This homemade Dinner Roll is the best thing that could happen in your dinner table. Soft, fluffy and can be eaten on its own without even any spread. A perfect portion for sharing for two so nothing goes to waste. This dinner roll uses a very simple bread dough recipe that you can easily tweak to make different variations. Add some grated cheese, chopped jalapeno, stuff it with meat or even use it to make sweet rolls. Simple bread dough and yet versatile.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Milk (warm 110F)
- 1 1/4 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast or 1 teaspoon Instant (Rapid) Yeast
- 2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp Granulated Sugar
- 2 tbsp flavorless Oil
- 1 large Egg – room temperature
- 1 cup + 3 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Egg Wash(1 beaten Egg + 1 tsp water)
Instructions
- Microwave milk for 20- 25 seconds until lukewarm but NOT hot, aim for 110 – 115F.Transfer milk in bowl of stand mixer and add 1/2 tsp of the granulated sugar and stir. Add the yeast and let rest for 10 minutes until mixture is foamy. If the mixture did not become foamy, either the yeast is old or the milk is too hot. Do NOT proceed until corrected, otherwise you will end up with a tough dense bread.
- Set mixer with paddle attachment and mix in remaining sugar (2 tbsp), beaten egg, and oil on low-speed, just to mix every thing together.
- Add salt and 1 cup of flour and mix on low-speed until combined, then switch to a hook attachment. Allow mixture to knead on medium-low speed about 15 minutes until smooth and elastic. If the dough is too sticky after 15 minutes, add 1 tbsp of flour at a time until the dough comes together, the dough should be slightly sticky, smooth, soft and but not too dry. You want to knead at least 3 minutes before you start adding more flour. This is to give the mixture to absorb the additional flour or liquid (if needed). If too much flour is added, the rolls will be dense and heavy.
- Remove the dough and shape into a ball. Transfer into a greased bowl (I used oil spray) and roll the dough inside the bowl to coat the dough with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or warm towel and allow to rest for 1 hour in a warm place. Greasing the bowl lessen the sticking of the dough in the surface of the bowl. The left photo is after 8 minutes kneading the dough, and the right photo is after 1 hour rest. It doubles in size.
- Take the dough out from the bowl and lightly push the dough down with the heel of the palm of your hands. Divide into 4 portions and shape each piece into a ball.
- Line a 5 x 5-inch square pan with parchment paper or spray pan with oil. Leave an overhang on the side to allow easy removal later. Arrange each piece in the pan leaving allowances on all sides. Alternatively, you can also arrange it in a baking or cookie try. You can have it close together without a gap or you can arrange it far from each other. I personally like having it close together to keep the sides moist and like a pull apart bread.
- Cover with warm tea towel and let rest in a warm place for another 60 minutes. Preheat oven to 350F during last 10 minutes of dough rising (After 60 minutes, the dough will be puff-up like this (assuming the yeast was proofed properly in Step 2).
- Brush top with egg wash ( 1 beaten egg + 1 tsp water). Egg wash helps in the browning and gives a nice glossy texture. Alternatively, if you do not want to brush the top with egg wash, dust flour on top instead. Use a sieve for an even distribution of flour.
- Bake at 350F for 18 – 20 minutes until top turns brown.
