Soft Dinner Rolls

Ingredients
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
  • 7/8 to 1 1/8 (198g to 255g) cups lukewarm water*
  • 3 cups (361g) All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 3 tablespoons (35g) sugar
  • 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/4 (28g) cup dry milk
  • 1/2 cup (39g) instant mashed potato flakes
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup of melted butter

*Use the lesser amount in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate), and somewhere in between the rest of the year, or if your house is climate controlled.

Directions
  1. Combine the all of the ingredients and mix and knead — by hand, mixer or bread machine set on the dough cycle — until you've made a smooth dough. If you're kneading in a stand mixer, it should take 5 to 7 minutes at second speed, and the dough should barely clean the sides of the bowl, perhaps sticking a bit at the bottom. In a bread machine (or by hand), it should form a smooth ball.
  2. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise, at room temperature, until it's nearly doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Rising may take longer, especially if you've kneaded by hand. Give it enough time to become quite puffy.
  3. While the dough is rising, lightly grease two 9" round cake pans, or a 9" x 13" pan.
  4. Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface. Divide it into 16 pieces.
  5. Shape each piece into a rough ball by pulling the dough into a very small knot at the bottom, then rolling it under the palm of your hand into a smooth ball.
  6. Place eight rolls in each of the round cake pans (or all 16 rolls in the 9" x 13" pan), spacing them evenly; they won't touch one another.
  7. Cover the pan(s) with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the rolls to rise till they're very puffy, and have reached out and touched one another, about 1 hour. While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
  8. Just before putting the rolls in the oven, lightly brush the tops with 1/2 of the melted butter.
  9. Bake the rolls until they're a deep golden brown on top, and lighter on the sides, about 25 minutes.
  10. Remove the rolls from the oven, and after 2 or 3 minutes, carefully transfer them to a rack and brush with the remaining butter. They'll be hot and delicate, so be careful. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

To freeze ahead:

  1. FOR THIS USE COOL WATER NOT LUKEWARM. Combine the all of the ingredients and mix and knead — by hand, mixer or bread machine set on the dough cycle — until you've made a smooth dough. If you're kneading in a stand mixer, it should take 5 to 7 minutes at second speed, and the dough should barely clean the sides of the bowl, perhaps sticking a bit at the bottom. In a bread machine (or by hand), it should form a smooth ball.
  2. Shape each piece into a rough ball by pulling the dough into a very small knot at the bottom, then rolling it under the palm of your hand into a smooth ball.
  3. Place the rolls in a pan lined with waxed paper or parchment. Cover the pan with plastic wrap.
  4. Place the pan in the freezer. Make sure to place it in the coldest part of your freezer, then leave the freezer door shut until the rolls are frozen hard. The more quickly they freeze solid, the better your final result will be. 

On the day of:

  1. Space the rolls in a lightly greased pan. Cover with cling wrap and let rise 4 to 5 hours.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  3. Just before putting the rolls in the oven, lightly brush the tops with 1/2 of the melted butter.
  4. Bake the rolls until they're a deep golden brown on top, and lighter on the sides, about 25 minutes.
  5. Remove the rolls from the oven, and after 2 or 3 minutes, brush with the remaining butter. They'll be hot and delicate, so be careful. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

Freezing notes: 

  • Freeze for no longer than 2 weeks, 3 at the outside;
  • Freeze as quickly as possible: in a 0°F freezer, without opening the door;
  • Store where rolls will remain at a constant temperature, and completely frozen. This rules out self-defrosting freezers, which continually warm up, then cool down.
 

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