There were some contributing failures that led me down that path, of course. I attempted cinnamon bun rolls made with potatoes at a point. It looked so promising throughout the process, but somewhere along the line, things took a turn for the worst, because my final result was far dryer than expected. Failures are a part of learning always - just look back on the one that started it all, the pie crust incident - but they always lead to growth of ability. That applies to many things in life.
I likely would have continued down my cowardly path if not for a chance conversation with my friend (who just happens to be my best pal's mom in addition). I swear every time I go over there that I am eating something amazing. They are always cooking intensely delicious meals that are the kind I learn from. Full of complex flavors and fresh ingredients, it's like eating at the best restaurant you've ever been to every time I have dinner with them.
So the past few times I've been over, they've had these amazing yeast rolls. We got to chatting about them, and she noted the simplicity of the recipe. Of course that was enough to intrigue me, so I got out my phone and got to typing in my notepad.
An important thing to note that I hadn't ever realized with bread is that the ingredients need to be entered in order. The milk needed to be warm, so I heated it up for about a minute and a half. Then, I added n my mixing bowl, I added the salt, sugar, warm milk, butter, egg, flour, and yeast. I connected the dough hook and put the speed on medium-low. It only took a few minutes for this to form into a lovely dough roll. Once that happened, I covered the bowl with a towel and put it in an unventilated area (in my case, in my oven, which was shut off) for 2 hours.
And after 2 hours, the dough had increased a good amount in size.
I dumped the dough onto a well-floured surface and rolled it into a log. I didn't do much kneading here, just enough to fold the dough together and make it uniform. I cut the log into 12 pieces, then formed them into small balls.
I tried to smooth out the dough balls as much as possible on the top so that for phase 2 of rising the dough would rise uniformly. I let the dough rise for another hour before baking in a pan brushed with butter.
The dough rose more again, and finally, baking time was upon me.
I preheated the oven (after removing the risen rolls!), and popped them in the oven for about 16 minutes, until they were lightly browned on top.
Would you look at that? Homemade rolls!
I did it! I made bread! Real, edible, soft, yeast rolls. So tasty. So yeasty. They were soft and flavorful and I enjoyed them thoroughly with my homemade Minestrone Soup. My neighbor got one, too, as I pawned some of my giant week's worth of soup on her, and she requested them weekly. Is there a better complement to the baker? Thanks to my friend for sharing this delight. I hope it'll make you a bread baker, too.
My one "next time" comment is putting butter on top to soak in during baking. But, if I made them just the same, I'd still tear 'em up. 4.5 stars.
Yeast Rolls Recipe
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
3 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients in order in stand mixing bowl. Use dough hook to mix on medium-low until well combined 1-2 minutes. Cover bowl and place in an unventilated, warm space for 2 hours to rise. Dough will double in size. Pour dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently roll into a log. Cut into 12 equally sized pieces. Knead each piece a few times by hand and roll into a ball shape. Place in a lightly buttered pan with about 2 inch of space between each roll. Cover and replace in unventilated space for 1 hour. Pre-heat oven to 370 degrees. Bake rolls for 16-18 minutes, until lightly browned.
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