Dinner Rolls

These are simple dinner rolls, but you can shape them into Parker House, crescent, or monkeybread rolls. If you like more crust, throw two or three ice cubes onto the fl oor of the oven when you put the bread in.

One 1⁄4-ounce package active dry yeast or

21⁄2 teaspoons active dry yeast

11⁄2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup warm whole milk, between 105 F and 115 F

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled somewhat but still warm, plus additional solid butter for greasing

1 tablespoon salt

3 to 31⁄2 cups all-purpose fl our, plus additional for dusting

• Sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl. Set aside until foamy, about 3 minutes. (If the mixture does not froth and bubble, start again.)
• Stir in the melted butter and salt, then stir in 1 cup fl our. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until enlarged like a sponge-type dough (that is, as if you made a muffi n batter and then set it aside at room temperature until it became airy, thick, and foamy), 15 to 20 minutes.
• If you’re working with a stand mixer: Attach the bowl and dough hook to the mixer, add 2 cups fl our, and beat at medium speed until a smooth, soft, pliable dough forms, about 8 minutes, adding more fl our in 1-tablespoon increments if the dough starts to stick or climbs up the hook toward the mixer.
• If you’re working by hand: Stir in 2 cups fl our, then lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with fl our and turn the dough out onto it. Dust your hands with fl our, then knead the dough for 10 minutes, adding more fl our should it become tacky, until the dough is quite soft and smooth, about like a newborn’s skin.
• Lightly butter a large bowl, gather the dough into a ball, and place it in the bowl. Turn the dough over so the top is lightly buttered, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set aside in a warm, dry, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, until you can make a permanent indentation with two fi ngers in the dough, about 1 hour.
• To make Parker House rolls: Turn the dough out onto a lightly fl oured work surface. Do not fl our the top of the dough, but roll it out until it’s a large circle about 1⁄4 inch thick. Cut the dough into 21⁄2-inch circles with a round cookie cutter or a thick-rimmed drinking glass. Fold a little more than a third of the circle over onto itself (sticky topside to sticky topside), press lightly to adhere, and set aside (each roll should look about like a pair of lips with the bottom lip stuck out). Lightly butter a large baking sheet, place the rolls on it, cover loosely with a kitchen towel, and return to the warm, dry, draft-free place until again doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.
• To make crescents: Turn the dough out onto a lightly fl oured work surface and divide it into 6 equal balls. Lightly fl our each, then roll into circles about 1 ⁄4 inch thick. Cut each into 6 pieshaped wedges. Starting at the edge of the wedge that used to be circumference of the circle, roll up toward their points, thereby making elongated crescents. Bend them slightly for the classic crescent look. Place on a lightly buttered baking sheet, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and return to a warm, dry place until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.
• To make monkey bread rolls: Turn the dough out onto a lightly fl oured work surface. Pinch off almond-sized sections and roll these into balls. Lightly butter the indentations of at least two standard 12-cup muffi n tins. Drop 3, 4, or 5 of the little balls into each indentation; cover with a clean kitchen towel; and return to the warm, dry, draft-free place until again doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, position the rack in the center of the oven; preheat the oven to 375캟.
• Bake until lightly browned, until the rolls sound hollow when tapped, about 20 minutes. Cool in the tins on a large wire rack for 5 minutes, then turn out the rolls and let them cool on the rack.
• To store: Cool to room temperature, then place in large, resealable plastic bags at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Makes about 3 dozen rolls