Dinner Rolls

This would be my first attempt at making homemade dinner rolls, and I have to say the end result is awesome, BUT I encountered a couple problems along the way.  I said on here before that I will post a recipe even if it doesn't turn out the best, and let you know if I came up with a solution, or if I need help from you all.  Today was a success and I came up with a solution! Don't expect that very often...;)  Let me explain.  I followed this recipe bread baking, and the recipe is written as "add 1 cup of flour, then add another cup of flour, then add a third cup flour" and because I am new at this ;) I assumed the "third cup of flour" meant a 1/3 cup of flour! I must have been a complete space cadet today, because when I added that 1/3 cup of flour, I was wondering why my dough definitely wasn't ready to be kneaded.  My fault totally! Any other airheads out there today?! :)  So I fixed it, but didn't realize what the recipe REALLY meant until I scrambled to add more flour over and over until it was, what I thought, a good consistency! I did good thought, and am proud of myself, HA!

Dinner Rolls

They turned out beautiful though.  They definitely each have their own personality in shape. :)

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes

Cook Time: 20-30 minutes

Servings: 12

Difficulty: Easy-Intermediate

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of dry yeast(2 1/2 tsp) I used quick rise
• 1/4 cup warm water(not hot)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbls butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbls sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3 cups flour, plus extra for kneading surface(I ended up doing 2 cups all-purpose flour, and 1 cup whole wheat)
• sprinkle of canola oil for bowl to rise dough

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl combine yeast, and warm water. Stir to dissolve.

In microwave safe dish add milk, and butter.  Heat up to warm, less than a minute.

Add egg, sugar, and salt to yeast mixture.

Add in 1 cup of flour, and mix.

Add the milk and butter to the flour/yeast mixture. Stir.

Add in 1 more cup of flour, and stir.

This is where you add in 1 more cup of flour(the last cup of 3 total) This is my little 1/3 cup of flour I added(don't be like me :)) Mix together.  A soft slightly sticky ball of dough will form.

This is where I freaked out, and started adding whole wheat flour, because I ran out of all-purpose, thinking I needed less. I am glad I added the whole wheat flour though, and  you can too if you would like! It is GOOD!

Sprinkle a little flour on your counter to knead the dough. Knead the dough for about 6-7 minutes, or until elastic. When the dough starts to stick to your hands and/or the counter, add a little more flour, only use a little at a time. I didn't take pictures at this time because I was covered in sticky dough.  I was still in the process of adding more flour to get it to the right consistency.  When you are done kneading the dough, sprinkle oil in a large mixing bowl, and rub it all around.  Add dough to bowl, and toss dough around in oil, and make sure you coat all of the dough. 

Cover with a towel and let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until it has doubled it size.

Lightly flour counter surface again.(I washed my counter while the dough was rising, which you could do too if you would like)  Plop the big dough ball out onto the floured surface. 

Push the dough with your fingers to flatten and make a square shape.

Use a knife and cut 12 pieces(as equal as you can get them)

Lightly spray a large pan(I used a 9x13" and couldn't fit them all, so I had to do two batches. If you have something a little bigger use that.) Or wait, maybe that was because I added whole wheat flour?? Roll the pieces of dough into balls, and place on baking pan 1" to 1 1/2" apart.

Cover with towel again, and let rise for about 1/2 hour.  The dough will be touching a little and this is good.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

I love the pull apart look. MmmMmm!  I scooped this right out of the pan, tore it in half, and spread a little butter on it.  It was delicious!

So fluffy, and perfectly soft on the inside, and crispy on the outside, just how I like my rolls! Don't be scared by my crazy post, and how I tried to mess up this perfectly good recipe!  These rolls turned out wonderful, and really were easy! I WILL be making these again, and keeping the whole wheat flour!

Enjoy!

Question of the Day:

Have you encountered a problem while making a dish, and really started worrying that it wouldn't turn out alright?  Tell me about it! Don't let me be the only one! :)