A Step by Step Guide to Dinner Rolls

Bread is my favorite food in the whole world. Given the choice between brownies and bread, I will choose bread. In fact, I have been known to eat an entire package of Pillsbury crescent rolls for dinner. So, when I tried these butter dipped dinner rolls I pretty much thought I had died and gone to heaven. They’re that good.

I’m going to present you with a step by step guide to making these perfect butter dipped dinner rolls. Be warned, I took about a million photos, and they’re all here in this blog entry. But hopefully you’ll find them helpful, since I don’t think bread is the easiest thing to make. I definitely recommend this as a Saturday or Sunday project since it takes about 6 hours, and more if you allow for maximum rising time. Not all these photos are very pretty, so please forgive me for that. But the end product? So worth it!

Start by making your sponge. In a large mixer bowl combine flour, water, honey, and instant yeast. Whisk until the mixture becomes very smooth (to incorporate air), for about 2 minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. The mixture should be somewhere around the consistency of a thick batter. Allow your sponge to sit anywhere from 1 to 24 hours. Next combine the ingredients for the flour mixture (listed below, you know, with the ingredients and instructions I always provide), and sprinkle the flour mixture over the sponge and cover tightly with plastic wrap. (Here’s a hint – just save your sheet of plastic wrap, you’ll need it throughout the process). Allow your sponge with the flour on top to ferment for another 1 to 4 hours.

It’s okay if the sponge bubbles through the flour mixture by the end. Next, it’s time to start mixing the dough. Add the butter to the sponge and flour mixture and mix on low speed (a #2 on a KitchenAid) until the flour is moistened enough to form a rough batter (around 1 minute).

Scrape down any bits of dough with an oiled spatula and cover the bowl with your plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes, go do some laundry or something.

After your laundry is all done sprinkle on the salt and knead the dough on medium speed (#4 on your KitchenAid) for 7 to 10 minutes. The dough may not come away from the bowl until the last minute or two of kneading, and it should be smooth and shiny and a little sticky. With your oiled spatula, scrape down any dough on the sides of the bowl. If the dough is not stiff you can knead in a little flour, and if it’s not sticky, spray with a little water and knead. Using an oiled spatula scrape the dough into a very large bowl, lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Push down the dough and lightly spray with cooking spray.

Cover with plastic wrap and mark the side of the bowl with approximately where double the height of the dough would be (or just fudge it like me, and hope you remember). Allow the dough to rise until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The inside of your turned off oven is ideal for this, it should be around 75 or 80F.

Using your trusty oiled spatula scrape the dough onto a floured counter and press it gently into a rectangle. It will be full of air bubbles so try not to squish them out, you want them there. Pull out and fold the dough over from all four sides to sort of make a tight little package. Again oil your bowl up, cover, and mark where double the dough will be. Allow the dough to rise for another 1 to 2 hours, or until it meets the mark. It will be really puffy at this point.

Now roll the dough (gently) into a long rectangle and cut into 4 equal pieces, then cut each of those into 3 equal pieces.

Work with one piece at a time, keeping the remaining dough covered. If the dough is sticky then flour your hands, but not the counter. Roll each piece of dough, cupping your hand over it making a smooth ball. Seal the small indention that forms in the bottom of the roll by pinching it tightly to make a tight skin on the outside of the roll.

Pour the butter into a small bowl and dip each dough ball into the melted butter, coating on all sides (use a pastry brush if necessary).

Place each dough ball pinched side down in the pan, so that they’re almost touching each other.

Cover the pan with your plastic wrap (lightly oiled) and allow the rolls to rise for another 1 1/2 hours or so, until doubled. When the dough is pressed with a fingertip the indention will remain.

Preheat the oven to 400F at least 30 minutes before baking. Place the oven shelf near the bottom of the oven with a baking sheet on it, and a cast iron skillet on the floor (or lowest shelf) of the oven, before preheating. When the rolls are risen quickly place the pans on the hot baking sheet and toss about 1/2 a cup of ice cubes into the skillet beneath. Immediately close the oven door and bake for 20 minutes, until the rolls are golden brown. If you want to reheat the rolls to serve later preheat them for only 15 minutes until pale golden. Remove the rolls from the oven. Turn them out and cool them (top up) on a wire rack until just warm (around 20 minutes, if you can wait that long), before pulling apart and serving.

