Easy, Fluffy, Greek Yogurt and Honey Dinner Rolls … I tried and tried to think up two or three more words to put in that title, but I came up short. 😀 After you try a bite, I think you’ll forgive me. There’s nothing not to love about these: they’re big and fluffy, delicious, and absolutely fool-proof. Thanksgiving is still awhile off, but it might be a good idea to try these out a half-dozen times between now and then, all in the name of “pinning down the menu.”
I only have one of my very favorite 9 x 13 stoneware baking pans. Pampered Chef doesn’t make those anymore — they’ve upgraded to a new model. So you have to buy them from third-party sellers. I’ve linked to the cheapest one I could find (hyperlink and the picture at left). But I love and use my pan so much that if it broke, I’d be online in thirty seconds buying another. I have gotten so used to the way it bakes food evenly and the ease with which that food pops out of the pan when you serve it, that it was a shock to me when we rented a cabin in Leavenworth last Christmas and I had to use the pan provided. I realized then how spoiled I was. I will never go back! To non-stoneware … not Leavenworth. I will go back to Leavenworth. 😀
Anyway, all that to say, I only have one of the 9 x 13 pans, but I have two of the large, rimmed bar pans. (And I would replace these in a heartbeat too, because I use them about 5 times a week). So when we have a large family gathering and I need to make a double or triple batch of rolls, I use these bar pans as well. The rolls come out a little differently — you get a crust on the sides as well as the top — but no one has ever complained, and I never have any left over. So you really can’t go wrong however you bake them.
We are pretty crazy about rolls in this house. My other go-to recipe is Always Perfect Dinner Rolls. They truly live up to that title. I’ve made them dozens and dozens of times, and I’ve never had a stinker. And even though I didn’t call these rolls, my Herby Pull-Apart Bread technically qualifies as rolls, because you can most definitely pull individual blobs of herb-scented loveliness apart, and they look suspiciously like rolls sitting on your plate.
And on another note …
My dear friend, Bette, told me (laughingly) a few weeks ago that when she tried to print out one of my recipes, she printed out something like 17 pages of material from the site. That got me thinking about the little recipe plug-in icon sitting at the top of my post page; the one I downloaded about a hundred years ago, back when I thought it would be a good idea to format my recipes. Somehow, I forgot that thought.
Well, here goes. Let me know if you like this recipe format. The nice thing is that it gives you the option to either save this recipe (and any others you like) to one central file, where you can access them any time, or print just the recipe. Of course, you’re always free to print 17 pages if you like that sort of thing.
Ingredients
- 4 cups of all-purpose flour, divided
- 3/4 cup warm (not hot) water
- 2 tsp active yeast (I use Rapid Rise)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt (plain)
- 1 1/2 TBSP honey (or 2 TBSP sugar)
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 TBSP melted butter, divided
Instructions
- In a mixer that has a dough attachment (Bosch, Kitchen Aid, etc.), mix 3/4 cup of the flour with the water and yeast. Leave to stand ten minutes, or until bubbly. (If it doesn't bubble within ten minutes, your yeast may not be viable. Better to get new yeast and start over; otherwise, your rolls won't rise)
- In a smaller bowl, mix the eggs, yogurt, honey, salt, water, and 4 TBSP of the melted butter together.
- With the dough attachment in place, slowly add the wet ingredients to the flour/yeast mixture and mix for one minute.
- Slowly add the remaining 3 1/2 cups flour to the mixing bowl. Knead for 4-5 minutes, stopping in the middle to take a spatula to the sides of the mixer and track down those pesky bits of flour collected there.
- When the dough is sufficiently mixed and kneaded (and it's going to be sticky), move to a large greased bowl and cover with Pam-sprayed plastic wrap. The easiest way to spray plastic wrap is to lay it over the bowl, spray the top, and then flip it over so the sprayed part is facing the bread. If that doesn't make sense, leave me a comment and I'll try to say it better. 🙂
- Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size. This can take as little as 45 minutes and as much as 1 1/2 hours, depending on your yeast and the temperature in your kitchen.
- When doubled, oil your hand slightly and punch down the dough. This doesn't mean you give it a whooping; it means that you gently deflate the mound until it reduces back down in size.
- Lay the dough out on a clean, floured surface and begin dividing it up. Using a knife, I cut the dough in half, then cut each of those halves in half again. I then roll each of those four pieces into uniform log shapes, and cut those shapes into five pieces. This gives me 20 rolls.
- Form each piece into a smooth ball and place on a rimmed baking sheet OR a 9 x 12 baking pan. I've made them both ways. The ones on the baking sheet tend to have more "crust" around the roll, whereas the ones baked in a baking pan have soft sides and a browned top. Both are delicious!
- Cover the rolls with Pam-sprayed plastic wrap, leave in a warm, draft-free place, and let rise again until almost doubled.(about 40 minutes). While the rolls are rising, preheat your oven to 375.
- When rolls have risen, remove the plastic wrap and bake 18-20 minutes, or until golden.
- After removing from oven, brush rolls with the remaining 2 TBSP of melted butter.
- Try not to eat them all in one sitting. 😀
Melissa Chappell says
I was super excited about these until the part where I have to own a gadget with a dough attachment! Please, please tell me how these can work otherwise 😉
Shannon says
Melissa, it won’t be hard at all. If you have a regular mixer, just do everything up to the part where you begin to add the rest of the flour. Only add what you are able to in you mixer, and when it gets too heavy for that, pull the dough out onto a clean, floured counter and add the rest of the flour while kneading. It will be sticky at first, but as the dough absorbs the rest of the flour it will get easier. Knead by hand until elastic. You can tell because when you pull out a strand of dough, it stretches an inch or so before breaking.
Kerstin says
You mentioned more water in the ‚wet ingredients‘ list in step 2. How much water is it?
Shannon says
Hi Kerstin! I originally had 1/2 cup of water in the recipe, but upped it to 3/4. I left the “update” at the top because some friends had already printed it out with the 1/2 cup. So what you see in the recipe is now the right amount. Hope that helps!
Anita Ross says
I made the dinner rolls today and they are awesome. I’m amazed at myself. Thank you so much. I’m trying to attach a picture but it’s not happening. I only ate 3 rolls.
Shannon says
Anita, you have WAY more discipline than I do! Lol. So glad you liked them. 🙂
Shannon says
I’m so sorry, Jessa! My family requests these for every large gathering we have, and they disappear quickly. But it could be that we are BIG butter-slatherers, lol. If you try again, maybe add some garlic powder? I appreciate you taking the time to give feedback–thank you. 🙂