Homemade buns are one of the coziest parts of the holiday season. Something about the yeasty warmth, the comforting aroma, the extra effort and love involved in the making… all embody the best parts of the holiday season.
Most of us don’t take the time on a regular basis to make our rolls from scratch, but for the holidays, for our loved ones, we are willing to put in a bit more effort for the ‘specialness’ of the season. For sentimentality, for memories, and tradition.
I love making homemade bread, especially for the holidays, but I just don’t often have the time, or the patience, with all these little kids running around me. So, I am enlisting the help of my bread maker this year, for a little cheating.
Now, these rolls are still 100% homemade, by all means! They are just a bit less-fuss than usual and that makes me very happy.
After my bread maker quickly and easily whips up the dough and takes it through its first rise, I form the rolls, let them rise again on the counter and bake.
If I am feeling pressed for time, I will even make these ahead and freeze them (in an airtight container, once they are completely cooled!) to thaw on the counter the day I need them and warm them in the oven for a few minutes before serving!
All the cozy, comfort of homemade dinner rolls, with only a fraction of the effort (and almost NO mess!)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups room temperature water (about 80ºF)
- 4 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons dry buttermilk or milk powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (one packet) active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- (additional butter for brushing the tops of the rolls, and for serving)
Directions
Follow your bread makers general instructions for the order of putting in the ingredients. In mine (this one) I do it like this:
Pour the water into the bottom of the bread pan. Then the flour, dry milk, and sugar. Level these ingredients out and then make a small well in the middle of the dry ingredients for the yeast. Dump the yeast in that well.
Sprinkle the salt along the edges (away from the yeast) and then cut the butter into 4 chunks and press one chunk into the flour mixture in each corner of the pan.
Turn the machine onto the "Dough" setting and let it do its thing!
When the machine is done with the dough setting, dump the dough out onto a piece of parchment on the counter, cover with a piece of plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
Form the dough into balls (about the size of a small mandarin orange or so) and place them into a buttered 9x13" baking dish. Cover the dish with a piece of plastic wrap and a towel, and let it sit in a warm, draft-free place to rise for about 45 minutes (I usually set mine on top of my stove and turn the oven on to preheat... but my house tends to be very cold. Find a cozy, but not too warm, place!)
When the rolls have about doubled in size, brush the tops with a bit of melted butter, and then bake in a preheated 350ºF oven for about 15-20 minutes, until they are nice and golden brown.
Brush the tops of the warm rolls with a bit more butter and serve! (Or, if you are making these ahead of time, let them cool completely and then freeze in freezer safe ziploc bags. Take them out the night before to defrost on the counter and warm them in the oven for a few minutes before serving!)
http://sweetannas.com/2013/11/easy-homemade-bread-maker-dinner-rolls.html