on a roll

'Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.'            
                                                  - James Beard

You know how a while back I confessed I'd never really made a pie crust? Bread is sort of the same story. I've made a few attempts, but since I moved out of my parents' home - hence away from the bread machine - the one or two loaves of bread I tried making just seemed to fall flat (literally). Maybe it was old yeast, maybe impatience in kneading... whatever the case, I kind of let bread-making fall away from my skill set. 


Of course, there's nothing better than a freshly baked loaf of bread or batch of rolls just out of the oven.
Growing up, we had homemade Mexican sweet bread toast for breakfast on an almost daily basis. It was my dad's specialty: a tender, slightly sweet crumb, the perfect white toast sliced thick to soak up butter. 


Fast forward to the present, when I find myself dating a great guy whose mother is an excellent cook and baker. I heard about her dinner rolls long before I tasted them, and I have to admit they did not disappoint. Parker, knowing how much I love to cook, requested his mom's rolls with dinner the other night. Not wanting to let him down, I meekly told him if he got me the recipe and he was willing to coach me a little, I'd try my hand at it. Turns out they're not that hard, even made totally by hand! I've got my bid in on a bread machine, too, now that I have a little confidence to tackle this area of kitchen mastery.


Ellen's Dinner Rolls
2 3/4 C bread flour                    3/4 C milk
2 T sugar                                   1/4 C water
1 tsp salt                                    1/4 C butter
2 tsp (1 packet) yeast                 1 egg


In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, salt and yeast. In a separate bowl or saucepan, heat the milk, water and butter together until the butter is melted. Whisk in the egg and make sure the mixture is quite warm. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until well blended. Turn out onto a floured surface. Flour your hands well, and knead the dough for 20 minutes, adding flour to the surface and/or your hands as needed to keep it from sticking. The dough will become tight and elastic. Put the ball of dough into a clean bowl, lightly oil the top surface to keep it from drying out, and cover with a towel. Let rise for one hour. 


Once the dough has risen (it will approximately double in size), roll it out into a large circle about 1/8 inch thick. Slice into 8 pie-shaped pieces, and roll the pieces up from the big end toward the middle place on a baking sheet (I love using stoneware; it's non-stick and bakes super evenly!), cover with a towel, and let rest for 45 minutes. 

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve hot with fresh butter, or slice and use for sandwiches; they're large enough! I'm imagining some lovely ham salad sandwiches for my Derby Day party in May... but that's another story for another day.