Warning: bold proclamation coming! Drumroll, please… These are the best rolls I’ve ever eaten. I have enthusiastically deemed 2018 the year I learn how to really make bread, but despite acquiring some books on the subject, I have yet to attempt a single baguette or sourdough boule. Instead, I’m just continuing to bake rolls at whatever chance I get, and I’m pretty sure I’ve found the perfect ones.
The hallmark of a truly delicious roll is one that does not need to be slathered in butter. Now that’s not to say that you CAN’T butter these- just that you definitely don’t need to, because they are that delicious and tender. The other hallmark of a great roll is when carb-conscious dinner guests can’t resist eating one, or maybe even two. These are those rolls.
Making dinner rolls could honestly not be easier, it just takes a little bit of time for your dough to rise. It’s otherwise very simple and difficult to mess up, I promise. The dough does a first rise, you then tear it into pieces (they do not even need to be the same size), fit them together in a casserole dish, let them do a second rise and then bake them in the oven. They puff up, creating a beautiful turtle shell-like effect with golden tops, and you break off the rolls to serve.
Probably my favorite thing to do with a leftover pull-apart rolls (because, honestly, the leftovers are almost as delicious as the originals) is to toast them in a cast iron pan the next day, put some butter on them and stack on two fried eggs, cheese and bacon. I am a loyal eater of the classic New York egg and cheese on a kaiser roll from my local deli, and think there’s little that could improve it, but a buttery pull-apart roll elevates the classic breakfast sandwich into the stratosphere, from which I’d like to never return. And if the prospect of the perfect breakfast sandwich is not enough to sell you on these rolls, then I am afraid there is not much hope for you.
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus softened butter for brushing
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup lukewarm water (100° to 110°)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup whole milk, warmed
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
- Brush a large bowl with butter. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the yeast with the water and a pinch of the sugar and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add the milk, melted butter, eggs and the remaining sugar and mix until combined. Switch to the dough hook and add the flour and salt. Knead at low speed until a smooth ball forms, about 2 minutes. Scrape the dough into the prepared bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. Cut in half, then slice each half into 7 wedges and arrange them top side up in the prepared baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
- Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2018/04/19/pull-apart-rolls/
