People are so dazzled when presented with a basket of homemade dinner rolls. They have no idea how easy it is.
You can indeed produce hot dinner rolls for your next soup supper, elegant dinner party or even Christmas dinner. Yes. You can.
First, remember the ingredients are generally inexpensive. Flour, salt, baking powder, eggs, a little sugar; you’re not experimenting with grass-fed beef.
Second, good cookbooks, well-written blogs and trusted friends are a terrific resource. A well-written recipe, especially in a blog with photos, will take the mystery out of the process. Check out the blog at www.kingarthurflour.com. Each post comes with pictures of the ingredients, photos of every step of the process and reader comments that tell you how well the recipe worked for them and little tweaks they made along the way. It's a great resource for bakers.
Third, there’s no need to be afraid of yeast. Treated with kindness, which translates to warm water and a little bit of sugar, your yeast will reward you by turning your flour and flavorings into soft, fragrant bread and rolls. Buy yeast when you need it, or keep a stash of yeast in the freezer, and as long as the water is warm and not hot, your yeast will be fine.
Fourth, there are as many kinds of rolls that use leaveners like baking powder and baking soda as there are recipes with yeast, so if you just can’t face yeast, let it go. Bake a quick bread or roll instead. Just make sure that’s not a box of baking soda or baking powder that’s been in your kitchen pantry for a decade. Pay the $2 for a new box.
Even a seasoned baker can have a failure or two. Popovers are a case in point. Some popovers will pop, and some won’t. Don't fret abouth whether your popovers will puff dramatically, not-so-lofty popovers are still absolutely delicious. Think of them as delicious experiments and still worthy of serving.
One of the nice things about all these breads is while they’re fabulous right out of the oven, they are just as good the next day, even the popovers. Wrapped and refrigerated, they keep perfectly for a week. Wrap a few in foil and warm them in the oven if you want hot rolls for dinner. Stay away from reheating in the microwave; too easy to end up with tough bread.
Fresh Herb Rolls
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Makes 2 dozen
These rolls make an easy introduction to yeast breads. Between the yeast and the self-rising flour, there’s no way you won’t end up with light muffins with nice peaks. Since it’s a batter bread, there’s no mixer required. Vary the herbs by what you have on hand or what will complement your meal.
2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1 (1 1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
4 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup melted unsalted butter
3/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 2 12-cup muffin tins.
In a large bowl, combine water and yeast. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in flour, butter, chives, parsley, sugar and egg. When thoroughly combined, spoon into muffin tins, filling three-quarters full. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Per roll: 141 calories (percent of calories from fat, 40), 3 grams protein, 18 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 6 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 24 milligrams cholesterol, 270 milligrams sodium.
Butter Popovers
Hands on: 5 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Makes: 12 muffin-size popovers
If you have a special popover pan, this recipe will make 6 large popovers. A nice feature of this recipe is that the batter can be made up to 1 day ahead.
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons Wondra flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup whole milk
2 eggs
4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, divided
Preheat oven to 425 degrees 30 minutes before baking. Set oven rack on the second rung from the bottom of the oven.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar. Using a whisk, slowly stir in the milk then add the eggs one at a time, beating about 1 minute between each addition, then beating well until the batter is smooth. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Small lumps of butter may remain visible. Transfer the batter to a pitcher. If not using immediately, cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours; beat lightly before pouring batter into pans.
Prepare pans by using a small pastry brush to coat a 12-cup muffin tin or 6-cup popover pan with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Place the prepared pan in the oven and heat until the butter is very hot and beginning to brown. Do not allow the butter to burn.
When pan is ready, remove from oven and pour the batter into each cup, filling half full. Return the pan to the oven and bake 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking 40 minutes for large popovers or 20 minutes for muffin-size popovers, or until golden brown. Cool slightly on wire rack before serving.
Adapted from a recipe in “The Bread Bible” by Rose Levy Beranbaum (W. W. Norton & Company, $35).
Per popover: 97 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), 3 grams protein, 10 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 5 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 48 milligrams cholesterol, 111 milligrams sodium.
Whole Grain Rolls
Hands on: 25 minutes
Total time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Makes: 48 rolls
These could have been titled “health” rolls since they’re full of whole grains, but then who would have made them? No jars? Just bake these rolls in a muffin tin. Just as delicious, not as cute.
1 1/2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1 (1 1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) melted unsalted butter, divided
3 cups whole wheat flour, divided
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts or seeds; your choice of pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds or chopped flax seeds; plus extra for sprinkling on top of rolls
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup cornmeal
In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, combine water and yeast and let stand 5 minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine 2 cups whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, oatmeal and salt. Start mixer on low speed to combine. Slowly pour in yeast mixture and melted butter. Add eggs and mix on medium speed until well combined. Add remaining cup of whole wheat flour and nuts or seeds as desired. Dough should be sticky but not runny.
Pour vegetable oil into a large bowl and swirl to cover sides of bowl with oil. Put batter in bowl and cover to coat all sides in oil. Cover dough and allow to rest 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk.
Grease 24 half-pint canning jars and sprinkle bottoms with cornmeal; arrange jars on a rimmed cookie sheet. Punch down dough and divide into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a round ball and place in prepared jars. When all jars are filled, cover jars lightly with a dish towel and allow to rolls to rise 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
About 15 minutes before dough is risen, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush tops of rolls with remaining butter and sprinkle with extra nuts or seeds. Bake rolls 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving in jars. If not serving right away, remove from jars so bottoms will not steam. Return to jars for serving.
Per roll: 93 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 2 grams protein, 10 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 5 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 17 milligrams cholesterol, 93 milligrams sodium.
How-to:
It’s just a matter of shaping to turn this dough into cloverleaf or Parker House rolls.
For coverleaf rolls, lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Pull off bits of dough and roll to make a ball about 1-inch in diameter. Place 3 balls in each cup and allow dough to rise 15 minutes before baking. Brush with butter if desired. Rolls should bake in about 15 minutes.
For Parker House rolls, lightly flour your work surface and pat out dough to 1/2-inch thick. Using a 2- or 3-inch cutter, cut rounds of dough. Lightly moisten the round and fold in half. Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheet and allow dough to rise 15 minutes before baking. Brush with butter if desired. Rolls should bake in about 15 minutes.
Roasted Garlic and Sage Corn Muffins
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Makes 12 muffins
These are just classic cornbread muffins with a little surprise inside. You could substitute, or add, a 1/4 cup of roasted onions to the filling and really mimic the flavor of traditional cornbread stuffing. Two secrets for light muffins: never overbeat your batter and bake at 400 degrees.
1 head garlic
12 large leaves fresh sage
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap garlic head in aluminum foil; bake until the garlic cloves are soft, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Squeeze soft garlic from each clove and place in a small bowl. Finely chop sage leaves and stir them into garlic puree. Set aside. May be prepared up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated.
When ready to bake muffins, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk and melted butter. Whisk egg mixture into flour mixture until just incorporated.
Spoon 2 tablespoons batter into each prepared muffin cup. Top with 1 teaspoon garlic/sage mixture, then divide remaining batter evenly between muffin cups. Bake muffins until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and allow to cool slightly before serving.
Per muffin: 144 calories (percent of calories from fat, 32), 4 grams protein, 20 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 5 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 46 milligrams cholesterol, 346 milligrams sodium.
For more ideas about gifts, decorating, where to eat and what to do, check out our complete Atlanta Holiday Guide.
