What I did last night

I had a request for a recipe to make my parmesan garlic rolls. I don’t actually have one, but some items are the foundation behind them. Stick with the foundation, and you can’t go wrong.

I used two envelopes of dry yeast. Put them in about a half cup of lukewarm water and set them aside. Make sure to stir it with a whisk or fork a few times so it doesn’t form a lump.

Take two and a half cups of milk, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of shortening, and two teaspoons of salt. Put it on rising heat and stir it until the shortening melts completely. Make sure it doesn’t boil; keep it moving.

Add two big scoops of flour to a large bowl. As an option, you can whisk the dry yeast in at this time if you don’t want to “wake it up” in the water.

Now you have to set the hot liquids aside. This is the maddening part, because if it’s too hot it kills the yeast.

While you’re waiting, scramble two eggs in a bowl. I add the hot liquids to the flour and stir. The flour brings the temperature down. Add the eggs and stir again, this also brings temperature down. (Remember, my yeast isn’t in there yet.)

While it’s still a loose batter, I add a double handful of grated parmesan cheese, and two huge spoonfuls of minced garlic. (I use the kind from a jar.) Make sure it’s well stirred. By now, the temperature will have dropped so you can safely put a finger in it. If not add another scoop of flour and stir.

Add the yeast and stir. At this point, it’s time to stir in enough flour until it becomes an exercise in futility. Turn it out on the counter with a fine layer of flour and knead it for ten minutes.

Put it in a greased bowl and flip it around so it’s covered with a fine layer of shortening. Cover it and let it rise for an hour. (Great time for a pumpkin beer.)

At the end of the hour, it should be twice as big. The timing here is a guess. You can be longer or shorter, but you want it doubled. Punch it down and let the air out. Let it rest for ten minutes. (I’m not completely sure why, but it matters. It was good enough for Grandma, and it’s good enough for me.)

This is where you decide what you’re making. You can fry some up for scones, make loaves, or bread sticks. I make rolls.

Pinch off hunks one at a time and make your rolls. I roll out a snake. Then tie it in a loose knot. Tuck the bottom end over the top, and the upper end around and in the bottom. This makes a pretty roll. Space them out on your cookie sheet, because they will grow. Cover them and let them raise for another half hour plus. I’ll add some pictures.

A snake

 

A knot

A roll

No resting for you here. Melt two whole cubes of salted butter. Add another huge scoop of that minced garlic and let it cook together. Preheat your oven to 400°. I don’t know what the metric conversions are for any of this. The Internet is your friend here.

When the oven is ready, and the rolls have finished raising, paint them with the garlic butter. You can add a sprinkle of Parmesan here if you like. Bake them for 12 minutes.

Note: my crappy electric oven prefers 410° and about 13 minutes.

When they come out, paint them with the garlic butter one more time and add a sprinkle of Parmesan.

I make my rolls big. We use them to make turkey sandwiches the next day. Your times and temps will change depending on your preferences. I get about twenty rolls out of this.

Here’s what they’re supposed to look like.

You always get one that comes untied. I use these for quality control. (Meaning I ate them hot.)

One for the quality control expert

you can change it up for baking stones, other spices or cheeses. Maybe you prefer a different shape or a breadstick. You can even try to make it healthy, but I won’t.

Enjoy, and I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving, or a wonderful day if it isn’t a holiday wherever you are.