Published September 1, 2006.
A liberal amount of butter contributed richness to our American dinner roll recipe; an additional egg gave the rolls more flavor and better texture; and milk (scalded and skimmed) made the rolls soft, tender, and rich. For ideas about the best technique for our dinner roll recipe, we turned to the classic brioche recipe, giving our dough a similar series of rises, one of which takes place very slowly in the refrigerator to encourage flavor and allows the bulk of the work to be done a day or two in advance.
For this recipe, the dough is made and the rolls are shaped and refrigerated a day or two before being baked and served. Be sure to plan accordingly, as the refrigerated rolls require about six hours to rise before they're ready for baking. For the best flavor, let the rolls rise at cool room temperature, about 68 degrees. Depending on the brand, instant yeast is marketed as "rapid rise," "quick rise," or "perfect rise" yeast, or sometimes as bread machine yeast; if it's necessary to use active dry yeast in its place, see related how-to-cook for more information. If your cake pans have a dark nonstick finish, bake the rolls in a 375-degree oven to moderate the browning. This dough should be moister than most; resist the urge to add more flour than is needed to keep the dough from sticking to your hands. Made on a humid day, the dough may require more flour than if made on a dry day.
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