Above Average Rolls

This year I embarked on an ambitious culinary journey to publish ‘bomb dot com’ versions of every Thanksgiving staple one tends to find on the table. I unknowingly, however, chose the hardest one first: Dinner Rolls.

Originally, I wanted to copy the rolls from Texas Roadhouse, as that restaurant serves the best rolls I’ve had, but things quickly spiraled out of control. Usually, when making a video recipe, I will make it once for practice, and then make it a second time on camera. The video recipe below uses footage from my 7th and 8th attempts at this dish. With the help of ChatGPT, I was able to effectively combine every single “trick” I found from over a dozen different dinner roll recipes into what I consider to be the king of all roll recipes. It uses a tangzhong roux, scalded milk for yeast activation, diastatic malt powder, and smoked sea salt.

When it comes to dough, the ingredients are only half of the process. Kneading a dough sufficiently and knowing how long to proof the dough at each step is also very important. Dough is a major culinary weakness of mine, as I learned while working on my Butternut Squash Ravioli recipe. This is why these rolls required 8 attempts. One of the tricks that Texas Roadhouse uses is to slightly overproof your rolls before baking. How do you explain that to somebody who only just learned what proofing even is?

Since I’m basically an expert now, I’ll explain: ‘Proofing’ is just letting your yeast feast. You see, yeast is a living organism that feeds on sugars and releases carbon dioxide gas as a waste product. To make dinner rolls, you give millions of these tiny organisms a carefully-curated feeding ground and let them feed so that they can release gas and fluff up your bread. Then we commit mass genocide by tossing them into an oven the second they are no longer useful to us. Do not let anybody tell you that yeast bread is vegan. If you let yeast feed indefinitely, they will erode the gluten structure of your bread. If you don’t let them feed long enough, they will not release enough gas and your bread will be dense and flat. As a recipe author, I cannot adequately describe how long your rolls should proof, as it is influenced by your environment’s temperature, altitude, and humidity. It is only something you can learn with practice.

Once you have baked these rolls, you coat them with melted butter and smoked sea salt. They are best eaten as an accessory to Pumpkin Soup during the first course of Thanksgiving, but these rolls are honestly so good that they can stand completely on their own.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBCraVlORbo

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Above Average Rolls

Yield: 24 rolls

Author: Todd Martin

Prep time: 5 H & 45 MCook time: 15 MinInactive time: 20 HourTotal time: 26 Hour

Ingredients

Tangzhong

• All-Purpose Flour | 2 1/2 Tbsp (~20g)
• Whole Milk | 3/4 cup (180ml)

Dough

• Active Dry Yeast | 1 packet (2 ¼ tsp or 7g)
• Whole Milk (scalded and cooled to lukewarm) | 1 cup (240ml)
• All-Purpose Flour (plus extra for dusting) | 3 cups (360g)
• Granulated Sugar | 4 tbsp (50g)
• Salt | 1 tsp (5g)
• Unsalted Butter, softened | 4 Tbsp. (60g)
• Egg | 1, large
• Diastatic Malt Powder (optional, for better rise and flavor) | 2 tsp. (20g)

Glaze

• Egg | 1
• Whole Milk | 1/4 cup
• Unsalted Butter | 4 Tbsp.
• Smoked sea salt

Instructions

Prepare the Tangzhong

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together 2 1/2 Tbsp flour, and 3/4 cup milk.
2. Cook the mixture, whisking continuously, until it thickens into a paste (about 3-5 minutes). It should be smooth and glossy.
3. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.

Yeast Activation

1. Scald 1 cup of milk in a sauce pan, carefully, as not to boil it.
2. Let milk cool to around 110° F.
3. Into the lukewarm milk, add the Active Yeast packet, and 1 Tbsp of sugar. Let this sit for about 5-10 minutes until frothy.

Dough

1. In a large bowl or mixer, combine Flour, Sugar, Salt, and Diastatic Malt Powder. Sift thouroughly.
2. Add Tangzhong mixture, continue to mix.
3. Add activated yeast mixture, continue to mix.
4. Add 4 Tbsp. of melted butter, continue to mix.
5. Add beaten egg, continue to mix.
6. The dough should be forming into a workable mixture that doesn't stick to surfaces. Depending on environment, add flour or water to reach ideal hydration.
7. Remove from bowl and knead on flat surface for 5 - 10 minutes until smooth.

Proofing

1. Take moderate-sized bowl, spray with anti-stick spray.
2. Add dough to bowl and cover.
3. Allow dough to rise for around 2 hours, until doubled.
4. Place bowl in refrigerator where it will continue to slow rise, for 12 - 24 hours.
5. Remove from refrigerator, allow to warm.
6. Punch dough, remove from bowl, roll into flat square.
7. Divide dough into 24 equally-sized pieces, roll into balls.
8. Spray a baking dish with anti-stick spray, and put the dough balls in it.
9. Allow rolls to slightly overproof.

Baking

1. In a small bowl, combine a beaten egg with 1/4 of milk. Glaze rolls with this mixture.
2. Bake rolls at 375° F for 15 - 18 minutes.
3. Glaze baked rolls with melted unsalted butter, and then sprinkle with smoked sea salt.

Notes

For high altitude bakers, adjust the Yeast Mixture by reducing Milk to 3/4 cup, and only 2 tsp. of Active Dry Yeast.

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