Easy Homemade Rolls for Holiday Dinners

This week I baked some very easy homemade rolls. Our holiday dinners wouldn’t feel complete without fresh baked bread, and it’s one of the additions to the table that I love to contribute. When my family gathers, I love to spoil them with the foods they remember from growing up. It’s how I show them how much they mean to me. 

And I don’t mean that to say you have to slave away in the kitchen in order to prepare a holiday meal! Not at all. There are many foods that can be prepared from scratch without a huge time investment.  Easy Homemade rolls might sound like a long ordeal but trust me, it should’t be. 

Breaking Bread

Bread is a traditional part of most meals. Historically, bread in some form, has been a part of human diets for many thousands of years.  Rich and poor alike consumed bread, although in different forms.  White bread was available only to the rich and royals until modern times.  Wheat is the most common grain used to bake bread.  Wheat contains carbohydrates, protein and important B vitamins.  

Fresh baked breads and rolls are comforting too, and make a great gift.

So it’s no surprise that most of us look forward to the aroma of fresh baked bread and rolls on our dinner tables.  Thanksgiving is a time to bring out our best recipes.  We break bread together and enjoy it as an appetizer or a accompaniment to a delicious dinner. 

Lets Get Started

 The recipe for easy homemade rolls is one that I have adapted from a recipe for sandwich rolls in an old cookbook. 

I make the rolls a smaller size for dinner parties, but you can make them large or small and adjust the baking time accordingly.  The Easy Homemade Roll bakes in about half the time that a sandwich size roll requires. Be careful not to over bake. The small size of a dinner roll means it can dry out quickly.

Easy Homemade Rolls

Keep scrolling for a printable recipe card version, later in the post.

Ingredients

1. water – 1 cup luke warm water divided
2. butter- 2 Tbsp melted
3. sugar- 2 Tbsp
4. salt- 2 tsp
5. bread flour – 3 to 3 and 1/4 cups
6. nonfat dry milk – 3 Tbsp
7. yeast – 2 tsp or 1 package

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix the yeast with 1/4 cup of warm water.
2. Let the yeast sit in the water for 10 minutes
3. add two cups of flour, the sugar, nonfat dry milk, melted butter, and salt.
4. Using a sturdy spoon or a stand mixer begin mixing the dough.
5. Gradually add the remainder of the warm water.
6. add the remaining cup or cup and a quarter of flour until the batter begins to form a dough ball.

Kneading is Fundamental

1. If kneading by hand, remove the dough from the bowl and begin to knead the dough forward and then backward in a kneading motion until the dough is firm and elastic. It should spring back when pushed on with a finger. ( if using a stand mixer with a dough hook, your mixer will do the kneading for you.)
2. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with a towel and put in a warm, draft free spot for about one hour. The dough will rise and double in size.

1. After the dough has risen, punch it down, knead a couple of times and reform into a ball. Let rest on a cutting board, covered with a towel for 20 minutes.
2. Cut the dough into 24 equal pieces. Form the pieces into balls and place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Cover with a towel again and let rise for one hour.

Punch the Dough!

Time to Bake

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Optional – Beat one egg. Brush the tops of each roll with a light egg coating. Sprinkle sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion flakes if desired.
3. Bake for 10 minutes
4. Let cool for 1 minute. Serve warm with butter.
5. The rolls can be make ahead of time and frozen in freezer bags for later use. Defrost rolls when ready to use. Reheat in a low oven for 2 to 3 minutes to warm.

NOTES

1. Variations: Make sandwich rolls by dividing the original dough ball into 12 pieces. Continue as above. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. or until golden brown.

Adapted from an old cookbook for bread machines.

 

 

“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.”
 James Beard