salted rosemary dinner rolls
Rollin’ into Thanksgiving like…
Thanksgiving crawled in its approach, then took off in a sprint, kinda like a cat stalking a lizard. I anticipated it from October and suddenly it arrived in all its culinary fury. And here’s my procrastinating ass still releasing recipes just in case there remains some of ya’ll who haven’t planned your whole meal.
I see you. I understand you. You are my people. Be sure you head over to my 2024 menu for all the recipes I’ve shared!
Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without a good dinner roll, and while I’ve a couple formulas at my disposal, these Salted Rosemary Dinner Rolls preside over my table this year. Soft, buttery, and sprinkled with a good hit of crispy rosemary. They’re a fun little afternoon project that, while a bit of a time-eater, yields a satisfying dozen carb balls you’ll be glad you made once it’s time to eat.
Might I add, they’re fabulous for sopping up the sauces from either the Seafood Pot Pie or Red Wine Braised Salmon. More incentive to consider these for your holiday, or even Christmas if you need some recipes to file away for our December festivities.
Keep On Rollin’
My buttery brioche-like dough features in both sweet and savory fixtures in the FMG-verse, so if you’ve made any of those recipes before, you’re likely familiar with the measurements. If not, well, I’m glad you’re here! This is my go-to roll dough. I really wish that rhymed better.
Warm up some milk until you can stick a clean finger in it and not recoil from the heat. Think cozy warm, not Florida in August warm. Stir in some honey and a packet of yeast, and let it sit a few minutes for the yeast to poof up. If it doesn’t, your yeast is dead, and you should feel bad for being a neglectful yeast parent. And buy more yeast.
Whisk in melted butter and an egg. Add 2 cups of flour, attach your mixer’s dough hook, and start kneading. Add flour 1/4 cup at a time until you achieve a tacky but very soft ball. You may need up to 4 cups and the process will take about 10-15 minutes in total.
FYI – directions for kneading by hand are in the recipe card!
Find a big clean bowl, grease lightly with oil, and flip the dough ball so the oil coats both sides. Cover and rise 60-90 minutes until the dough doubles in size.
Downward Spiral
This is the only spiral we allow here: the pretty one created by forming the roll shape.
But first, we need to make our rosemary-infused honey butter. Simple simple but a serious level-up for your rolls. Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a skillet and throw in some rosemary sprigs. Cook for a few minutes, flipping once, until the leaves are crisp and golden. Chop up the rosemary and toss into a bowl with more butter, honey, and flaky salt. Pour over the browned butter from the pan for an extra pop of flavor. Yumbo.
Punch down the dough and divide in half. Working with one ball, roll on a clean, lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 6 strips and brush each strip with some rosemary butter. Roll up the length of the strip and set seam-side down in a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Repeat with the remaining dough ball.
Cover and rise another 20-30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. OR, cover up the rolls and pop in the fridge before rising. They will be okay to hang out up to overnight.
Rollin’ In the Dough
When ready to bake, uncover the rolls and brush with some more of the rosemary butter. Bake 15-18 minutes (possibly a few minutes longer if you’re chucking them in the roaster right from the fridgerator). If the tops brown a little too quickly, tent with foil to prevent any weird crustiness.
Serve these rolls warm, with extra rosemary butter. Any extras freeze extremely well for a few months, so long as they’re sealed well in a ziptop bag or container. I like to reheat them at 350 for about 8-10 minutes, but the microwave is perfectly okay if you’re just need a roll right fucken now.
Two more days until the big day and one more little recipe to tide you through your last minute prep!
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Making dough:
Cheddar Honey Butter Dinner Rolls
Pumpkin Sage Butter Brioche Dinner Rolls
salted rosemary dinner rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 large egg, lightly whisked, at room temperature
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 1/2 – 4 cups all purpose flour
rosemary honey butter
- 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 6 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp flaky salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the milk, honey, and yeast. Let rise until the yeast is bubbly and poofy, about 5-10 minutes. Whisk in the butter, egg, and salt.
- Attach the dough hook to your mixer. Measure in 2 cups of flour, then turn the mixer to its lowest speed. Add flour 1/4 cup at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl and transform into a neat little ball. The dough should be tacky, not sticky. Continue to knead on low speed for 10-15 minutes.
- Lightly grease a clean bowl with oil. Turn the dough into the bowl so both sides are coated with the oil, then cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel. Let rise in a warm, draft-free area for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Melt 2 tablespoon butter in a skillet until beginning to brown, about 2-3 minutes. Add the rosemary sprigs and cook until golden and crispy, about 3-4 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Move to a cutting board, let cool slightly, then finely chop the leaves. Add to a bowl with the melted brown butter and the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, the honey, and flaky salt. Stir to combine.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
- Punch down the dough and divide in half. Flour a clean work surface and roll the dough into a 1/4 inch thick square. Cut into 6 strips. Brush the length of each strip with the rosemary honey butter and, starting from the short end, roll tightly down the entire length. See photos for reference. Set each roll seam-side down into the casserole dish with about 1/2 inch or so between each. Repeat with the remaining ball of dough. Cover the dish and let the rolls rise for 30 minutes.
- Uncover the dough and brush the tops of the rolls with a little of the rosemary butter. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the tops are golden brown. If the tops begin to brown too much, tent loosely with foil and continue to bake. Serve the rolls warm with additional rosemary butter, as desired.
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