A fragrant, just-baked roll, torn and daubed with good butter is one of those indulgences of big holiday meals that, for us, is completely mandatory. For this contest, quiet the carb-haters and the oven time-fretters and give us your best savory, yeasted rolls that will take our holiday spreads over the top in the...
These are not your usual contests. We have a slightly nutty system but it works. Together, the Food52 community has created two cookbooks this way -- there’s no stopping us now. Read about it
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Monkeymom's ingredient list: molasses, egg, yeast, flour, milk, butter, brown sugar and rolled oats.
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First, you proof the yeast in a little lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar.
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We used a mixer with a dough hook to make the dough, but you can easily do it by hand, as monkeymom suggests.
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Molasses: black as tar, and great for flavor.
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Our yeast proofed beautifully.
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Once the rest of the ingredients have been incorporated, it's time to add the flour. We found that we needed a tiny bit more than the recipe called for, but you may not -- bread requires flexibility!
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It reminded us of gingerbread dough at this stage.
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A quick knead, and Amanda shaped it into a smooth ball for its first rise.
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We put it in the fridge for a few hours in an oiled bowl.
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Once it had risen (not too much), we punched it down and divided the dough into 12 equal pieces.
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We followed monkeymom's technique of flattening each piece of dough and then tucking the edges under to form smooth balls.
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We nestled them into a cake pan, with a little breathing room for the second rise.
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Some butter...
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and a dusting of oats.
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After another hour and half or so, this is what they looked like. Time for the oven!
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A bevy of starches (AP flour, bread flour, buckwheat flour, potato flakes) joins baking soda, yeast, butter, egg, sour cream and honey.
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If you're not using leftover mashed potatoes, you need to first hydrate your potato flakes with boiling water.
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Then we added the sour cream, egg, butter and honey, plus a bit of salt.
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The yeast and then the other dry ingredients get added -- the flour a little at a time.
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We chose the long proofing method, which meant less yeast and less kneading!
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We put the dough into an ungreased bowl, which we covered tightly and put in the fridge overnight.
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The next day -- evidenced here by new outfits -- Amanda winds up to punch the dough down.
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AntoniaJames has you flatten it into a disc and let it rest for a few minutes.
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Then, it gets divided into 16 equal pieces.
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When you're shaping 16 rolls, it's nice to have four hands!
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The dough felt lovely and smooth as we shaped it.
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A neat little row of rolls.
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We arranged them in a well-buttered cake pan, with some room to grow during their second rise.
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A light egg wash gives the rolls a caramel sheen.
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Ready for the oven!
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