To reheat the rolls set them on a baking sheet and heat for about 5 minutes in a preheated 375F oven. Find ingredients and printable instructions after the jump.

Butter Dipped Dinner Rolls
From the Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum
Makes 12 dinner rolls

Approximate time schedule:
Dough Starter/Sponge: minimum 1 hour, up to 24 hours
Minimum Rising Time: 4 to 5 hours
Oven Temperature: 400F
Baking Time: 15 to 20 minutes

Dough Starter/Sponge Ingredients
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour (preferably King Arthur, Pillsbury, or Gold Medal)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cup water, at room temperature
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

Start by making the sponge. In a large mixer bowl combine flour, water, honey, and instant yeast. Whisk until the mixture becomes very smooth (to incorporate air), for about 2 minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. The mixture should be somewhere around the consistency of a thick batter. Allow your sponge to sit anywhere from 1 to 24 hours.

Flour Mixture and Dough Ingredients
1 cup plus 1/2 tablespoons unbleached flour
2 tablespoons dry milk, preferably nonfat
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/8 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Combine the flour, dry milk, and instant yeast, and sprinkle this mixture over the sponge, covering tightly with plastic wrap. (Here’s a hint – just save your sheet of plastic wrap, you’ll need it throughout the process). Allow your sponge with the flour on top to ferment for another 1 to 4 hours.

It’s okay if the sponge bubbles through the flour mixture by the end. Next, it’s time to start mixing the dough. Add the butter to the sponge and flour mixture and mix on low speed (a #2 on a KitchenAid) until the flour is moistened enough to form a rough batter (around 1 minute). Scrape down any bits of dough with an oiled spatula and cover the bowl with your plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle the salt over the dough and knead on medium speed (#4 on your KitchenAid) for 7 to 10 minutes. The dough may not come away from the bowl until the last minute or two of kneading, and it should be smooth and shiny and a little sticky. With your oiled spatula, scrape down any dough on the sides of the bowl. If the dough is not stiff you can knead in a little flour, and if it’s not sticky, spray with a little water and knead. Using an oiled spatula scrape the dough into a very large bo, lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Push down the dough and lightly spray with cooking spray.

Cover with plastic wrap and mark the side of the bowl with approximately where double the height of the dough would be (or just fudge it like me, and hope you remember). Allow the dough to rise until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The inside of your turned off oven is ideal for this, it should be around 75 or 80F.

Using your trusty oiled spatula scrape the dough onto a floured counter and press it gently into a rectangle. It will be full of air bubbles so try not to squish them out, you want them there. Pull out and fold the dough over from all four sides to sort of make a tight little package. Again oil your bowl up, cover, and mark where double the dough will be. Allow the dough to rise for another 1 to 2 hours, or until it meets the mark. It will be really puffy at this point.

Now roll the dough (gently) into a long rectangle and cut into 4 equal pieces, then cut each of those into 3 equal pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keeping the remaining dough covered. If the dough is sticky then flour your hands, but not the counter. Roll each piece of dough, cupping your hand over it making a smooth ball. Seal the small indention that forms in the bottom of the roll by pinching it tightly to make a tight skin on the outside of the roll.

Pour the butter into a small bowl and dip each dough ball into the melted butter, coating on all sides (use a pastry brush if necessary). Place each dough ball pinched side down in the pan, so that they’re almost touching each other.

Cover the pan with your plastic wrap (lightly oiled) and allow the rolls to rise for another 1 1/2 hours or so, until doubled. When the dough is pressed with a fingertip the indention will remain.

Preheat the oven to 400F at least 30 minutes before baking. Place the oven shelf near the bottom of the oven with a baking sheet on it, and a cast iron skillet on the floor (or lowest shelf) of the oven, before preheating. When the rolls are risen quickly place the pans on the hot baking sheet and toss about 1/2 a cup of ice cubes into the skillet beneath. Immediately close the oven door and bake for 20 minutes, until the rolls are golden brown. If you want to reheat the rolls to serve later preheat them for only 15 minutes until pale golden. Remove the rolls from the oven. Turn them out and cool them (top up) on a wire rack until just warm (around 20 minutes, if you can wait that long), before pulling apart and serving. To reheat the rolls set them on a baking sheet and heat for about 5 minutes in a preheated 375F oven.