These yeast rolls were one of my non-negotiables for my 48-hour Thanksgiving. I love, love, love these rolls. They're buttery rich with a soft, fluffy texture. Yes, a bag of store bought rolls would have been faster. But it wasn't something I was willing to budge on, even if it meant a little extra work. Not that I really mind that kind of work. I mean, extra work doing dishes, not my cup of tea. Extra work watching dough rise, punching it down, and shaping it, my idea of a good time.
Let's say you have more than 48-hours to plan your meal. Perfect! You can make this dough ahead of time! To do that, follow all the steps through the shaping. Once the dough is shaped, freeze them on a cookie sheet until hard, then you can transfer them to a Ziploc bag if you like. The day before you need them take them out of the freezer and let them thaw in the fridge. Bring them to room temperature and then let them rise another 30-45 minutes before baking.
All in one day or frozen for later, you're going to love these rolls!
Soft Yeast Rolls
Ingredients
4-1/2 tsp (2 packets) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
2 cups warm milk (110° to 115°)
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
7 to 7-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp butter
2 tsp honey
Directions
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let stand for 10 minutes, until it starts get foamy and the water looks milky. Add the milk, butter, eggs, sugar, and salt and turn the mixer on low to combine. Add 3 cups of flour and beat until smooth.
Remove the paddle and replace it with a dough hook. Add 4 more cups of flour and let the mixer knead the dough for 5 minutes. The dough should become smooth and elastic and just slightly tacky to the touch. Add up to 1/2 cup more of flour if the dough is too sticky. Move the dough to an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Towards the end of rising, butter two 9x13 pans. After the dough has risen, punch it down in the center and turn out on a floured surface, knead it by hand for a minute or so. Cut the dough into 24 even pieces* and place in the prepared 9x13 pans. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a small bowl and stir in the honey. Brush the tops of the rolls. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
*Usually I do 12 rolls per pan (and 1/2 recipe for just one pan) but for Thanksgiving I made smaller rolls. For smaller rolls divide into 40 pieces (20, 4 rows of 5, per pan).
Adapted from Taste of Home