I
had some rolls like these in a restaurant once. Just after I placed an
order for a ribeye steak and macaroni and cheese (excessive much?) the
waiter brought a small iron skillet of bread to our table. They were
warm, soft dinner rolls with the most delectable rosemary flavor and I
couldn’t control myself. Within seconds, the rolls were gone and I was
frantically scanning the restaurant for our waiter so I could request
some more, which I eventually did.
Three iron skillets of bread later, I was wishing I could cancel the
steak and noodles. I’d eaten so many rolls, I smelled like rosemary for
days. People kept stopping me, asking which Aveda product I was wearing.
I duplicated these rolls the other day using—brace yourselves—basic
frozen dinner rolls. The star of this show is really the rosemary (and
another surprise ingredient; stay tuned) and I actually find the texture
and flavor of rolls from frozen dough to be not bad at all! But if
you’re a from scratch purist, you can substitute your own homemade dough
or use the dough from my cinnamon rolls. Anything will do!
Let’s make ‘em, baby.
These
are frozen dinner rolls, sold at the supermarket. I use the Rhode’s
brand in the orange package, but you might have different brands
available in your neck of the woods.
This
is a rusty iron skillet, probably 7 to 8 inches in diameter. Rusty,
because I never seasoned it properly, and rusty, because I probably let
it soak for a long time once and didn’t dry it properly.
Basically, I can’t be trusted. But we’ll cover that in a separate post.
Generously coat the pan with some olive oil…or some good ol’ cooking spray.
Now place the frozen rolls in the pan, leaving plenty of rising room around each one.
I
got about seven in this pan; I wouldn’t want it any more crowded than
this since the rolls will probably double in size by the time they’re
finished rising.
Now cover them with plastic wrap or a dish towel…
And
put them in a non-drafty spot in your kitchen. Walk away for a good
three hours (check the directions on the package) and allow them to
rise. (Obviously, you’ll need to start these earlier in the day if you
want to serve them for dinner.)
Wow—look at what happened!
Yeast is a powerful animal.
I’ll
probably let them rise another 20 minutes or so, just to ensure that
they’ll be light and fluffy. And as you can see, we wouldn’t have wanted
to cram them any closer together; they’ll puff up even more once they
bake!
Rosemary. Yum. I need it in my life.
Strip off the leaves and chop the rosemary.
Throw a little butter (regular, salted) into a microwave-safe bowl…
…And melt it in the microwave.
Now,
grab the most pathetic, beaten up pastry brush that you can find in
your kitchen (it’ll make me feel better about myself) and very lightly
brush butter over the tops of the rolls. They’re light and fluffy and
risen, remember, so you don’t want to smush.
Now,
you could easily stop here and bake them as they are if you just want a
nice pan of dinner rolls. In the iron skillet, they make a pretty
presentation!
But I’m not stopping there.
I never stop there. Stopping there is my least favorite thing to do in life.
Sprinkle rosemary all over the top. It’s very, very flavorful, so you don’t have to do too much.
This looks about right!
Now, very gently brush a little more butter over the top, just to coat the rosemary and break a few rules.
Because you’re worth it.
But we’re still not finished. If you have any good, coarse sea salt, grab it. (My friend Alice gave this to me when we met last month; I used it to make the sea salt truffles a couple of weeks ago, and I absolutely cherish the stuff.)
That’s right. Just sprinkle a tiny bit of sea salt over the tops of the rolls.
You must trust me on this one.
It
does make the first bite a little salty, but there’s enough plain bread
underneath the crusty top to balance it…and it really brings out the
flavor of the rosemary.
It’s just good.
Now
just pop the skillet into the oven a bake. Follow the temperature
directions on the dough package; I did 400 degrees for about 16 or 17
minutes, I think.
Oh dear. Here they are.
Note: Definitely bake them for an adequate amount of time; let
the top get really golden brown. You want the bottom of the rolls to be
sure to be done. For this reason, it’s best to keep the skillet no
higher than the middle rack of the oven.
Note #2: Don’t be alarmed if you look in the oven and the rolls
have poufed way over the top of the pan. They’ll settle down slightly
when you take them out.
Now, just give ‘em another tiny brush of butter.
You heard me.
I have one thing to say to these rosemary rolls:
Come to mama.
Wanna be loved? Park these on the dinner table next time you have guests over.
Just make sure you have a couple of extra skillets ready to bake. Because if you run out, you won’t so much be loved anymore.
And I wouldn’t wish that for you.
Pull-apart, herbalicious perfection.
Try them this weekend!
Recipe: Buttered Rosemary Rolls
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Ingredients
Frozen, Unbaked Dinner Rolls
Melted Butter, Regular, Salted
Fresh Rosemary, Coarsely Chopped
Coarse Sea Salt
Preparation Instructions
Spray a small iron skillet with cooking spray (or coat with olive
oil). Place frozen rolls in the skillet, leaving plenty of room for
rising. Cover and allow to rise for several hours.
After rising, brush rolls with melted butter.
Sprinkle on chopped rosemary. Brush with additional butter. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Bake according to roll package directions (usually 400 degrees for 15
to 20 minutes), until rolls are a deep golden brown on top.
Serve skillet on the table.
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