I love bread. Always have, always will. And for me the best part of a lot of restaurant meals is the warm bread brought out just after the server has taken our order. Yum. And so I like to serve some type of bread when I have company. Of course, some meals don’t warrant bread or rolls, but those that do, and I have the time needed to bake, I give it a go. And with this recipe that takes much less time than most roll recipes, it’s a snap for me to have rolls on the table in the blink of an eye. (Well, it takes longer than that, but not much!)

And these babies are delicious. And with a stand mixer, the ease of preparation makes me feel almost guilty for taking any credit at all. I mean really. Dump a few ingredients in the mixer bowl, set the thing on go, and add enough flour until the bowl is practically clean. How hard is that?

Of course it did take some talent to form the dough into 18 even hunks. But I can almost do that in my sleep because of lots of years of practice. But then again, you only get good at doing something by performing the act over and over. It’s just like that decades old question. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Answer – practice, practice, practice! How do you make a good dinner roll? Use this recipe and (you guessed it) practice, practice, practice. Enjoy.  

4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, or more if needed

2 pkgs. or 2 T. rapid rise or instant yeast

¼ c. granulated sugar

1 lg. egg, room temperature

1 tsp. kosher salt  

1½ c. whole milk

6 T. unsalted butter, melted, divided

fleur de sel or kosher salt, for topping

Combine 3½ cups of the flour, yeast, sugar, egg, and the 1 teaspoon of kosher salt in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Heat milk until warm. (Remember, it can’t be too warm or the heat will kill the yeast.)

Add the warm milk and 4 tablespoons of the melted butter to the flour mixture. Knead 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally if needed. Add enough additional flour until the dough pulls away from the sides and bottom of the bowl while kneading. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Punch down the dough.

Divide the dough into 18 torpedo shaped pieces. (Don’t worry if the sizes are not perfectly equal. But do make them as consistent as possible.) Place in a lightly buttered 9×13-inch pan. (I use a glass Pyrex pan.) Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.  

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. (An instant read thermometer should register between 185 to 190 degrees when they are done.) Remove from oven and brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter while the rolls are still warm. Lightly sprinkle with fleur de sel. Serve warm or at room temperature with lots of room temperature butter.