ok, for starters i'm going to assume that you're going to be using active DRY yeast because that's primarily what is sold in most stores. next i'm going to assume that you have a planetary mixer of some type with a dough hook attachment. if for any reason i am wrong to assume either of the above then message me for the direction revisions. now with that out of the way, here is what you do:

INGREDIENTS:
bread flour (not all purpose) - 3 cups
water (warmed to 105 - 110°F) - 1 cup
yeast, active dry - 1 packet or 7g or ¼ oz. or 1 tbsp
sugar - 4 teaspoons
milk, nonfat dry* - ¼ cup
oil - 2 teaspoons
butter or shortening (or margarine) - 1½ tablespoons
salt - 1 teaspoon

* if you can't find nonfat dry milk or it is impractical for you to purchase it to use only for this recipe substitute whole milk for the water,... or 2%, skim, whatever you have. if you are feeling adventurous i suppose you could experiment with soy milk but i won't guarantee that the end result will be favorable. i have no experience baking with soy milk, but you are more than welcome to try it, because in your kitchen YOU ARE CHEF! that being said, since you're the chef you decide what goes. you could even try adding 1 egg to this recipe for a little extra flavor and softer texture. mix it at the same time you add the liquid ingredients. i thought of incorporating an egg into this recipe but i figured i would keep it simple to start out. probably the next time i make this recipe i will add an egg just to see how the texture and color come out. can't hurt anything, although... you might add just a touch more flour... maybe between a tablespoon and a ¼ cup. see what it looks like first before adding the flour though... if the dough still pulls away from the sides and isn't too sticky to handle, i would suggest leaving the recipe as is. but again we get back to YOU being the CHEF in YOUR kitchen so YOU DECIDE! have fun!


1. start by scaling all your ingredients and having them ready to go. (‡ useless trivia : this is what is known in culinary terms as "mise en place", everything in its place.) now set the salt aside and AWAY from the rest of the ingredients to avoid adding it prematurely. AWAY i said. far, FAR away. good.

2. now begin by dissolving the yeast completely in the warm water. next add the sugar and nonfat dry milk and dissolve them completely too. set aside your milk/yeast mixture. let it rest for approx. 5 min. or so.

3. dump the flour into the bowl of your PLANETARY mixer with DOUGH HOOK attachment. followed by the milk/yeast mix, oil, and butter or shortening (or margarine).

4. set your mixer to speed 1 and mix for 3.5 - 4 minutes. if your mixer doesn't have speed 1 then set it to the SLOWEST speed available. if the slowest speed available on your mixer is still moderately brisk then adjust the times i am giving here DOWN by about a ½ to 1 full minute.

5. after your dough has started to take shape NOW add the salt and continue to mix for 1 minute more. then stop the mixer.

6. switch the gears to speed 2, unless you have to switch gears while the machine is running (some machines operate this way) or if you do not have speed 2 on your machine then whatever speed you have that emulates a MEDIUM speed unless again as stated above, the slowest speed on your machine is moderately brisk to begin with, just leave it at the slowest speed. YOU BE THE JUDGE!!! the end result of this round of mixing is to KNEAD the dough.

7. after mixing at speed 2 for 3.5 - 4 minutes the dough should be elastic and smooth and pull away EASILY from the sides of the bowl. stop the mixer and remove the dough and round it into one SMOOTH large ball and place it into a container that you can seal hermetically either with its own lid or plastic wrap. often the mixing bowl will do the trick.

8. now you need a moderately warm place in which to allow your freshly made dough to repose for 45 minutes before manipulating it to redistribute the gases and evenly distribute the built up heat. SOOOOO, i suggest warming a cup of water in the microwave for about a minute and a half or so, then remove the cup of water and place the dough into the microwave. the microwave should be off and NOT running while the dough is resting in it. the "warm place" you want for your dough should be between 80 - 90°F, and microwaves that have finished warming things up usually have somewhere near that temp. plus the added moisture from warming the cup of water won't hurt either!

