Quick & Easy Dinner Rolls

Rolls are often the under-appreciated dinner companion. We all think of the main dish, often a protein, and the veggies that run alongside it, but outside of holidays, rolls are often an afterthought. I think, though, we've all had the experience of an amazingly buttery yeast roll that just hits the spot. These are the moments that remind me just how much a good roll adds to a meal.

Of course, these days I eat bread less than ever, so keeping rolls or even loaves of bread around just isn't practical. I've really only in the past year or so gotten into making bread a few times, with Yeast Rolls turning into something I've made a few times and Cinnamon Rolls making me think opening a bakery isn't such a bad idea.

Just recently, though, I was going over to have dinner with my family and discussed the game plan with my sister. We were having barbecue chicken and some veggies for sides. Everything sounded perfect! But then I realized that when you have something like shredded barbecue, you usually want to make a sandwich. Limited on turnaround time, I did a bit of research on what I could make. I didn't have the rise time needed for the other yeast roll recipe I tried, but I know from experience very early on in my baking days (Super Easy Homemade Pizza Crust) that active dry yeast is made for days like this. Don't tell me I can't have my carbs!

After looking at some options I finally settled on a recipe with a fast rise time. A minimum of 10 minutes was needed, but it could go longer if needed. That was ideal - I could adjust this to my needs and have 'em done within an hour.

Of course, I'm incredible spoiled and have my Kitchenaid mixer handy to do all the kneading work for me - by hand would have required more effort but also could have met my time limit. I mixed some warm water, melted butter, sugar, and yeast. I went with melted butter over oil in this as I just prefer butter when I can use it. I set the yeast mixture aside for about 10 minutes, letting the yeast wake up and start to bubble. A science experiment gone right.

In a small bowl, I beat the egg, then mixed it in with the yeast. I then stirred in some softened butter and a little bit of salt and added it all to my stand mixing bowl. Next came a whole bunch o' flour; I wound up using about 4 cups. I gradually stirred it in with the kneading attachment on low speed. The dough was very sticky at first but I slowly added flour until it began to form into a ball. I let the mixer knead it for about 10 minutes.

Roll time! For this, I just divided my dough in half, then in half again, and repeated that one more time to wind up with 8 [nearly] equal portions. I formed them into an oval shape and tucked the sides under the roll to try and smooth out the top as best I could - leaving a big ol' wrinkle will not disappear when the dough rises, so you choose how pretty you want the rolls.

I let them rise for about 15 minutes and they grew quite a bit. I was pleasantly surprised.

I needed to get a move on so I could be on time, and so I lightly brushed them with milk and tossed the bread in the oven. Just over 10 minutes later, the rolls were ready to rock and roll. No pun intended.

They didn't get immensely brown on top, but the bottoms were lightly brown so it was clear they were done. I got them over to the dinner and served hot and fresh.

My goal was to make kind of a bun and I definitely got my wish. We wound up turning these into the things barbecue sandwich dreams are made of. I would not qualify the flavor as nearly as yeasty as the yeast rolls recipe I mentioned earlier in the post, so by all means if that is a flavor you love and adore and you have the time, that is the way to go. But I have to say that for a very fast recipe, these are killer. As a matter of fact, I sped up putting this post together to get the recipe posted because I'm being asked for it a lot.

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't have rolls with dinner. Keep some yeast in the house and all will be well.

Quick & Easy Dinner Rolls Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water

1/3 cup  melted butter + 1 tablespoon softened butter

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons active dry yeast (1 packet)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large stand mixing bowl, mix together the water (I microwaved some room temperature water for about a minute and a half), melted butter, sugar, and yeast. Set aside to rest for 8-10 minutes, until the mixture begins to bubble. In a small bowl, beat the egg. Stir in to the softened butter and salt. Gradually add flour and use the knead attachment to combine. Continue adding flour until the dough is sticky - it won't stick to the sides of the bowl as much when it is right, and will begin to form into a ball. Knead for about 10 minutes on a low speed.

Divide dough in half, then each portion into half again twice more until you have 8 rolls. Gently form into a ball and tuck the sides underneath to smooth the top. Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with non-stick baking spray (or lightly coat with butter). Add rolls to the pan and set aside in a warm place to rise for a minimum of 10 minutes, or up to 30. Brush the tops of each roll with milk and place in the oven and bake for about 12-14 minutes, until lightly browned on top.

adapted from 30 minute dinner rolls