Rolls are the silent, understated backbone to any full meal. Main courses may seem like the center of attention–after all, they sure take up more room on your plate. But it’s the bread rolls that guests will really remember. Dunked into soup, enjoyed plain or slathered with butter, nut butter or jam, rolls can make or break a dining experience. Whether you’re cooking for 2 or 10, serve these buttery, break-apart cloverleaf rolls with your next dinner.
Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls
Serves 12
Ingredients
1-½ cups whole wheat flour
1-½ cups unbleached white all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
2-¼ tsp. active dry yeast (or one 7-g packet)
1-½ tsp. salt
1 cup soft butter + ¼ cup melted
¾ cup warm milk (110 degrees F)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and warm milk. Add yeast and set aside for about 5 minutes to let yeast dissolve.
- Add whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, egg and yolk to the yeast mixture. With a dough hook on low or by hand, mix for 1-3 minutes, until a dough forms. Mix in salt. Increase hook speed to medium and add soft butter bit by bit until fully incorporate. Continue to knead or mix until dough is smooth.
- Once dough begins to stick together and pull away from the sides of the bowl, transfer dough to a clean bowl. Coat with olive oil and cover bowl. Let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, until it has doubled in size.
- On a floured surface, separate dough into three equal portions. Roll each portion into a long rope, about 18 inches long. Break each into 12 equal portions and cover them with a clean towel.
- Roll each small piece into a smooth ball. (If the dough breaks apart after rising, chill it for about half an hour. Then, increase the final rise time by 5-10 minutes.)
- Coat a muffin tin with melted butter, reserving some butter. Place three balls into each muffin cup, seam side down. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes. The dough should double in size.
- While the dough rises, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush each roll with melted butter and bake for 15 minutes, until golden. Rotate pan halfway through baking.
- Once golden-brown, brush with remaining butter and cool in pan for 5 minutes.