fOOd AMER
ICAN
CLAS
SICS
CLA SSIC DIN NER ROLLS
PREP: 50 MIN. RISE: 2 HOURS BAKE: 20 MIN.
COOL: 10 MIN. OVEN: 400°F
i
cup whole milk
6
Tbsp. butter (room temperature)
1
pkg. active dry yeast
V
4
cup warm water (
105
° to ii
5
°F)
2
eggs, lightly beaten
3
Tbsp. sugar
4
to
4
V
4
cups all-purpose flour (not
unbleached)
i
Tbsp. kosher salt
Melted butter
Softened butter
STIR IN FLOUR “Use all-
purpose, not unbleached or
bread flour, and resist the
temptation to add extra flour”
LET WARMED
MILK COOL
TO ROOM
TEMPERATURE
“To avoid killing the
yeast, let the milk
and butter cool to
room temperature.
Flour mixes better
with cooled liquid.
Hot liquid and flour
are not a good
combination”
1
. Heat the milk to 1200F to 1300F; add the
butter and set aside to cool to room
temperature. Meanwhile, in a large bowl
dissolve yeast in warm water. Add cooled
milk, eggs, and sugar to dissolved yeast and
stir to blend. With a wooden spoon stir in
2
cups of the flour and the salt; stir until
smooth. Add 2 cups of remaining flour,
1 cup at a time, stirring vigorously for 3 to
5 minutes until the dough is smooth and
elastic and only slightly sticky. (Only if
needed, after 3 minutes of stirring and
dough is overly wet, stir in 1 tablespoon
flour at a time.)
2
. Cover the surface of the dough with
lightly oiled plastic wrap. Cover the top of
the bowl with a second piece of plastic
wrap. Let rise until doubled (1 to 2 hours).*
3
. Lightly butter 24 muffin cups. Gently
press the dough to deflate. With lightly
buttered hands pinch off generous 1-inch
pieces of dough. Fold the dough over,
turning and tucking the edges to form a
ball. Pinch the seam together to seal. Dip
in melted butter and arrange three dough
balls in each muffin cup. Let rise until fully
doubled (about 1 hour).
4
. Heat oven to 4000F. Bake rolls for 20 to
25 minutes or until well-browned. If needed,
to prevent overbrowning, cover rolls with
foil during last few minutes of baking.
Remove from oven. Brush with softened
butter. Return to oven for 1 to 2 minutes.
5
. Remove rolls immediately from cups to a
wire cooling rack. Let cool about 5 minutes
before serving. MAKES 24 DINNER ROLLS.
* For extra-light rolls, let the dough rise a
second time (1 to 2 hours) before shaping.
EACH ROLL
163 cal, 9 gfat (5 g sat. fat), 39 mg
chol, 306 mg sodium, 18 g carbo, 1 gfiber, 3 gpro.
Develop structure
“Use a sturdy wooden spoon to
stir vigorously—which will transform
the dough from sticky to smooth
and resilient—creating long strands
of gluten for a good rise and
COVER CLOSELY
“Directly covering the
surface of the dough with
plastic wrap promotes slow
rising, and slowly risen
dough is more flavorful”
DEFLATE GENTLY
“Keep the dough light
and silky by pressing rather
than punching”
delicate rolls.”
194
NOVEMBER
2009
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