Sour Cream Rolls

I realized this past September that the yeast I’ve had for God knows how long was no longer active when the bread I was attempting to allow rise never did. Instead of buying a normal amount of yeast (for someone who rarely makes bread or rolls), I opted to buy a pound fully intending on baking way more bread than I normally do.Since I bought that pound of yeast, I’ve probably used about two tablespoons. Sigh.

I love bread but I’m not a big bread person. I don’t ever have homemade or store-bought bread on hand. In an effort to cut down on my spending, I decided to start making bread instead of buying it (on those rare occasions I do). I found a recipe for Sour Cream Rolls amongst the weekly coupons I received and thought rolls would make a nice addition to the big batch of chicken soup I made. I love eating bread with soup.

I tried the recipe twice with marginal success the second time. The first time I attempted to make whole wheat rolls which seemed to negate any hint of sour cream and resulted in a slightly dry roll. The second batch used all-purpose flour (more than what was called for along with more butter than what was called for).

The original recipe suggests baking these in muffin tins. I did this for the whole wheat disasters. But for the second batch I rolled the dough out into 12 small balls and set them on a cookie sheet to rise. as these are the kind of rolls I grew up eating on Thanksgiving. Sadly, I cooked the second batch a bit longer than was necessary (trying to brown the tops), which resulted in a slightly burned bottom and dried out roll. Into the freezer these went for another day and another recipe!

ingredients.

2 1/2 to 3 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. sour cream
1/4 c. water
4 T. butter
1 egg
egg wash

directions.

Heat sour cream, water and butter in a microwave-proof measuring glass on high until butter is melted and warm.
Pour the sour cream/butter mixture into the bowl of standing mixer (fitted with a dough hook) and allow to cool so it is about 100 to 110 degrees F. Once it has reached the specified temperature, add the yeast and allow to proof. (The mixture should foam and become cloudy – this could take between 5 to 10 minutes and is not easy to spot when you’re proofing yeast in sour cream and butter. Wait about 10 minutes and then continue.)
Then add the flour, salt, sugar and egg. Stir until combined then knead for 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic and just slightly sticky. If the dough is too moist, add extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
Form dough into equal sized balls (I made 12) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (I sprayed with cooking spray) so that the balls of dough are either touching or almost touching. Allow to rise 60 to 90 minutes, or until doubled in size. (My house was cold, so I forced them to rise in a warmed oven.