Pull Apart Rolls

A few years ago I embraced my inner bread baker and it's been a wonderful experience.  There's just something amazing about mixing a few basic ingredients together, letting it rise and then baking some gorgeous, fragrant, fresh bread. 

One of the recipes I use time and again is pull apart rolls.  I serve these with everything from beef roast to pork ribs and a hundred other things.  They don't take terribly long and don't require a second rise.  Next time you feel like you want dinner rolls, give this recipe a try.

Pull Apart Dinner Rolls
Makes 12

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (or one packet, if you buy your yeast that way)
1 1/3 C milk
3 - 3 1/2 C flour - all purpose or whole wheat, or a combination
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 T melted butter
Coarse salt for sprinkling

Heat milk to 105 - 120 degrees.  There's no need to get all fancy and crack out a thermometer.  Just stick your (clean) finger into the milk after it's been warming a few moments - it should feel like hot tap water.

Pour milk into mixing bowl; add sugar and yeast.  Allow this to sit for 5-10 minutes or until the yeast blooms.  Stir in 1 C flour, oil and salt, beat until smooth.  Stir in remaining flour, scraping dough from sides of the bowl, until soft dough forms. 

Those of you who have seen me bake will know that I am a very tactile baker - I use my hands for nearly every part of the process, including mixing.  I knead the dough entirely by hand, so I just mix it up then dump it out on the table or counter (floured) and knead in the rest of the flour that way.

Whatever your preferred method of mixing, when the flour is completely incorporated, place the dough in a large, well greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes to an hour.  We keep the house pretty cool, so I turn the oven on and let it heat to 200 degrees, then turn it off and set my bowl of dough on top of the stove to rise. 

After your dough has risen, heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Punch down dough in the center and fold it over a few times to mix it back up.  Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.  Pinch off 1 inch balls of dough and quickly roll into a rough sphere.  Place three balls in each muffin cup, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.  I have used kosher salt and Mediterranean sea salt (I loved both!).

I keep a small bowl of flour handy when I'm pinching off the dough balls.  If my fingers get sticky, I simply dip them in the flour and keep going, repeating as necessary.

Bake until crust is lightly golden, about 15 minutes.  Immediately remove from pan and eat.  Store any leftovers in an loosely covered bowl.

On a personal note, my children call these Bun Muffins.  They're baked in a muffin tin, hence the Muffin part of the name.  The bun part comes from the curves at the top of the rolls, especially when you've pulled a third of the roll off...  Yup, those are my kids.