Soft Wheat Dinner Rolls

Everybody should have a yeast roll recipe in their repertoire. These wholesome dinner rolls have a beautiful spiraled crust and a lovely light and buttery texture. They are made partially from whole wheat flower, so they are on the healthier side (if you don’t count the butter they are brushed with before and after baking). The great thing about these rolls is that you can make and partially bake them and then freeze them for later. Most of the time that these take to make is hands-off time waiting for them to rise, so it’s fairly easy to make a large batch and have enough in the freezer for several meals. If you’ve bought frozen bagged rolls before, you know that they are fairly expensive. These are inexpensive to make, and you get about three times what you would get in one store-bought bag. Even better, you can pull out and bake as few or as many as you need.

Soft Wheat Dinner Rolls

2 pkgs. active dry yeast

1 3/4 c. very warm water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/4 c. butter, melted and cooled

1 egg, beaten

2 1/4 c. whole wheat flour

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. butter, melted

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix sugar, salt, 1/4 cup melted butter, egg, and whole wheat flour into yeast mixture. Stir in all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Punch down dough, cover, and let rise in warm place until doubled again, about 30 minutes. Grease 2 dozen muffin cups. Punch down dough, and divide into two equal portions. Roll each into a 6×14 inch rectangle, and cut rectangle into twelve 7×1 inch strips. Roll strips up into spirals, and place into muffin cups. Brush tops with melted butter. Let rise uncovered in a warm place 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and brush again with melted butter.

To make and freeze, only bake rolls for eight minutes. Cool completely and flash freeze on a large cookie sheet for 30 minutes. Place in large freezer bags and place back in the freezer. When ready to cook, thaw completely, and finish baking at 400 degrees for 5 to 7 additional minutes.

Source: Adapted from Food and Whine