Dinner Rolls

Dinner Rolls:

• 1¾ cups warm water
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 3½ cups bread flour
• ¼ cup whole wheat flour
• 1½ tsp salt

1. Add water and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together, and let sit for five minutes.
2. Add the flours and salt to the water and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed for 3 minutes, then increase to medium-low speed for 3 more minutes. As you mix, if your dough is really sticking to the sides of the bowl, throw a small handful of bread flour into the bowl to help it pull away from the sides.
3. Dump dough out onto a floured surface (it should still be pretty sticky), and knead by hand into a neat ball. Knead in a “1-2-3-4” pattern; fold one side of the dough into the middle, quarter turn, fold in, quarter turn, fold in- and so on, folding four times around. Repeat 2-3 times, and place dough, folded side down, into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a dry towel and set aside to rise for about an hour (until doubled in size).
4. After an hour, dump dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into ten equal size pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Cover trays again with a dry towel and set aside to rise for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350°F.
7. Before baking, use a pair of scissors and cut into the top of each roll (go in at ~45 degree angle) and sprinkle with a little bit of flour (just to make them cute).
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until tops are browned and bread is nice and crusty. Throw a handful of ice into the bottom of your oven when you put the rolls in to make steam.
9. Yield: 10 large rolls

Last weekend, my family celebrated Fakesgiving- an early Thanksgiving to get everyone together before my sisters-in-law both have babies this month! We made it a potluck, and everyone brought a dish (and a negative Covid test, of course).

My seven-year-old niece made a survey, and had everyone vote on who made the best dish. You may remember that my family is big into competition, and after losing at Family Chopped I knew I had to bring my A-game. I made these dinner rolls, homemade butter (recipe on my Instagram highlights), and apple pie cream puffs.

The smell of fresh bread baking is absolute heaven and it’s easy enough to make that it’s the obvious choice over store-bought rolls. I think the homemade butter really gave me an edge over the competition, and your girl walked away with $5 (in quarters) and holiday success!

And best of all, all the “no Christmas before Thanksgiving” haters have nothing to worry about as I dive headfirst into Christmas baking 😉 ‘Tis the season!