add 1/3 cup butter, salt, and 1/2 of the flour to the mixer bowl with dough hook in place. Mix at medium high for 2 minutes until mostly combined then add remainder of the flour. Mix until everything is well incorporated and dough wraps around the hook - about another 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Allow dough to rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours, until doubled.
4. Punch down dough and divide into 27 pieces (having a digital scale helps here) - placing 9 pieces of dough per pan (I used a 9-inch cake pan) Cover with clean kitchen towel and put in a warm place, let rise 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F .
5. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden.

I proofed the yeast with a warmed mixture of milk and water (heated to about 110 degrees), then added the sugar. I had yeast from the jar and winded up using 2 teaspoon. I also adjusted the amount of flour down to 3 cups based on one of the reviews to get a less dense roll. After the first rise, I split the dough in 27 dough balls.


Dough Balls After First Proofing

  After a 2nd rise, I placed into a 350-degree oven. Unfortunately I think my lower rack was a bit too low. The top looked great but the bottom side of the two pans on the lower racked were pretty much burnt. Good news is that the pan on the top shelf turned out perfect! After they came out of the oven, I brushed some melted butter over the top.

Recipe:

• Sweet Dinner Rolls