Rosette Dinner Rolls

I never blog just to blog. It's some combination of laziness and self-pity.

:P  i just dont know how to explain the gravity of this statement, but believe me for the good times ... i mean it from the bottom of my heart. I stopped blogging and then i pushed myself hard to start over again, and gaah ... i stopped again... but i shud not, so here comes the self pity part, :), i was chitchatting with Harshika of And She Cooks at Chef at large  and we were discussing dinner rolls, Kaajal had made some beautiful dinner rolls... and Harshika was sad about the browning of her rolls... oh another pitiful thing about we bloggers / bakers / cooks, something or the other always worries us like a.l.w.a.y.s .. and it reminded me of the beautiful dinner rolls i tried one of those days when Garg was on his trip, and i was all alone , super bored and wanted to try out something, *wonders when do i not thing of that* ... and i bumped into Tammy's Dinner Rolls on pinterest, yes i was big time addicted to pinterest then, its kinda faded off now.. but thats a different story.. 

oh i wandered again, so when me and Harshika were chatting, i started cursing myself all over again, coz i never saved that recipe, i didnt even remember where did i see it, pinterest or foodgawker or wheree d hell!!! and then the pity started , yes i love myself too much to curse myself for too longg... oh yes iam my fav... thats jab we met for making me realize that this statement suits me really well.. :P, i was asked for the recipe, uff , the search began , and thanks a ton harshika.. then i pities myself that if i dont search for it now, well what will i do when i have to make it again, and yeah i have it now, and will write down my silly little 2 cents. 

The bestest part of these rolls is its really ready in flat 1 hr max 1.5, she says the fluffiest rolls will take longer, but when u re in a hurry, or just craving for great rolls,  these are super soft n nice, i wont complain. 

Rosette Dinner Rolls

This recipe gives you close to 20-24 rolls, and they stay beautiful for 2 days so no hurries, you can use them slowly. 

Ingredients : 

1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1/2 tablespoon sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups warm milk (115 degrees F / 46 degrees C) 

1/2 cup oil or melted butter (i used melted butter)

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon honey or molasses (i used honey)

1/3 cup castor sugar 

6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

Method : 

1/2 cup warm water (115 degrees F / 46 degrees C)

1.  Take a small mixing bowl to combine the water, yeast, and 1/2 tablespoon sugar. Stir with a fork to combine, and then set aside. (Mixture will get foamy.) (*Tip : Since you are using instant dry yeast, this can be avoided alltogether, and the yeast put into the dry mixture directly, but just that this "proofing of the yeast" helps in that fast kick start.

2. In a medium-large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a fork. Add the warm milk, butter, salt, honey , and 1/3 cup sugar. Stir well to combine.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the two wet mixtures and stir. Add the flour half a cup at a time to get a soft dough continue to knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms (about 10-15 minutes). (*Tip :Try not to exceed 6 cups, and get the dough non sticky by kneading enough, and add extra dough only towards the end)

4. Now , allow the dough to rest for 5-10 minutes, covered with a clinge foil. While dough is resting, grease your baking sheets. Turn oven on to 200 degrees and set a timer for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, turn off the oven. (Leave the door shut so it stays warm inside!) (*Tip : I prefer putting a parchment paper at the bottom to avoid d mess)

5. Separate or cut dough into 24 pieces. I divide in half, then divide each half in half again. Now I have fourths, and I divide each of those in half. Now I have 8 pieces of dough, and I divide each piece into 3 pieces, resulting in 24 pieces. :) (*Tip : If you have a measuring scale, measure for 100gms and cut out equal qtys, this results in beautiful equal and even looking rolls.)

6. Form each piece of dough into a roll. To make Kaiser (or rosette-shaped) dinner rolls like the ones in these pictures, roll each piece of dough into a rope about 8 inches long. Tie the rope into a knot, with two long "tails" remaining. Tuck one tail under and one tail over, tucking in the middle, to make the rosette shape.

See the video for the best guide for the rosette shaping.

7. Place rolls on greased sheets. Cover lightly with a clean towel and place sheets in the warm oven (do not turn back on!) and allow to rise until nearly doubled. This should take about 25 minutes if your oven was pre-warmed, your yeast was good, etc. (*Tip : Dont panic if it doesnt, it should if it doesnt just cover it in one of those black garbage bags and set it aside, it will definitely rise.)

8. When rolls are almost doubled in size, remove them from the oven. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake rolls for about 15-20 minutes, until done.

Serve hot with pasta, simple bread buter jam or some nice finger licking gravy and enjoy! Leftover rolls should be stored in an air-tight bag or container.