Make-Ahead Dinner Rolls

In our house there’s a saying: OHIO—Only Handle It Once. In the run up to the holidays, you can make, bake and freeze these rolls and stash them in the freezer ahead of time, and you’re on the highway to ease without stress.

These soft, buttery rolls are must-haves for your holiday table—or any special occasion, for that matter. No one wants to fuss with rolls when so much is going on in the kitchen. That’s where the very important make-ahead plan comes into play.

The Secret to the Best Dinner Rolls

The secret to meltingly tender dinner rolls? Lots of butter, eggs, and potato flakes.

Eggs and butter add richness, and potato flakes—a stand-in for the mashed potatoes used to make old-fashioned potato bread—add a tenderness. The starch in the potatoes attracts and holds water, which in turn creates a roll with exceptional keeping quality.

The dough is soft and supple, just short of sticky, and a dream to work with.

If you’ve never seen potato flakes, never fear. They’re not too hard to find at the average grocery store. You can also buy them online, of course—like almost anything else.

How to Measure Flour

Back in my bread baking days for a restaurant (visualize a giant stand mixer, large enough for a toddler to play in), we made hundreds of rolls and loaves of bread to serve and sell. I’ve more or less replicated my large batch method here.

We always weighed our ingredients at the restaurant, but even with precise weight measurements, the correct amount of flour can vary depending on the brand of flour, as well as the moisture in the flour itself, so a little tinkering might be required at the end of mixing. You may need to a tablespoon or so more flour to the dough, but it should still be tacky.

How you measure each cup can also produce inconsistent results. For the best results, I suggest you use the "fluff and scoop" measuring method:

1. Fluff the flour in the canister.
2. Spoon it into the measuring cup.
3. Level it with the scrape of a knife.

Measure all the flour before you start, so you don’t lose track of how much you've added as you mix the dough. Be flexible at the end of mixing, since you may have to add a tablespoon or two more flour if the dough is too sticky. Don't worry—it’s not complicated!

How to Freeze and Reheat Your Rolls

I like to freeze the rolls in packages of six to eight rolls, so I can pull out as many as I want without having to defrost a whole tray.

Cool the rolls completely and wrap them tightly in foil in the quantity you want. Slip the foil packages into plastic freezer bags and freeze them for up to one month. (The rolls may develop frost and freezer burn after one month.)

When you are ready to reheat them, preheat the oven to 300oF. Take a packet out of the freezer, set it on the baking tray, and open the foil to expose the rolls so air can circulate around them. Heat them for about ten minutes, or until they are hot all the way through.

Ways to Finish Your Rolls

Plain is good, but yes, you can guild the lily! Here are some toppings to play around with.

• For shiny rolls, brush them gently with an egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water) before they go into the oven.
• To decorate them: Sprinkle them with herbs, chunky salt, or poppy seeds, after applying the egg wash if you like.
• For extra buttery rolls: If it’s Thanksgiving, we need more butter, right? Brush the tops with melted butter. A bit of flaky sea salt would be in the same spirit.

Now fast-forward to the day after Thanksgiving. Don’t you just want a turkey sandwich on one of these babies? I know I will. I’m making two batches.

More Ideas for Your Bread Basket

• Cheese Biscuits
• Potato Dinner Rolls
• Homemade Light Rye Bread
• Parker House Rolls
• Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread