Sunday, March 29, 2015

Cabin Baking: Buttery Sourdough Pan Rolls

I fed my sourdough starter and ended up with too much to put back in the plastic jar I keep in the refrigerator. I hate to waste, so I decided to make some dinner rolls.

I found a recipe in Sunset Cook Book of Breads (Sunset Publishing, 1994), a cookbook that came from my mom’s collection. Mom loved to bake, even though Dad teased that he was First Cook in the family. The truth, was they shared cooking responsibilities, a habit Wayne and I have emulated.

Buttery Sourdough Pan Rolls

Sunset says, “The soft yeast dough for these rolls requires no kneading, yet it still results in moist, airy biscuits.” The reason is rolls are small, so gluten doesn't need to be strong enough to hold up the weight of a loaf. Rolls and biscuits  only need to have a uniform mixture.

As usual, I didn’t want a large batch just for the two of us so I cut the recipe in half. Sometimes this is difficult to do, but with this one it was easy except for the egg, which I left whole.

Ingredients:

1 package active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water (about 110°F)
2 cups flour
1/8 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
½ cup sourdough starter
¼ cup warm water (about 110°F)

Directions:

Sprinkle yeast over warm water. Let stand until foamy (5 min).

In large bowl, mix 1 cup of flour, sugar, and salt. Add yeast mixture, 3 tablespoons of melted butter, starter, milk, and lightly beaten egg. Beat until smooth by mixer or hand (5 min).

Gradually beat in the remaining cup of flour. Because of the extra egg I used an additional ¼ cup flour to keep the mixture from sticking to the sides of the bowl. At the end, it was easier for me to use my hands to incorporate the last of the flour.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 45 minutes).

Stir dough down. (At this point your can either refrigerate the dough to use in the next 3-4 days, or freeze the dough for future use).

For six rolls, coat a 6x8 baking pan with one tablespoon butter. Drop dough by large spoonfuls. Cover lightly and let rise in a warm place until puffy (about 30 minutes). The rolls will expand to touch each other.

Drizzle rolls with remaining tablespoon of melted butter. Bake in a 425°F oven until browned (15-20 minutes). Turn rolls out of the pan and pull apart to separate. Makes a dozen. Serve warm with butter.

Dough to freeze in parchment paper.
Even though I cut the recipe in half, I froze half for later. When I’m ready, I’ll thaw the dough at room temperature for 2 ½ to 3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Then it’ll be ready to form it into rolls to rise the final time before baking.

Next time maybe I’ll make the whole batch and freeze even more for quick and easy dinner rolls to go with Wayne’s cabin deck BBQ entrĂ©es. -- Margy

10 comments:

  1. Yumm - look delicious. Good idea for easter dinner.

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    1. As far a sourdough baking goes, they were pretty easy. - Margy

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks Stephanie. I am still learning how to bake yeast and sourdough breads. - Margy

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  3. Rolls always look and smell so good. I always feel bad that I am not a bread eater because they smell so wonderful.
    MB

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    1. I wish I wasn't such a bread eater. When I back a batch of rolls or a loaf of bread we eat more when it first comes out of the oven than we should. And covered in real butter. - Margy

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  4. Oh man, that looks and sounds delish, I'll bet your place smelled like Heaven :)

    I followed you from your comment on off-grid,net, I just approved your comment :)

    Wretha

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    1. Thanks for coming over to check out my blog. Thanks for posting my comment. I enjoyed reading the solar power balancing post. We are always looking for ways to improve of off-the-grid solutions. - Margy

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  5. these rolls look delicious. I can never be bothered with trying to make things with yeast. Perhaps when I have more time....ha ha.... have a great week and thank you for stopping by my blog.

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    1. What I liked about this recipe is that it was almost as easy to make as baking powder biscuits. - Margy

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We welcome your comments and questions. - Wayne and Margy