Yeast Rolls In About An Hour. No Really!

I love my KitchenAid. But I don't utilize it as much as I probably should or could. I make 90% of all my recipes in a large mixing bowl with a spoonula (love those things!) or a whisk. Why? Because I think it's easier and that's how I grew up doing things. And because that sucker is heavy and it's hard to tote around the kitchen. And because I hate hand washing the bowl. I feel that way about my Silpats too.

But as soon as I saw this recipe on Erin Cooks, I printed out the recipe then headed to the kitchen to try for myself if in fact the KitchenAid 60-Minute Dinner Roll was really as good as it sounded. Was I done in 60 minutes? It was more like 75 minutes because I let the dough rise a bit longer and because I took time to take pictures, but it was pretty quick for yeast rolls!

The recipe calls for 3 packets of yeast. That's a lot of yeast for one recipe, but that's why it works. It's like yeast bread on steroids and it grows and rises at a rapid rate because there's so much of it, thus reducing the time it takes to rise. There is no kneading the dough by hand. You just mix it in your KitchenAid for a couple minutes, turn it out into a bowl and watch it perform magic.

After 15-20 minutes you cut the dough into 24 pieces to form 24 rolls. I wanted clover-leaf style rolls so I cut each ball into thirds then placed them into the greased muffin tin. I liked this style because there's no need to cut the dough in half at the end. You just break apart the roll and slather them with butter. And kids think they're fun to eat.

These rolls were really great especially for as quick as they were. I brushed them with a little salted melted butter at the end when they came out of the oven, per Erin's suggestion. They were buttery and toasty on the edges and soft in the inside. This made a lot of rolls (24) so we ate what we wanted then froze the rest. They were excellent reheated in the oven and they tasted fresh each time. These would be great for Thanksgiving as well. Spend a little over an hour making these this weekend and have one less this to worry about on Turkey Day!

KitchenAid 60-Minute Dinner Rolls

adapted from Erin Cooks

Makes 24 large cloverleaf dinner rolls

• 1/2 cup low-fat milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 packages (or 6 3/4 tsps.) of dry active yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (105F – 115F)
• 5 – 6 cups all-purpose flour

In a small saucepan, stir milk, sugar, salt and butter together. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool until lukewarm.

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. Add lukewarm milk mixture and 4 1/2 cups flour to yeast mixture, and using a dough hook, mix on low speed for about 1 minute. With the mixer still going, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix about 1 1/2 minutes, or until dough starts to clean the sides of the bowl. Knead on low speed for about 2 more minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic – the dough will still be slightly sticky to the touch.

Place dough in a greased bowl, turning it to grease the top. Cover the dough with a clean, dry dish towel, and let it rise in a warm place, free from draft, for about 15 minutes (I let mine rise for about 20-22 minutes).

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 24 equal pieces. Then divide each piece into thirds and roll into balls. Place 3 mini dough balls into each muffin cup. Cover the muffin pan with the dish towel, and let the dough rise for about 15 minutes.

Bake at 425ºF for 12 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks. Brush with melted butter if desired.

NOTE: You can also shape the dough into 24 balls and set them into a greased 9x13 baking dish rather than make clover-leaf rolls. If you make the full recipe you will only be able to fit around 12 rolls in the baking dish at a time.

These were especially delicious piping hot out of the oven, slathered with cinnamon honey butter. Oh my goodness my mouth is watering again!