Awesome Dinner Rolls

Tonight we had a delicious Easter dinner, with these rolls being one of the major hits of the meal!  I wanted to make some to-die-for dinner rolls that didn't require rolling up into crescents (because those are the kind I usually make) and so tried this recipe from my Our Best Bites cookbook.  They were AWESOME and will definitely be made again.

World’s Best Dinner Rolls Recipe by Our Best Bites Ingredients

• 2 c. whole milk (if you’re in a pinch, you can use 2%, but whole is best. Don’t use 1% or skim) 
• ½ cup + 1 tablespoon sugar, divided 
• 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) butter 
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt 
• 2 packages active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp.)
• 2/3 cup warm (105-115-degree) water 
• 8-9 cups all-purpose flour 
• 3 beaten eggs 

Instructions: Combine milk, 1/2 c. sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat. Allow to cool until lukewarm. I usually rub some ice cubes along the sides of the pan or pop the entire pan in a sink full of ice cubes to cool the mixture down because this step can take forever. This step is really important because if the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.

 While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. If the yeast hasn’t bubbled, you’ll need to repeat this step–moving on with yeast that hasn’t been activated properly will only end in heartache for you.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 c. flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes. Add beaten eggs.  Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft–it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Don’t worry, it will firm up during the rising process. Part of what makes these rolls so good is that they’re so soft and light; if you add too much flour, they will be heavy and dense.

Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour. Punch down dough.

Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half. Spray 2 9×13 glass pans with cooking spray. Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces. I like to use a pizza cutter because it has a blade on each side, so it cuts right through dough without sticking to the blade. This dough should be very easy to work with, almost like playdough. Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan.  

(Jennifer's note: personally I think flouring your countertop, rolling out the dough, cutting it, and then shaping it into rolls is a bit ridiculous.  I simply divided the dough in half.  You should get 12 rolls from each half.  So, working with half of the dough, I divided it into four equal parts, and took each of those parts and made 3 equal rolls out of each, resulting in 12 rolls.  Then repeat with the other half to get the second dozen.  I followed their instructions for the first pan of rolls and mine for the second pan of rolls, and there was no difference at all in the results, but my way seems a lot easier and less messy to me.  Though the dough was still sticky, so having flour nearby to use on my hands as I shaped the rolls was helpful.  :)

Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go (depending on your oven), preheat oven to 375. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown. When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls. And enjoy the world's best dinner rolls!