Sweet Dinner Rolls

Sweet Dinner Rolls
Photo by Kate Tompkins

1 ½ cups warm water*
¼ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons instant yeast
¼ cup butter, melted
5 cups or more flour, divided
2 eggs

 

Pour water into large mixing bowl. Stir in sugar and salt. Sprinkle yeast over top of water and let rest five minutes. Stir in the melted butter and two cups of the flour. Continue stirring until fairly smooth. Beat the eggs with a fork in a cup and add to the flour mixture.

 

Continue adding the rest of the flour in. When it gets too stiff to stir, knead it in by hand until the dough is no longer sticky. You’ll need to turn it over periodically to make sure the entire surface is floured. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rest until double in ow long that will be will depend on how fresh your yeast is and how warm your kitchen is.

 

Punch dough down and divide into 12 or 16 pieces. Shape into balls and place in two 8-inch round cake pans. Let rise another 20 minutes, then turn your oven on to 350°F. Once it reaches temperature, put the rolls in and bake for 25 minutes.

 

Makes 12 large or 16 medium.

 

These make a good basic dinner roll and brown nicely because of the sugar content. The dough can also be used for other rolls—more recipes to follow. If you’re in a hurry, you can skip the first rising and go directly to the shaping into rolls, but the texture won’t be as nice.

 

*I just use hot water from the tap. You want it warm enough to get the yeast started, but not hot enough to kill it.