0 Crescent Dinner Roll Shape Secret!

After making 21 dozen dinner rolls for Thanksgiving and making 32 dozen last night for a church Christmas party, a helpful tip came to my mind that makes these rolls even prettier!

Although there are many beautiful roll shapes to choose from, I like the crescent shape as it is quick, easy to roll, and looks elegant.

I can't remember where I saw this tip, Martha Stewart or on the King Arthur baking website, but it does make a difference!

After letting your dough rest (for easier rolling!), cut into 12 wedges and make a 1/4" notch at the base of each wedge...

 Stretch out the base of the wedge and begin rolling...

 As you are rolling, hold the base with one hand and gently stretch the middle of the dough with the other hand, making it slightly longer.  This will create more "swirls" on your crescent roll...

When you are done rolling, make sure the "point" is under the roll.  Curl the tips of the roll toward the center.

See the difference?

The top roll did not have the notch.  The bottom roll had the notch.

You will also notice the bottom roll has an extra layer ... swirl ... due to stretching during the rolling process. 

Pretty, huh?

Happy Baking!

0 Got Dinner Roll Dough? Shape It, Top it, Bake It!

I love my dinner roll recipe.  I have tried MANY dinner roll recipes and this is my "keeper" recipe.

I love that it is soft and light, but sturdy enough to mop up Thanksgiving gravy.  I love that it is slightly sweet, but not overpoweringly sweet  for use in other recipes. I love that this dough is easy to work with and make many different shapes for special occasions and holidays.

Bunny Butts (Backsides)

Most of all, I love that I know what goes in it; fresh milk, butter & eggs.  These are the ingredients that give this dinner roll it's flavor, lightness, and tender crumb.

Easy Bread Stick Twists

I like that I can make this recipe and have hot dinner rolls in about 2-2 1/2 hours.  I'm grateful for the high elevation that I live in to help my bread rise quickly! 

"Puffy Heart" Roll Shape

Why buy the store-bought frozen dough when you can freeze your own?

"Swirl" Roll Shape

You can wait up to 3-5 hours to thaw out your rolls or you can make 'em fresh in about 2 1/2 hours..

Magleby's Copycat Dinner Rolls

You can dip these balls of dough in butter, top 'em and bake 'em. Make 'em sweet...

Orange Bowknots

or make 'em savory.

Chicken Bakes

Any way you make them, these rolls will be sure to please your family and friends!

Happy Baking!

3 Another Twist on Bread Sticks

I have been making these soft, buttery bread sticks for many years and love this new shape!

I use my family favorite dinner roll recipe that makes 24 rolls.

After portioning the dough into 24 pieces, I roll each piece into an 18" long rope.

If your "rope" breaks, don't worry, pinch it back together.

Holding your "rope" with two hands, loosely fold your "rope" half and twist it.

Dip it in melted butter and place it onto a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle with your favorite toppings.  I like to use McCormick's Salad Supreme or Johnny's Garlic Seasoning.

Bake as directed for dinner rolls as indicated in the recipe.

Shaping these bread sticks take a little bit more time and effort than these twisted bread sticks, but I think they are so pretty and elegant to serve along side a pasta or paired with a hot bowl of soup.

1 Orange Bowknot Rolls

This recipe has been around forever.  Well, as long as I've known that storebought frozen dinner rolls have existed. These orange bowknots have a crunchy, sugary/orange zest exterior.

I am discovering that my soft dinner roll recipe is a great substitute for any of the frozen dinner roll recipes.  In fact, I think this recipe is better than the frozen rolls.  Once you learn how to make these rolls, you will find endless recipes for them.  (See bottom of post for additional recipes)

Making these orange bowknots are a two step dipping process that is quite messy, but produces a wonderful, crunchy orange crust.

The rolls are shaped and dipped into melted butter.

Then they are dipped into a mixture of grated orange zest and granulated sugar.

Once baked, some of the sugary mixture stays on the roll, some puddles onto the baking sheet.  I take the excess sugar mixture, crumble it up, and use it again on my next tray of rolls. 

When I made the orange glaze to top the rolls,  I used LorAnn's Natural Orange Bakery emulsion in place of the vanilla extract....

The orange emulsion added an extra orange flavor that made these rolls extra special! You'll have to try it!

I have another orange roll recipe that uses fresh orange juice in the dough, along with freshly grated orange zest.  These rolls, like the bowknots pictured above, are drizzles with a fresh orange juice/powdered sugar glaze.

Both of these orange roll recipes are great; it depends on the texture that you want.  Do you want a crunchy exterior, or do you want to bite into a soft, melt-in-your mouth orange roll?




Orange Bowknots

Ingredients

1 dinner roll recipe (24 rolls)

1 medium orange rind, grated

½ c. granulated sugar

¼ c. butter, melted

Glaze:

1 c. powdered sugar

1 T. butter, melted

3 T. orange juice

½ t. vanilla extract (or use 1/2 t. LorAnn's Orange Bakery Emulsion)

Instructions

Make dinner roll recipe as directed and let it rise till double in bowl.  In a small bowl, mix orange rind with granulated sugar.  In a separate bowl, melt the butter.

