Dinner rolls

This week's menu:
Monday: Ratatouille with dinner rolls
Tuesday: Shrimp and crab louie salad with yorkshire pudding
Wednesday: Jja jang Myun (Chinese noodles with black bean sauce) with tofu casserole
Thursday: Tri-tip with chimichurri sauce and mashed potatoes

There's really nothing compared to fresh homemade dinner rolls, or anything freshly baked for that matter. Today's the first day that I'm going to start preparing these lunches by myself but I was still determined to make about 80 rolls and make ratatouille.

Dinner Rolls

Recipe from Cooking Light
Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Yield: 16 rolls

Ingredients
2 tsp sugar
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated fat-free milk, warmed (100-110 degrees F)
18 ounces all-purpose flour (about 4 cups, divided)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp salt
cooking spray
1 tsp cornmeal
2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
poppy seeds (optional)

Directions

1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in milk in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 13.5 (about 3 cups) flour and egg to milk mixture, stirring until smooth; cover and let stand fro 15 minutes.
3. Add 3.4 ounces (about 3/4 cup) flour and salt; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of the remaining flour, 1 tbsp at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).
4. Place the dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, for 40 minutes or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into the dough. If an indentation remains, the dough has risen enough). Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes.
5. Divide dough into 16 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), shape each portion into desired form. Place shaped dough portions on each of 2 baking sheets lightly sprinkled with 1/2 tsp cornmeal. Lightly coat shaped dough portions with cooking spray; cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 20 minutes or until doubled in size. 
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
7. Gently brush dough portions with butter; sprinkle with poppy seeds, if desired. Place 1 baking sheet on bottom oven rack and 1 baking sheet on middle oven rack. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, rotate baking sheets. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until lightly browned on top and hollow-sounding when tapped on bottom. Place on wire racks. Serve warm, or cool completely on wire racks. 

Note* To freeze rolls, bake, cool completely, wrap in heavy-duty foil, and freeze. Thaw and reheat (still wrapped) at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes or until warm. 

Nutritional Analysis:
per serving (1 roll): 151 calories, 2.1g fat (1.1g saturated, 0.2g polyunsaturated, 0.5g monounsaturated), 27g carbohydrates, 0.9g fiber, 5.4g protein

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

In order to properly activate the yeast, you need the liquid to be warm, between 100 to 110 degrees. You can heat the milk in the microwave or on the stove top, but make sure not over heat the milk or you will need to wait until it cools to the right temperature. 

I chose to mix and knead the dough using a kitchen aid mixer since it's much quicker and easier. I did add 2 tablespoons less of the flour than the recipe states but adjust yours accordingly. After each tablespoon that you add, touch the dough. If it sticks to your fingers and feels wet, you need more flour. 

After the dough has risen, press two fingers in the dough to test if its ready. If the indentation stays than the dough is ready to be punched down and rolled out. 

To keep the rolls consistent, I portioned out each roll to 1.5 ounces. This is a little smaller than the size the recipe intends for because I was able to get 20 rolls instead of 16. 

There are many different shapes you can form your dinner rolls. You can simply roll them into rolls...

or make knots...

or twists. Other shapes include cloverleafs, rosettes, and swirl rolls but I decided to just stick with three today.

This is the second time I am making these rolls and I remember from the first time that the rolls could have used a tad more salt. To remedy this, I sprinkle a little bit of sea salt on the rolls after they have risen for the second time and have been brushed with butter. I also sprinkled sesame seeds on top instead of poppy seeds.

Enjoy these rolls with ratatouille for a great healthy comfort meal! I used the rolls to soak up the sauce goodness from the ratatouille. 

The first time I made these rolls people raved about them. The outside has a nice crust while the inside is soft. The rolls have a little chew factor and the sea salt crystals really add the extra oomph you need. Although the rolls are still good at room temperature, they're best right out of the oven with a little butter.