Fluffy Potato Rolls

These rolls are classic.  They are light, moist, and very good for soaking up gravy.  Based on sheer numbers, these were the most popular roll at the dinner that I took them to.

The dough is very spongy/sticky in texture, and it is very important that the yeast be dissolved in water prior to adding it to the dough.  I added all of the potato flour in the beginning and then mixed the bread flour in gradually, but I would recommend that the flours be premixed and added together.

Fluffy Potato Rolls

2 Tbsp. butter

1/2 Tbsp. salt

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 egg, beaten

2 c. water, divided

3 tsp. yeast

1 1/2 c. potato flour

3 1/2 c. white bread flour

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of lukewarm water.  Meanwhile, melt the butter in a microwavable dish.  Stir in the salt, sugar, 1 1/2 cups of the water, and the egg.  Place in the bottom of a mixer bowl.  Separately, combine the potato flour and bread flour.  Add 2 cups of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients along with the dissolved yeast.  Mix thoroughly, then add the remaining flour in portions until a good consistency dough is formed.  Turn this out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.  Let rise for 1 hour.  Divide the dough into 2 1/2 oz. portions and shape into rolls.  Place on a greased cooking sheet about 1 inch apart.  Let rise for 1 hour.  Dust with flour and bake for 20 minutes at 375 °F.

Cranberry Apple Rolls

These rolls are a modification of the Cranberry Bread with Apple Glaze recipe that I posted last month.  For the record, I did discover a mistake in the recipe (there should be 1 1/4 c. water, not 1/4 c. water).  My apologies if anybody attempted to repeat that! 

Make the dough as directed in the original recipe and let rise for 1 hour. Then, weigh out 2 1/2 oz. portions of dough, and roll these into balls.  Place them on a greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.  Let rise for 1 hour.  Bake at 375° for about 20 minutes.  When the rolls have cooled, brush with the apple glaze.

These were a little bit tricky to transport since they are sticky on the top.  But, they were worth the effort!  None were left by the end of the night!

Sweet Rye Rolls

Flourboy and I sometimes disagree about what rye bread should taste like.  This is the recipe that he grew up with, modified into rolls.  It is a sweeter bread than what I am used to, and it doesn't have any caraway seeds in it.  But, it does pack a nice whole-grain punch.  We both agreed that these were quite tasty with leftover turkey for a light lunch.

Sweet Rye Rolls

3 1/2 c. white bread flour

2 c. rye flour

2 Tbsp. butter

2 c. water

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1 tsp. salt

4 1/2 tsp. yeast

Melt the butter in a microwavable dish.  Add the water, salt, and sugar.  Stir until mostly dissolved.  Mix in the rye flour and let stand for 5 minutes.  Separately, combine the yeast and 2 cups of the white flour.  Add this to the rye dough.  Finally, stir in the last portion of flour gradually, until a nice consistency dough has formed.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.  Cover and let rise for one hour.  

To shape, divide the dough into smaller batches (about 4).  Roll each batch into a thick rope, and cut off 2 1/2 oz. portions of dough.  Let the divided dough rise for about 1 hour, then cut lengthwise slits in the tops.  Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 375 °F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Pumpkin Spice Rolls

These rolls are a modification of the Pumpkin Spice Bread that I posted last month. 

Make the dough as directed in the recipe.  Then, divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each section into a ball.  Place in a greased muffin tin, and let rise for 1 hour.  Decorate the tops with pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds.  Bake at 375 °F for 20 minutes.

These rolls are not very sweet, so they pair really well with a sweet topping (like apple butter).  Just beware that they aren't exactly traditional.  If you are serving a crowd that favors fluffy white dinner rolls, check out the Potato Rolls that I post later this week.

Thanksgiving Roll Spectacular

Ahhh Thanksgiving!  

A bread-blogger's ultimate holiday!  

Since my family decided to celebrate early this year, I had the privilege of working through some recipes in advance of when you might be doing some baking of your own:

Clockwise from top left: 

Sweet Rye Rolls, 

Cranberry Apple Rolls, 

Fluffy Potato Rolls, and 

Pumpkin Spice Rolls.

Stay tuned for more details!

Bread for Butter

One of my labmates has a fancy-schmancy Sam's Club membership.  Recently, I was privileged to have him pick me up a ginormous box of individual servings of butter.  (See my recent post about butter here.)  I offered him some cash in return, but he indicated that he would rather have a loaf of rye bread.  Of course, I was crushed.  And he had to twist my arm.  Really hard.

He reported back to me later that this makes a great base for grilled cheese, loaded with several kinds of meat in addition to the usual cheddar.

Dark Rye Bread

2 Tbsp. oil
2 Tbsp. molasses
2 Tbsp. honey
1 1/2 Tbsp. instant coffee
1 Tbsp. baking cocoa
1 c. rye flour
2 t. yeast
1 1/2 t. salt
2 Tbsp. powdered milk
1 Tbsp. caraway seeds (optional)
3 c. white bread flour

Mix together all ingredients except white flour.  Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes.  Gradually add the white flour to form the dough.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.  Let rise for 1 hour, covered.  Gently knead and shape into a loaf.  Place in a greased loaf pan.  Let rise for 1 hour, covered.  Bake at 400 °F for 10 minutes, lower the temperature to  375 °F for 25 minutes, then turn off the oven for the final 10 minutes.  Let cool on a wire rack.