Roll each dinner roll into a 9” rope on a lightly greased work surface.  Tie into a loose knot. Dip each roll into melted butter, and then into the sugar/rind mixture.

Place coated rolls onto lightly greased baking sheet. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rolls rise till double in size.

Bake rolls at 350°F for 15-20 minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and put on wire cooling rack.  Drizzle with orange glaze while still warm. 

Recipes & Shapes using the Dinner Roll recipe: 
Buttery Bread Sticks
Yummy Mummy Dogs
Magleby Copycat Dinner Rolls
Chicken Bacon Ranch Bakes 
Puffy Heart Dinner Rolls
Swirl Dinner Rolls  
Bunny Backside Dinner Rolls
4 Ways to Make Dinner Rolls Ahead
5 Favorite Dinner Roll Shapes
Cloverleaf Dinner Roll Shape 
Bread Stick Twist Shape 
 

11 Magleby's Copycat Dinner Rolls

Magleby's is a restaurant in Utah that makes these rolls locally famous.  I have not tried these rolls at the restaurant, but there are several people that have made these with the frozen store bought rolls with amazing results.

I made these with my Dinner Roll recipe and they are so good ... light and tender inside, with a cheesey bite from the salty Parmesan on the outside.

After the rolls are shaped, they are dipped in .... get this ...

mayonnaise, melted butter, and a combo of Parmesan cheese, garlic salt and parsley.

The rolls are left to rise before baking.

You will know when these rolls are done by the intoxicating smell coming from your oven...

Eaten alone or with some butter, these simple, yet extra fancy rolls are sure to be a hit with any meal.

Magleby's Copycat Dinner Rolls
(4x6 recipe download)     (full page printable recipe)

0 Slider Burger Bar with Kraft Singles

I'm always grabbing Kraft Cheese Singles and eating them as a snack.  Cold and creamy, they hit the spot on a hot day, especially in a bologna and cheese sandwich.  Did you know that throwing a couple of slices into your favorite mac N cheese recipe makes it even creamier? Oh, yeah.  Gotta try that!

Did you know that Kraft Singles comes in Swiss?  I didn't. 

These cheeses were the inspiration for designing my Slider Burger Bar.  If you haven't heard of "sliders," in the food world, they are essentially a "mini burger."

These sliders are perfect for little kids and little fingers ... it doesn't make sense to give a child a full sized hamburger that they are only going to take a bite or two.  Making their own burger is even better ... they get to put what they want on it.

Sliders are perfect for pot luck gatherings, especially if they are filled with indecisive people.
"Should I have a Chicken Teriyaki burger or a Mushroom Swiss burger?

Here, you can have both or any combination your heart desires; the sky's the limit!

I'm in love with all things bite sized and mini.  There's something about having your very own mini doughnut, mini pie, bundt or even a mini meat loaf.  Now, I'm in love with sliders!

Let's get started, shall we?

I used my French Bread hambuger bun recipe and divided the dough into 24 (1.3 ounce) portions.

Perfect size for a slider! Aren't they cute??

I wanted to give my guests another bun option, so I chose my Feather Wheat hamburger bun recipe, tied them into cute knots and sprinkled them with chopped rolled oats.

I used my favorite hamburger patty recipe that uses bread crumbs, milk, an egg, and seasonings.

A large two tablespoon cookie scoop worked perfectly in a plastic wrap lined 3 inch sippy cup lid.

I covered the scooped meat with more plastic wrap and smooshed it to form a patty.  The shaped patties are put onto a plastic wrap lined baking sheet to put into a freezer for a couple of hours.  Freezing the patties makes them easier to grill without falling apart.

For the chicken, I sliced each partially frozen chicken breast length-wise in half (to make two thin cutlets) and then cut eat cutlet in half, forming 4 pieces from each chicken breast.

I marinated half the chicken in Teriyaki sauce and the other half in BBQ sauce.

Putting the frozen patties worked GREAT on the hot grill.  Make sure they cook up on one side before flipping them over; otherwise, they will fall apart.

These mini burgers cook up quickly; about 3 minutes per side.  The chicken took slightly longer, about 5 minutes per side.  Brush teriyaki sauce on sliced pineapple ~ it will taste amazing!

Introducing the Slider Burger Bar! 

Each tray has all the fixins' for a particular burger ...

HAWAIIAN CHICKEN BURGER

Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

BACON CHEESEBURGER

Classic Burger Sauce Recipe

BBQ CHICKEN BURGER

BBQ Sauce Recipe

MUSHROOM SWISS BURGER*

TACO BURGER**

**The taco mayo for this burger is mayo with a little bit of homemade taco seasoning.
*Sliced mushrooms were sauteed in olive oil and garlic.

Everyone had a great time building their own sliders, creating a sample from each burger bar and then designing their own creation ...

Did you love Kraft Singles as a kid?  Do you enjoy them as an adult?  Share your story on the Kraft Singles FaceBook page!

A slider burger bar would be perfect for a graduation party, don't you think?

As part of the FoodBuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon for free Kraft Singles and a stipend.