October 1, 2015 – Easy Refrigerator Rolls

In This Issue:

Anyone Can Bake These Rolls
RECIPE: Easy, Do-Ahead Dinner Rolls
How to Choose a Stand Mixer
Cooking Technique: Weighing When Baking

INTRO   

“Easy, Do-Ahead, Refrigerator Rolls”

INTRO TEXT   

These dinner rolls have been part of many family dinners for decades! We time them to be piping hot, straight from the oven when they hit the table. Everyone knows to pass the breadbasket immediately, and to follow it, pronto, with butter dish! 

Thumbnails
“Supper’s in the Oven!”

MAIN BODY:

Anyone Can Bake These Rolls!

There are two types of cooks – those that cook but not bake, and those that cook AND bake. The former often exhibit phobias about baking that range from “It’s messy,” “I don’t have time,” or “I’m worried it won’t turn out.” Well, these rolls answer every concern and put fresh, warm bread on the table in a reliable way! With the holidays and family gatherings on the horizon, give this recipe a try and keep it handy throughout the season. We predict that they’ll be a regular at your family celebrations – they’re just too easy not to include!

This recipe rates high on the “do-ahead strategy” scale. Once mixed and the initial rise accomplished, the dough will patiently wait in the refrigerator until ready to bake. With the help of a stand mixer these rolls are a cinch to assemble – very few prep dishes, no messy hands, and a minimal amount of hands-on time. Here’s how to make it happen easily!

1. MIX – Mix the dough in a stand mixer by making a thin batter and graduating to a soft dough:
Mix dry ingredients together: flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
Add softened butter and mix until evenly combined.
Add the water and egg and mix to form a thin batter
Mix well to evenly combine and create a smooth batter.
Gradually add the remaining flour.
Switch to the dough hook and machine knead for 7 minutes.

2. FIRST RISE – Once mixed, let the magic of yeast do the rest. The dough should double in size. Ambient room temperature conditions will determine how long it takes to double.
Form a dough ball, oil all surfaces lightly, and place in an oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel and place in a warm, draft-free location.	
Allow the dough to double in size – about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

4. FORM & FINAL RISE – When its time to bake, remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and form the rolls. You’ll find that what was once a sticky dough is now easy to handle without any flouring or oiling of the hands required.
Weigh the chilled dough ball to get a total weight. 	
Divide the total by 24 to get the weight of an individual roll.	
Allow the formed rolls to rise again.

5. BAKE & BRUSH – Bake the rolls in a hot oven; avoid overbaking. A light brushing of butter will keep the top crust soft and desirable. Serve immediately for maximum enjoyment.
Now doubled in size, heat the oven, they’re ready to bake!	
Brush the baked tops with melted butter.	
Find the breadbasket and bring them to the table!

Variations:
1. Less Whole Wheat – We prefer the nutty flavor that using half whole wheat flour provides, but if you like a softer, lighter roll, use all white, all-purpose flour instead.

2. Sweeter Variation – If you would like a sweeter roll, increase the sugar from one tablespoon to 4 tablespoons. The yeast will feed off the sugar and the rising sequences may occur more quickly. More sugar will also cause the crust to brown more quickly; use a 375°F oven instead.

3. Half Now, Half Later – This recipe makes 24 dinner rolls, enough for the Thanksgiving table, but perhaps too many for a Thursday evening. Make the full recipe, but use half or a quarter of the dough at a time. You can keep the dough in the refrigerator for up to three days.

4. Serve with Cinnamon Honey Butter – For an autumn presentation, serve with a compound butter: 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 tablespoon honey, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix together well and chill until ready to use. As the rolls bake, remove the butter from the refrigerator and allow it to soften before serving.

How to Choose a Stand Mixer

Today’s stand mixers are a marvel in power, versatility, and style – they’re no longer anything like your mother’s old stand mixer! When choosing a stand mixer consider these aspects:

(1) Size – Stand mixers are often identified by the size or capacity of the mixing bowl. We encourage choosing a large enough bowl to accommodate larger volumes. A bowl that is too small will quickly become limiting.

(2) Power – Modern stand mixers have plenty of power for operating; it’s a given. Choose a quality name brand and the power and motor durability will be there.

(3) Ease of Operation – As you envision operating the mixer, see how easy it is to place and remove the bowl. Is it easy to change from a paddle blade to a dough hook? Can you lift and move the appliance around your kitchen as needed.

(4) Attachments and Accessories – With a powerful motor at the core, you’ll find attachments for grinding, pasta-making, and many other operations. You’ll be amazed at the versatility that one appliance can offer.

Other Bread-Making Tools:

BEATER BLADE	
Flexible edges on the paddle blade minimize scraping down the sides

ESCALI PRIMO CULINARY SCALE
Cook like the professionals by keeping this scale handy in the kitchen. Great for so many uses.

OXO DOUGH CUTTER
Also known as a bench scraper, this handy tool is ideal for portioning dough and many other tasks.

Cooking Technique: Weighing When Baking

One trick of professional bakers is to weigh ingredients instead of measuring by volume such as with measuring cups. The amount of flour (and similar ground grains) may vary significantly when using a measuring cup – up to 25%! Such a wide variation in quantity makes a difference in the final baked item. By using a scale, and choosing recipes that offer weight measurements in addition to volume measurements helps to ensure a delicious outcome.

Did you notice the other weighing trick above? To get evenly sized rolls, we cut and weigh individual dough pieces. Evenly portioned dough pieces will rise and bake at a similar rate. Start by weighing the entire dough ball, divide that weight by the number of rolls desired -- in this case 24. The result is how much each dough piece should weigh. Form each piece into a ball and get ready to enjoy fresh, warm bread!