This is my favorite recipe for light, fluffy holiday dinner rolls for Thanksgiving. The recipe is from a cook who made these rolls daily in the kitchen of the Cumberland State Park restaurant in Tennessee. Our family enjoyed them so much that she shared her recipe with us. This recipe can easily be halved — but I find that having extra dinner rolls on hand for the following day makes great turkey sandwiches and no one complains about leftovers!
Start the dough the day before you plan to serve the rolls.
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups milk, scalded and cooled to 115°F (lukewarm)
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons yeast
1 cup melted butter
6 eggs, beaten
9 1/2 – 10 cups all-purpose flour, approximately (I use King Arthur Flour)
Melted butter as needed
METHOD:
Heat milk until scalding, then cool to 115°F.
In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk, sugar, salt, and yeast. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Add melted butter, eggs, and enough flour to make a batter, about 5 cups. Beat for five minutes. Add flour, one cup at a time, and beat for one minute after each addition, until a soft dough forms.
Oil large mixing bowl and turn the dough in the bowl to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough overnight, or until ready to shape into rolls.
Shape dough into golf-ball-size balls and place on buttered pans or baking sheets. Brush with melted butter. Cover pans loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until nearly doubled in bulk. (Depending on how warm your kitchen is, this may take 45 – 60 minutes.)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes, or until the rolls are a rich golden brown.
Serve warm.
