December already?!? Where has 2011 gone? The good news is that another month brings another session of The Secret Recipe Club. If you missed it in November, the premise is this: you’re assigned a different member’s blog every month. You visit their blog, choose any recipe you want, then make it and share it on your blog. It’s a fun way to find new blogs and be stretched to try new recipes, cooking styles, etc. Then, everyone posts about their assigned blog on the same day. It’s so fun–if you have a blog, definitely check it out and consider joining.
For December, I was assigned Jen’s blog–Beantown Baker. Jen is an engineer by day, and a baker/chef extraordinaire by night! I was so tempted by many recipes on her blog including Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies, a family recipe for Rice and Beans, and Pumpkin Butterscotch Cheesecake Bars. I’ve definitely bookmarked more than a few recipes to try in the future. And although I don’t yet have my very own kitchen to customize [yay renting… sigh…], I loved/coveted reading about the kitchen renovation she and her husband did in their Boston home. It’s absolutely gorgeous! I would love to cook there. Basically, if you haven’t gotten the drift, Jen and her blog are pretty awesome. Her Ohio roots don’t hurt matters any. 🙂 This Indiana girl loved her six years in Ohio and always appreciates meeting Ohioans. But getting on with it…
Out of all the recipes on Beantown Baker, I decided to try my hand at Honey Yeast Dinner Rolls. I was looking for some bread to take to Thanksgiving in OHIO with Ben’s family, and since Jen served them last year, it was obviously meant to be that I should too. These rolls were a huge hit. They were denser than most other rolls I make, which, admittedly is not many, but they were still quite soft, tender, and chewy. These rolls were a little fancy and sweet from the honey, making them the perfect accompaniment to our holiday spread. I highly recommend them for yours as well!
Honey Yeast Dinner Rolls
from Beantown Baker
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 cup warm water [105°-115° F]
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 4 cups bread flour
- cooking spray
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon honey
Directions:
Add yeast and warm water to the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, blend until combined then add honey, oil, salt, and egg. Mix well. Add 3 cups of flour, mixing on low until the dough comes together. With the mixer still running on low, add the last cup of flour and mix until combined.
Switch to the dough hook and run on low for about 8 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.
Meanwhile, lightly grease a large bowl with cooking spray. When dough is ready, form into a ball and place in bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with a damp towel and let rise in a warm area [my kitchen was warm enough the day I made these, but sometimes I place in a sink full of warm water to help matters along] until it doubles in size, about 2 hours.
Turn out dough onto a floured countertop and knead for about 30 seconds. Cover again and let rest for 10 minutes. Punch dough down and divide into 2 equal portions, and continue dividing until you have 12 or 16 equal pieces, depending on how big you want them.
Grease a baking dish with cooking spray, then roll each piece into a ball and arrange evenly. Cover and let rise again for about 20 minutes [my rise time was a little longer due to an unfortunately timed errand and it was just fine].
While the rolls are doing their last rise, preheat oven to 400 degrees [well, not if you aren’t at home… fires are no good. Duh.] Then mix together melted butter and honey and brush on each roll. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Click on over to check out other posts from today’s reveal of the SRC. Have a great day!
The Pajama Chef 
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