Dinner Rolls

makes 15 rolls

I make smaller rolls than described in this recipe so I end up with around 32 rolls. My rolls end up about the size of a Sister Schubert's yeast roll ... maybe a little bit bigger. So you can decide how large to make yours based on that. The recipe is from Betty Crocker's Cookbook. I get most of my bread recipes from this book. I use a mix of whole wheat bread flour and all-purpose flour. About 1 cup of the whole wheat bread flour and the rest all-purpose flour. More than that and the rolls don't seem to turn out as well texture- and taste-wise. And I always use butter. I also always use my KitchenAid mixer to knead :)

I combined two different tips for freezing the dough. My MIL told me to freeze cookie dough by shaping the cookies on a cookie sheet and then sticking them in the freezer until hard; move to a plastic bag and you have individual cookies ready to go whenever you'd like to cook them. I read in my Mennonite cookbook that you can do the same thing for rolls. So I only cook about 8 at a time. I form all the rolls and place 8 of them in the pan I use to cook the rolls, the rest I put on a cookie sheet. I brush them with the butter and then stick them in the freezer. Once frozen, I pop them in a plastic bag and store in my freezer. When I need rolls, I take out how many I need and put them in a pan to thaw for about 4 hours at room temperature, then bake. I usually brush with the melted butter again or the tops get a little chewy.

3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or stick margarine, softened
1 teaspoon salt
1 package regular or quick active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoon)
1/2 cup very warm water (120-130 degrees)
1/2 cup very warm milk (120-130 degrees)
1 large egg
Butter or stick margarine, melted, if desired

Mix 2 cups of the flour, the sugar, 1/4 cup butter, salt and yeast in large bowl. Add warm water, warm milk and egg. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minutes, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead about 5 minutes or until dough is soft and springy. Place dough in large bowl greased with shortening, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place about 1 hour or until double. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

Grease rectangular pan, 13 x 9 x 2 inches, with shortening.

Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Divide dough into 15 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball; place in pan. Brush with butter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place about 30 minutes or until double.

Heat oven to 375.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cool.