Dinner Rolls by Stephen Blanchard

Baker Stephen Blanchard uses a combination of Janie's Mill Frederick White Wheat Flour and High-Protein Flour for these dinner rolls. The Frederick White Wheat Flour is 100% extraction, meaning 100% of the bran, germ, and endosperm in every kernel remain in the flour. So, not only are these rolls beautiful and easy to make, they are also good for you and your family!

Stephen's recipe makes 12 Rolls. Plenty to share!

Ingredients

• 240g Frederick White Wheat Flour (you may substitute any medium-protein flour)
• 80g High Protein Bread Flour (you may substitute any higher protein bread flour)
• 80g Milk
• 70g Water
• 34g Sugar
• 5g Instant/Dry Active Yeast or 15g Fresh Compact Yeast
• 4g Salt
• 1 Egg (34g to be precise but 1 whole egg works just fine)
• 170g Butter - 70g Cubed for the dough and 100g Melted at the end

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Using a stand mixer, mix everything EXCEPT the butter together, using the dough hook attachment. If using a KitchenAid mix at speed 1 for 2-3 minutes until everything comes together.
3. Slowly add the 70g of cubed butter. If using a KitchenAid increase the speed to 2. With a Stand Mixer increase the speed to Medium Low. Let the dough mix for about 5 minutes until all the butter is combined into the dough and you can’t see butter peeking out anywhere.

4. Once all the butter is incorporated take the dough out of the mixer and give it a quick 30 second knead on the countertop just to smooth out the dough and form it into a ball. Lightly flour a medium sized bowl add the dough then allow the dough to rise for about 45 minutes covered. You can just throw a towel over the bowl to make it easy. The other option is using a non-stick spray in your bowl instead of flour.

5. After the 45 minute rise, take the dough out, with the help of a dough scraper if need be, onto a lightly floured surface. Split the dough into 12 equal portions, about 65g a piece. Form each portion into a round ball.

The easiest way to do this is to cup the dough on the countertop and make circles with your hand keeping the dough in contact with the counter and your thumb and pinkie tight on the sides of the dough. After a few twists you will feel it shape up into a ball. With practice, you can do one in each hand.

6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place your rolls at most .5 - 1 inches apart. Allow to rise for about an hour or until close to doubled in size and touching the sides of each other.

7. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes and rotate your pan about 15 minutes into the bake. As the rolls are baking, melt the 100g of butter.

8. When the rolls are a nice dark golden brown remove from the oven and immediately brush the butter all over the rolls. Let rest for 10min to give the butter a chance to absorb into them and then . . . Enjoy!

Dinner Roll Variations:

• Add 65-80g of Cheese to your dough

• Add 20-40g of herbs like Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme to your dough or anything else you might like.

• Add a crushed clove of garlic to your melted butter with some herbs, then brush your rolls with garlic herb butter.

• Increase the sugar by about 20g and then make a simple syrup (see below) to brush onto the finished rolls instead of butter.

  To make a simple syrup just mix 100g Water and 100g Sugar in a saucepan. Have your heat at Medium High and allow it to boil just for a few minutes until it thickens up very slightly on the back of a spoon. It is easiest to just dip the spoon in and run your finger through it and it will feel slightly syrupy. WARNING - As long as it is only boiling for a few minutes the syrup should not burn you BUT if it is already turning amber in color and has been cooking for 5+ minutes, don’t touch it or the spoon.

About Stephen Blanchard

Stephen Blanchard is a cottage baker in the Milwaukee area. All of his sourdough bread and baked goods use 100% local stone-ground flours. He has been baking bread for the past 8 years and started his small bakery, Stephen's Breads, at the start of the pandemic. All of his breads are naturally leavened (sourdough) and are baked to order. You can find more about Stephen and all the different breads that are available to order at Stephen's Breads, Facebook - Stephen's Breads or Instagram - Stephen's Breads.