Basil Dinner Rolls Recipes

FRESH HERB DINNER ROLLS

Steps:

• In a small mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in 1 cup warm water. Let stand until creamy; about 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, stir together the yeast mixture with milk, eggs, salt, butter, parsley, chives, and 4 cups flour. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough has pulled together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Grease two 9x13 inch baking pans. Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 24 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball, and place into the prepared pans. Cover the rolls with a warm, damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg white with 2 tablespoons of water; brush egg wash over tops of rolls.
• Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

CLASSIC DINNER ROLLS

Steps:

• Combine 3/4 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Heat milk, water and butter until very warm (120 degrees to 130 degrees F). Add to flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add 1/4 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed. Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
• Divide dough into 12 equal pieces; shape into balls. Place in greased 8-inch round pan. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• Bake in preheated 375 degrees F oven for 20 minutes or until done. Remove from pan; brush with additional melted butter, if desired. Serve warm.

TOMATO-BASIL PULL-APART ROLLS

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm milk. In a large bowl, beat egg, tomato paste, oil, salt, yeast mixture and 1 cup flour on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes., In a bowl, toss filling ingredients. Punch down dough; turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 16x12-in. rectangle. Sprinkle with filling to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 slices., Place, cut side down, in a parchment-lined 10-in. cast-iron skillet. Cover with a kitchen towel; let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°., Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove rolls to a wire rack. , Freeze option: Securely wrap cooled rolls in foil; place in an airtight container. To use, partially thaw overnight in refrigerator. Reheat rolls, wrapped in foil, in a preheated 300° oven until warm, about 25 minutes.

BASIL DINNER ROLLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, salt and 6 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. , Punch dough down; knead several times. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine basil, walnuts and cheese; reserve 2 tablespoons for topping. , Shape dough into 32 balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball into a 4-in. circle; place 16 rolls each, seam side down, on two greased baking sheets with rolls touching. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. , Brush tops with butter; sprinkle with reserved basil mixture. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.

GARLIC KNOTS

Steps:

• Activate the yeast: In a bowl whisk the yeast, sugar and warm water together. Stir and let it sit for 10 minutes until the yeast foams up.
• Make the dough: In the bowl of your mixer, mix the flour and salt together. To it, add egg, butter and yeast mixture. Mix using paddle attachment until it's all well incorporated. The dough will be a bit soft.
• Rise: Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, cover up with plastic wrap and let sit until doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven: Preheat your oven to 400 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cut & Roll: Punch down dough to let out some of the air and knead it a couple times. Roll it out a bit so that it's about 1/2-inch in thickness, then cut the dough into 15 long pieces, as seen in the pictures. Roll each piece into long ropes about 8 inches long and tie each rope into a knot. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Finish & Bake: Mix the butter ingredients together and brush generously over the knots. Let the knots rest for another 10 minutes then bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until golden.
• Serve: If there's any garlic basil butter left, brush again on knots before serving.

HOMEMADE DINNER ROLLS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the almond milk, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar and proof for 5 minutes or until foamy.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, place the flour, salt, the remaining sugar, olive oil, and the yeast mixture. Mix on medium-low speed for 2-3 minutes until the dough is well-formed around the hook and pulling away from the sides.
• Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead a few times to form into a ball. The dough should be sticky, but if it's too sticky to work with, add a little more flour. Brush a large bowl with ½ teaspoon olive oil and place the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the dough is doubled in size.
• Brush a large baking sheet with olive oil and set aside. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and lightly flour your hands. Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball by rolling on the countertop with a cupped hand. Place each piece onto the baking sheet. Dust the tops with a very slight amount of flour to keep the plastic wrap from sticking to the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour, or until puffy.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F and move the oven rack to a low position.
• Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown, rotating the pan halfway. Let the rolls cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

SOFT DINNER ROLLS RECIPE

Steps:

• Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 Tablespoon of sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/rubber spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula is a better choice.*
• Add the remaining sugar, egg, butter, salt, and 1 cup flour. With a dough hook or paddle attachment, mix/beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the remaining flour. Beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If the dough seems too wet to a point where kneading (next step) would be impossible, beat in more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until you have a workable dough, similar to the photos and video above. Dough should be soft and a little sticky, but still manageable to knead with lightly floured hands.
• Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 3 full minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 3 full minutes. (See video tutorial above if you need a visual of kneading dough by hand.)
• Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
• Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan or two 9-inch square or round baking pans. You can also bake the rolls in a cast iron skillet or on a lined baking sheet.*
• When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Divide the dough into 14-16 equal pieces. (Just eyeball it- doesn't need to be perfect!) Shape each piece into a smooth ball. I do this entirely in my hands and you can watch in the video tutorial above. Arrange in prepared baking pan.
• Cover shaped rolls with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until puffy, about 1 hour.
• Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). (It's best to bake the rolls towards the bottom of the oven so the tops don't burn.)
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven, brush with optional honey butter topping, and allow rolls to cool for a few minutes before serving.
• Cover leftover rolls tightly and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.