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Fluffy Dinner Rolls

Sue <sue.interport@rcn.com>
Mon, 7 Nov 2016 20:22:25 -0500 (EST)
v116.n042.4
I recently received my Cook's Illustrated compendium of 2016 issues. 
The recipe for dinner rolls in the February issue intrigued me as it 
called for a flour paste to be added to the dough. Aside from the 
difficulty I had shaping the dough because my dough was too wet, the 
finished rolls were great. The author of the article described the 
crumb as "plush," and I think that was a good word. I will definitely 
try this recipe again and probably use for Thanksgiving. Hopefully 
the recipe doubles well.

I also learned a few things from the article. The first rise helps in 
formation of gluten. The sugar and salt are added after the first 
rise so they don't impair that aspect of gluten development. The 
rolling of the dough to form cylinders helps with the finished texture.

Fluffy Dinner Rolls
(makes 12 large rolls)
Cook's Illustrated Magazine, Feb 2016

This recipe is derived from an Asian technique involving a cooked 
flour paste (tangzhong) that becomes an ingredient in the dough. The 
rolls are fluffy and moist, retaining their freshness for several 
days. They can be rewarmed by wrapping in aluminum foil and heating 
in a 350F oven for 15 min.

Tanzhong (flour paste)
1/2 c water
3 T bread flour

Mix water and bread flour together and microwave on high for 40-80 
sec as needed, stopping and whisking every 20 sec until the mixture 
is thick and forms stiff mounds.

Dough
1/2 c cold milk
1 large egg
2 c (11 oz) bread flour* (see Note)
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp softened unsalted butter

Whisk together the warm/hot tanzhong and cold milk in a mixing bowl. 
Add egg, whisk again. Add flour and yeast. Mix on low with dough hook 
a few minutes until all of the flour is moistened. Let stand 15 min.

Add sugar and salt. Mix with dough hook on medium-low for 5 min. Then 
while mixing, add softened butter 1 tbsp at a time. Mix and scrape 
(occasionallyfor another 5 min. The dough should be very tacky.

Briefly knead dough on a lightly floured surface. Form a ball and 
transfer to a lightly greased bowl. Spray surface lightly with 
vegetable oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour or 
until doubled in volume.

Grease a 9-inch round cake or spring form pan.

Transfer dough to counter and press out all air. Pat and stretch 
dough to form an 8 x 9-inch rectangle. Cut along the long way into 4 
strips then cut each strip into 3 rectangles. Stretch each piece into 
an 8 x 2-inch rectangle, then roll from the short side into a tight 
cylinder. Place 10 cylinders in the pan, seam side down, arranged 
like spokes on a wheel close to the pan edge so the center is empty. 
Place the remaining 2 cylinders in the center empty space. Cover with 
plastic wrap and let rise 45-60 min, until doubled.

When rolls are nearly doubled, move oven rack to the lowest level and 
preheat to 375F. Bake rolls 25-30 min, until deep golden brown. Cool 
on a rack for 3 minutes then remove from pan to the rack. Brush with 
melted butter and cool at least 20 min before serving.

*Note: Despite my careful attention to flour weight and liquid level, 
the dough was extremely wet, more so than shown in the CI article 
photo. This might possibly due to the brand of bread flour. You might 
have to adjust the amount of flour depending on your source. It still 
should be very tacky.