9. after 45 minutes have elapsed with your dough ball in its WARM PLACE (mind you not HOT), remove it from its hermetic resting place and punch it down evenly and all over to redistribute the gases and even out the built up heat that will invariably be generated as the yeast ferments. now return the punched down dough into the form of a smooth round ball and place it again in the container and seal it once more and allow it to rest another 45 minutes in its WARM PLACE. you can reheat the glass of water in the microwave now if you think it isn't as warm as it could be. i know it is cold in some people's houses this time of year because we can't all afford the luxury of running the heater. for those of you who can, well, proceed to place the ball of dough squarely in your rectum. that's a nice place for it that aptly meets all the requirements of a WARM place and also serves to mitigate my feelings of ill-will towards you for being rich and whatnot. :P

10. after the second 45 minutes have elapsed remove the dough and punch it down once more, now divide it into 12 EVEN pieces. if you have a scale with which to accomplish this task then scale the dough to approximately a little over 2 oz. maybe 2 and an eighth or 58 - 60g. round each of your scaled pieces of dough into little SMOOTH balls and cover them WELL with plastic. you can return them to the microwave just don't turn it on! wait 15 - 20 minutes.

11. now you will form the little dough balls into their final shapes before allowing them one final round of fermentation. i myself prefer the most direct and simple method of using greased muffin tins. if you know how to make fancy shapes with dough balls be my guest. i will make a suggestion on how to form them, do with it what you will : get out your muffin tins and grease them lightly. now if you like the traditional dinner roll shape, divide a dough ball in two and form the two smaller pieces into little round balls and deposit them side by side in ONE muffin cup. repeat with the remaining dough balls. if you would like to do something a little fancier, a cloverleaf pattern for your dinner rolls, then divide the ball of dough in three, roll the 3 smaller pieces into balls and deposit all three into ONE muffin cup. repeat for the remaining dough balls. cover your scaled and shaped dinner rolls with plastic and return them to their warm safe place, be it the crack of your @$$ or the microwave, and allow them to proof for 30 minutes. proof = allow the final product to develop and rise for the last time before going in the oven.

12. ten minutes before the 30 minutes expire, turn on your oven and preheat to 400°F (200°C). now at the end of 30 minutes you can either pop them straight into the oven OR you can apply an egg wash (1 egg, little bit of milk or water) OR melted butter to the tops of the dinner rolls before baking them. whatever you decide, bake them for 10 - 12 minutes or until you see them develop a nice oven tan. if they are white when you go to pull them out, leave them in until they catch some color.

13. after pulling the rolls out of the oven, brush them once again with butter and serve hot to friends and family being sure to embellish and emphasize how hard you worked on these dinner rolls that you made from scratch. by hand. all by your self. don't forget to mention from scratch... ALOT.

14. bon appétit! appréciez!

Wow That's way to much work!!! I think I'll take the short cut, right to my local supermarket,,, of course I know they won't be as good, but I am making raisin apple bread pudding.

it's not too much work. it's too much to read maybe, but it's not really any work at all. i just wanted to explain each step properly for someone who has never made bread before. it's instructional. really and honestly, if and when u get to making it you'll see just how easy it is. quite simple, and really hard to mess up. all the ingredients are measured using standard kitchen measures instead of weights like baker's formulas normally are. and really all the times have been adjusted so you can take ur time to read each step and know ahead of time what it is you have to do before actually doing it. you read a step, perform that action. don't worry about the next step until ur done performing the first action. when it's done u read the next step. do that. and so on. but whatever, i'm not trying to convince anyone of anything. i just put it out there if anyone thot they might like to earn the admiration of family and friends for telling them they made dinner rolls from scratch. people always love fresh baked bread. ALWAYS. so ennywei, i'll be making these for my thanksgiving dinner. u gaiz have fun with y'alls. ciao now