Oftentimes, I wish I could be one of “those” people. You know the person I’m talking about. The kind of person that has homemade chocolate chip cookies in their cookie jar, instead of Chips Ahoys. The kind of person that makes a family-size lasagna or pot of chili and freezes the rest for meals throughout the coming weeks, rather than stuffing themselves and their boyfriend to the gills, then eating it for the next 3 days straight until neither of them can look at aforementioned once-delicious family-style meal. Too real?
Basically, to me the epitome of “that” put-together person is having homemade bread around the house. Homemade bread is a labor of love, patience, and flour-y counters. It’s something I absolutely love to do when I have a full lazy few hours in front of me, but really, how often does that happen (for me or anybody else)? I think one of my New Year’s resolutions has to be to make more homemade bread. I’m feeling like a domestic goddess just thinking about it.
Realistically, this New Year’s resolution will most likely be derailed by something critically important, such as a Top Chef marathon, day drinking, or the fact that it’s a Wednesday, but in the spirit of being more like those people I’d so love to be, let’s make rolls. Fantastic, homemade, warm-from-the-oven-spread-with-a-pat-of-butter dinner rolls.
These honey whole wheat dinner rolls are the perfect accompaniment to pretty much any meal I could think of. They are softly sweet from the honey, but by no means overpowering in terms of flavor; they are just asking to be smeared with honey butter and jam or piled high with turkey, bacon, or anything else that may be on your plate. I think I let them overproof a little due to the slightly larger-than-perfect crumb, but this can be easily modified by, you know, reading the directions thoroughly and following them. I, er, also browned them a little too much due to cooking them in a toaster oven in an attempt to be crafty in a crowded kitchen. They were still fantastic and warm and homey, so what-ever. And here’s the best part: they can be frozen after making the dough and then baked up whenever you want a quick side – and really, what’s more domestic goddess than that?
Martha – watch your back.
- 1 ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup very warm water, divided
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 2 tbsp honey, divided
- 1 egg
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
- Combine ¼ cup of the warm water, the yeast, and 1 tbsp of the honey in a small glass bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand about 10 minutes, until the water is all foamy.
- In a large bowl, combine the 2 types of flour and the salt.
- Finally, in a medium bowl, combine the ¾ cup of water remaining, 1 tbsp honey, egg, and 2 tbsp of the melted butter. Mix to combine.
- Add the yeast mixture and the water/honey/egg/butter mixture to the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, mix the dough until it begins to come together and form a ball. Don’t worry if the dough is sticky and hard to manage – that’s how it’s supposed to be! Next, remove the dough from the bowl and spray the bowl with cooking spray, then return. Cover with a towel and place in a warm location for about 25 minutes.
- After the dough has risen, grease or line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper to prepare. Flour your hands and a large, flat surface well. Punch the dough down in the bowl, then tip it out onto the floured surface. Divide the dough into 9 even balls, adding flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. Place the balls in rows of 3 in the baking dish. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray to avoid sticking. (If you’re looking to freeze the rolls, skip ahead to the NOTES at this point.)
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F. While the oven preheats, allow the rolls to rise again for 15-20 minutes. At the end of this period, the rolls should be round and popping out of the pan. Once they look like this, melt the last 2 tbsp of butter and brush the tops of the rolls with butter. Bake the rolls for 15-20 minutes, or until nicely browned on top (mine in these pictures are a little over-done). Serve immediately!
- If you’d like to make ahead and freeze, follow these instructions through rolling the dough into balls and covering with plastic wrap coated with cooking spray. To protect the dough from freezer burn/smells, wrap in additional layers of plastic wrap and a layer of foil. When you’re ready to bake, remove the dough from the freezer and allow to thaw completely (allow about 2-3 hours). Once the rolls have thawed and risen per visual instructions above, bake as directed.
