Dinner Rolls

Just in time for Thanksgiving, my all time favourite (basic) bun recipe. I've made these a few times, but enough times to know that you don't need to change anything! You do need to have the time to prepare them. The multiple rises are what makes these. This dough puffs up like no other.  I don't pour butter over top of them, because honestly, you're probably going to put butter on them anyways... But that's just me.

I recommend to roll them into fairly even sized balls to split the dough. Split the ball in half, half again, and then the quarters into thirds. Each quarter should give you 9 buns. I managed to get 37 total. But 36 is pretty standard unless you want them a little larger. I made them again and only got 30. Really depends on ball size.

Dinner Rolls
(Adapted slightly from here)

2 1/2 cups warm milk
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, softened or melted and cooked slightly
2 teaspoons salt
7 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed


1/2 cup butter, melted (Optional)

Directions

I heat the milk in the microwave for about 2 minutes at half power. It should be around 100ºF. Then pour milk into a large mixing bowl, and sprinkle yeast over the surface. Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes.

Beat in the sugar, eggs, 1/2 cup butter, and salt; mix thoroughly, will be paste like. Gradually stir in the flour, a cup or so at a time to make a soft dough. Cover bowl, and set in a warm place until dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough, cover the bowl, and allow to rise again. Repeat this step once more.

Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish, and maybe a second 9x9.

** I've  found that baking them in smaller dishes like the 9x9 is a better option, I've had to throw out the center ones a couple times due to the rest of them being cooked nice and the middle ones still being raw. Otherwise you may want to bake them at 375ºF for a bit longer.

Break off 2 to 3 inch size pieces of dough, about golf ball sized and roll lightly into round shape, and place in prepared baking dish, edges touching. Repeat to make 36 dough balls. Cover with a damp towel and let rise until doubled in size. I find this is the step they start to get a bit of a crust, ensure you moisten the towel to keep that at bay.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Bake rolls in preheated oven until tops turn golden brown, 15 - 20 minutes..

If desired, When rolls are finished baking, drizzle melted butter over the top, and serve warm.