I have, quite truly, been banned from making these rolls. I wish I could say it’s because they’re dangerously delicious (which they are), but truly it’s because I have a tendency to make these at rather inopportune moments. What can I say? They’re a go-to recipe for me. So, when I host parties, and get a little overwhelmed by the preparation, I’ll start making these rolls. The problem is, I have a whole house full of people by the time I need to get them in the oven. My roommate, therefore, banned me from making bread any time during the six-hour window before we host events. I still argue that fresh bread while playing beer pong is a delicious novelty, so I might have to break her rule from time to time for the sake of fun.
Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
1⁄2 cup warm water (110° F/45° C)
1⁄4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1⁄4 cup sugar
2 1⁄4 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 1⁄2 tsp kosher salt
1 egg, room temperature
Vegetable oil
Sea salt, for sprinkling
1 egg, for egg wash
Directions
Warm water to about 110-115° (42-46° C).
In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, combine the warm milk, warm water, melted butter, and sugar.
Sprinkle the yeast evenly over the wet ingredients, stir to combine, and let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy.
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt, and stir. Beat 1 egg, then add to the bloomed yeast mixture. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and use a knife to stir until the mixture just comes together and forms a dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth. Add more flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking. To test if it’s done, tear off a small piece of dough and stretch into a thin layer. If the dough doesn’t rip, it’s ready. Or, press a finger into the dough to see if it bounces back.
Lightly grease a large glass bowl with oil. Add the dough, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Punch down the dough, then turn out onto a floured surface. Knead for a few more minutes, just until the dough is smooth, about 2 minutes.
Divide the dough into 16 equal balls, roughly the size of tangerines.
Knead the balls, gathering the edges of the dough toward the center to make a taut, round ball with a smooth top.
Place the rolls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 ̊F (190 ̊C).
Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl. Uncover the rolls and brush with the egg wash. Lightly sprinkle the rolls with sea salt.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the rolls have lightly browned and doubled in size.
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