I keep my MacBook on the island in our kitchen a lot and unfortunately it has caused me to develop a really bad habit of starting dinner and then getting completely distracted by the Internet. Sometimes I’ll become engrossed in catching up on Twitter, or Facebook, or maybe I’ll start chatting with a friend and before you know it I’ve completely blown my dinner making timeline. This is exactly what happened to me a few weeks ago. A chicken was happily roasting away in the oven getting a nice suntan and mingling with some potatoes and carrots and the next thing I knew it was almost ready and I hadn’t made any sides to go with it.
What I really wanted was some good bread, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen in the hour I had left so I started googling and came across a recipe for Sixty-Minute Dinner Rolls that you can easily whip-up in your KitchenAid mixer. Eureka! I had solved all of my procrastination induced problems. Except I was still pretty distracted when I was mixing up the recipe so it never really dawned on me that I was making enough rolls to feed a baseball team.
In the meantime though I absolutely started to geek out Mr. Wizard style over the dough rising in the bowl. The recipe below calls for 6 3/4 teaspoons of yeast. Let’s just say you won’t need a time lapse camera to see the dough rise. It practically jumps out of the bowl and helps itself to a gin and tonic. Think I’m kidding? Just wait until you try them.
It was while I started shaping the dough, per the instructions, that I realized I was going to end up with over 2 dozen rolls. I only have one muffin tin so the rest of the dough I shaped into round balls and simply nestled them together in a baking dish.
For being such a quick and easy recipe I was absolutely floored by the results. These rolls are just delicious. I ate them for days (we had to) and didn’t get sick of them once. Take it from me they’re great for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even as a quick pre-run snack.
KitchenAid Sixty-Minute Dinner Rolls
Adapted from a recipe found on The Bumbling Baker
Erin’s Note: This recipe yields 24 large dinner rolls. If you don’t want 24 rolls kicking around your house I would definitely halve the recipe.
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 packages of dry active yeast (Erin’s Note: This equals 6 3/4 teaspoons if you use yeast from a jar).
1 1/2 cups warm water (105F – 115F)
5 – 6 cups all-purpose flour
In a small saucepan, stir milk, sugar, salt and butter together. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool until lukewarm.
Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. Add lukewarm milk mixture and 4 1/2 cups flour to yeast mixture, and using a dough hook, mix on low speed for about 1 minute. With the mixer still going, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix about 1 1/2 minutes, or until dough starts to clean the sides of the bowl. Knead on low speed for about 2 more minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic – the dough will still be slightly sticky to the touch.
Place dough in a greased bowl, turning it to grease the top. Cover the dough with a clean, dry dish towel, and let it rise in a warm place, free from draft, for about 15 minutes.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 24 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball, and place in a greased muffin pan. Using kitchen shears or a pizza cutter (a knife will also work), cut each ball in half, then in quarters, and replace in the muffin pan. (Erin’s Note: Alternatively you can simply shape the dough into 24 balls and set them into a greased 9 by 13 baking dish. If you make the full recipe you will only be able to fit around 12 rolls in the baking dish at a time). Cover the muffin pan with the dish towel, and let the dough rise for about 15 minutes.
Bake at 425ºF for 12 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks. (Erin’s Note: At this point, in my family, we always brush the tops with a little butter).
