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Monday, October 6, 2008

60-Minute Rolls

That's right. 60 minutes! Stop squinting, you'll hurt your eyes. ;-)

For our wedding, my aunt gave us a cookbook that her church put together as a fundraiser. Good family recipes, for small families and large families, some for up to 100+ people. Meat loaf for 50, anyone? This dinner roll recipe is one of my favorite bread recipes from this cookbook, which is falling apart from constant use, and it is so quick and convenient. Usually you can spend a couple hours making rolls, which deters most people. If you do fancier rolls, this can take longer, but it usually stays pretty close to the 1 hour mark.

I think my dad mentioned 3 or 4 times how good the rolls were! I forgot to take a picture of the huge bowl of rolls, I made 30 of them, and by the time I remembered, there were only 4 left! So here is a sad, lonely little roll...



2 cups milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
7-8 cups flour, divided
1/4 cup yeast (yes, 1/4 cup)
6 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 egg, optional

Heat milk, water, and butter in pan to 120 to 130. When you stick your finger in it should be good and warm, but not actually hot or you'll kill the yeast.

Mix 3 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add to warm mixture. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Add 4 more cups flour, beat another minute to mix in. Liberally flour the counter, scrape dough out onto it. Knead for 5 minutes, adding flour as necessary to make a moderately soft dough, not sticky but not stiff.

Let rise for 15 minutes in an oiled pan resting in warm water. Punch down, turn out onto lightly floured surface. Shape and let rise in pan another 15 minutes. Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes. Optional- beat the egg with a tbsp of warm water. Brush onto tops of rolls before baking for a crispy and golden crust.


I got about 30 rolls out of this, and I did the egg wash. After baking, I like to brush with melted butter too.

You can also substitute 2 cups of the flour for whole wheat flour! Keeping it at 2 cups keeps the dough lighter.

5 Tasty Tidbits:

Stephanie said...

I loved these rolls! I loved them buttered and dipped in the chili, and I loved them as cheese and ham sandwiches. And I loved that they were so fast! This was a great recipe.

Anonymous said...

Very good. The rolls make a nice meal of leftovers like borscht or stew. I'd say the recipe is darn near fool proof too.

I made some of the rolls too big and they weren't quite done in the center. Leaving them in the oven, with the oven off for ten extra minutes fixed that without over-browning.

If you have an egg, brushing on the egg-wash _is_ worth it. (If you don't have a brush your fingers will do.)

Thanks, Michelle. This one's going in the virtual recipe box as a keeper.

-darren

Anonymous said...

Do you have another method for the rising. A cookie sheet over a pan of hot water was nearly impossible so the rolls came out flat.
Thanks

Anonymous said...

I agree about the rising. Also when I went to put on the eggwash they deflated. Delicious but flat rolls not nice and plump like yours. Any suggestions?

Michelle said...

So sorry! I meant to get back here and respond to the first rising question.

Only the first rising is done over hot water. It makes the yeast rise really quickly. For the second rising I like to shape the rolls and then turn the oven on. I let the pan set on the stovetop so the heat from the oven helps it rise quickly. I usually have to turn the pan partway through the rising time so they rise evenly.

Alternatively you can turn your oven onto "warm" and let the rolls rise in there for a bit. I've done that too and haven't had a problem. Just take them out and while you carefully brush a wash on them, turn the oven on the full heat and throw the rolls back in. I've done that too with melted butter instead of egg-wash.

Hope these work for you! Glad everyone enjoys the rolls, they certainly are a family favorite here.