Monday, May 3, 2010

warning



Isaac's birthday party is on Saturday.
Things around here will be party-centric for a few days.
I hope to post sneak peeks of goodies that won't ruin all of the surprises for our guests.
But I just might not be able to help myself, surprises might be ruined. ;)




These rolls have nothing to do with the party. ;) They are Black Pepper Cheddar rolls. And they are good.

1 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
4 1/4 - 4 3/4 cups flour
3 T sugar
2 packages yeast (I used instant...the recipe says active dry...you can choose your favorite!)
1 1/2 t salt
lots of ground pepper (how brave are you feeling?)
2 eggs
1/2 cup shredded cheddar (or, you know, more than that.)

In a saucepan heat the milk and butter to a nice bathtub warm. You should want to jump in. In a large bowl combine a cup of the flour, and the sugar, yeast, salt and pepper. Add the warm milk and mix. You should see tiny bubbles popping from the yeast activating. Add the eggs and cheese. Mix in more flour until your spoon is just a big mess. Then, dump it all out on the counter and mix in and knead enough flour with your hands until you have a soft dough.

Put that dough back in the (unwashed) bowl and cover with a cloth. Let it rise for about an hour. Punch it down, divide it into 16 pieces and form each piece into a pretty, little ball of dough. Place them on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Let them rise another 45-60 minutes. Sprinkle them with additional cheese and black pepper if you'd like to (I did!). Then bake them at 375 for about 15 minutes.

Let them cool and enjoy!

7 comments:

Melissa Belmonte said...

You make them look so easy! Even I might try these- thanks for the recipe.

Melissa Belmonte said...

Is it bad to let the dough rise for longer than the time in the recipe? I always get stressed if I need to get back to something by a very specific time.

Mama V said...

Jumping into a warm milk bath isn't appealing to me personally right now because of this soupy, hot weather we're having, BUT I'll eat those rolls any day, any weather, any season! Sounds like they're delicious!

More baking questions for you: I've never heard of instant yeast. What's the advantage of using it? What's the difference between it and active dry yeast? And how does it (if at all) affect how the dough rises?

Thanks, Queen Bee.

Dave said...

"Is it bad to let the dough rise for longer than the time in the recipe?"

hmmmm...sort of depends. It doesn't have to be "to the minute" type of timing, but you can't just let it sit for hours and hours...it will overproof and deflate itself.

"I've never heard of instant yeast. What's the advantage of using it? What's the difference between it and active dry yeast? And how does it (if at all) affect how the dough rises?"

Sometimes it's called Rapid Rise yeast. I used to only use it with recipes that called specifically for instant yeast, but now I mainly just use Rapid Rise yeast all of the time (I buy it in bulk). In recipes that call for instant yeast, usually they eliminate the first rising time. You just let the dough "rest" for 10 minutes before shaping it...then you shape it and give it a full rising time. But...I haven't had any negative effects to two full rising times...and often spreading out the baking that way fits my groove better (I start the dough rising, then make the scones, get back to the dough, wash up all the dishes, etc etc.).

There is something chemically different about the two kinds...and I've read what that difference is and quickly forgot. Sorry about that. ;)

Goodyreid said...

Argh! You make this look easy! I'm going to try these. Yum.

ComfyMom~Stacey said...

those look delicious!

firefly said...

I can tell I am not a promising baking candidate based on the fact that I read this post and thought, "That sounds way too complicated. No way." And then I opened the comments and saw all the "You make it look so easy comments."

Baking never looks easy to me.