With Thanksgiving fast approaching, it's time to start thinking about your menu for the big day. We've covered turkey a lot, both as the main event and a leftovers goldmine. But really, for many people Thanksgiving is about all kinds of sides and we're going to take the next couple of weeks to offer some fun sides that give a nod to tradition, but mix things up just enough too. This time around, we're building our bread basket.
For the fluffiest rolls, you will definitely want to use bread flour. Another option is to create your own bread flour substitute by combining all-purpose flour with vital wheat gluten, an isolated form of the flour protein. Measure out a cup of flour, remove one teaspoon of flour, and replace it with a teaspoon of vital wheat gluten. I often opt for this method since I can make a lot of bread flour without having to buy and store another type of flour.
I personally adore a batch of tender, buttery rolls often, so I sometimes will cut the recipe below in half and make 6 slightly larger rolls to feed my family of three - my apologies to the dog. However, for a big meal like Thanksgiving, this recipe will easily make a dozen larger buns or sixteen smaller ones. Enjoy!
Garlic Butter Rolls
- 1 c. warm milk
- 2 tsp. granulated sugar
- 1 T. active dry yeast
- 3 T. vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp. salt
- 3 c. bread flour*
- 1 T. butter, melted
- 1 clove garlic, minced
In a small bowl combine the warm milk, yeast, and granulated sugar; let it stand for 5 minutes until you see the yeast bloom. Add the oil, salt, and egg. Mix gently with a fork.
Add the liquid to the flour; mix until a dough forms. Take it out of the bowl onto a floured surface and start kneading until a smooth and elastic dough is formed - this should take approximately 8-10 minutes. If you are using a stand mixer, knead using a dough hook attachment for 1 minute on low speed, then switch to medium and kneed for another 4 minutes.
Place the dough in a bowl coated lightly with oil; cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let it rise for 1-2 hours in a warm place until it triples in volume.
As an alternative, you can place all of the liquid ingredients in the pan of a bread maker and then layer the dry ingredients on top of the liquid ingredients and run the machine on the dough setting - DO NOT INCLUDE THE BUTTER AND GARLIC. Continue with the recipe as follows no matter which method you use up to this point.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Take the dough out of the bowl (or bread machine pan) onto a floured surface and divide into 16 equal parts. Roll the dough into balls and place them into a well-buttered 9x13 inch baking pan 1 inch apart from each other. Cover with a tea towel and let them rise one more time for 30 minutes.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile, melt the butter butter together with the minced garlic. Once the rolls are done baking, brush them with the garlic butter mixture.
*To make your own bread flour, refer to the article for simple instructions.
- Yields: 16 rolls - can be halved or doubled
- Preparation Time: 2-3 hours - much of that is rising time