I love YOUTUBE

YouTube is a regular go-to for tutorials on just about anything I need to know. I've relied on it so much these past few weeks from little details on cake construction to clips on how to braid and knot dinner rolls. I'm having fun!

I'll share a great dinner roll recipe with you while I'm at it:



Soft White Dinner Rolls

2 packets yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
Warm water to dissolve yeast
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
approx. 5-6 cups flour

Step 1:
Put yeast and sugar in a large cup, cover with warm water and stir with a fork. Set aside.

Step 2:
Put milk in a glass container and microwave for 2 minutes or you can scald it on the stovetop in a small pan. After scalding the milk, put the stick of butter in the container of milk. This melts the butter while also bringing the temperature of the milk down so it won't cook the eggs. Set aside.

Step 3:
In a mixer, combine the sugar, eggs and salt.

Step 4:
Add the yeast mixture and the milk/butter mixture to the mixer and mix everything together.

Step 5:
Add the flour 2 cups at a time. Mix well after each addition. Once all the flour is added, mix for at least 4 or 5 minutes. Close to 7 cups seems right for the Netherlands. I don't sift either.

The dough should pull away from the side of the mixer. If you have too little flour, the rolls won't hold their shape. If you have too much flour, they'll be too dry. If you added too much flour, you could add another egg.

Step 6:
Leave in mixer, cover and let raise for about an hour.

Step 7:
Run the mixer (I do this on the lowest setting) for a few revolutions. This is supposed to make the dough finer.

Step 8:
Roll out the dough on a floured surface.

Step 9:
Form rolls into desired shape. (Now this is when I turned to my ever trusty YouTube for direction). The ideas are endless. I love this knotted one:


Step 10:
Let rolls raise another hour or so.

Step 11:
Bake at 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C until light brown - maybe 10 minutes or so.

Notes:
This recipe usually makes enough for two nights of rolls for our family as well as a batch of cinnamon rolls. After I form the rolls into knots, I will put enough for that's night meal on one greased pan and let them raise for dinner. For the rest, I grease a pan and put the rolls on a cookie sheet. I cover the cookie sheet with foil and freeze (don't let them raise for the second time before freezing). Once the rolls are frozen, I take them off the cookie sheets and put them in ziploc bags (laid out flat) in the freezer. I then just take out as many rolls as I need. The rolls need about 2-3 hours to thaw and raise after being frozen.

The original recipe calls for two packets of yeast (or 1 1/2 Tbsp). When doubling, you don't need to double the yeast, use 2 Tbsp.