Make Ahead Dinner Rolls for the Holidays

For the perfect holiday dinner rolls, look no further than your favorite bread recipe.  With a few quick adjustments, you can make your everyday bread look and taste just a little more special than usual, and you can freeze them ahead of time to save time on the big cooking day.

Prepare the Dough

We use our standard Bosch bread recipe, but you can apply any of these tips to your own recipe as well.

1. Replace the oil with melted butter for richer flavor.

2. Increase the honey or sugar to make the dough a little sweeter.  Add up to 50% more honey or sugar.

3. Switch the type of flour or use a combination of flours for a lighter texture.

• Replace up to half of the hard wheat flour with soft wheat flour (aka pastry flour)
• Replace up to 1/4 of the hard wheat flour with oat flour.  To make oat flour, grind whole oat groats (NOT rolled oats) in your NutriMill grain mill. Or,  use a blender to pulse rolled oats into flour.
• Use kamut or spelt instead of wheat flour.  These flours both make a very soft dough, but their different protein structure tends not to hold fancy shapes as well as wheat rolls do.  They’re wonderful for basic round rolls or bread sticks.

4. Use an egg wash for a shiny, golden brown crust.  Beat one egg with 1 tablespoon of water, milk, or cream.  Brush shaped rolls just before baking.  Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds if desired.

5. Create unique shapes!

	Crescent Rolls - Roll dough into a circle, like a thin pizza crust. Cut dough into wedges; brush with melted butter.  Roll up each wedge from the widest end to the point, forming a crescent.
	Divide the dough and roll into ropes. Many shapes can be made using these ropes. Snails – Coil each rope into a circle.
	S-Shapes – Roll dough into ropes. Curl each end in opposite directions toward the center.
	Butterflies – Roll dough into ropes.  Curl each end toward the center.
	Knots – Divide dough into equal pieces, about 2 ounces each.  Roll each piece into a rope.  Tie into a knot.
	Rosettes – After making knots, tuck one loose end of the knot under the roll.  Bring the other end up and push it through the center of the knot.

To freeze rolls ahead of time:

Shape the dough as directed above.  Work as quickly as you can so the dough does not have time to raise very much.  Place shaped rolls onto parchment lined baking sheets.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours, or until the dough is hardened enough to hold its shape.  Place frozen rolls in freezer bags, removing as much air from the bag as possible.  Freeze until ready to use.

To Bake:

On baking day, remove as many frozen rolls as needed and place on lined baking sheets.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to thaw and rise.  The time will depend on the size of rolls and the temperature of your kitchen.  When rolls are risen, brush with egg wash, if desired.  Bake as usual.  Brush baked rolls with melted butter for a soft crust.