Amazing Overnight Rolls

I always make rolls when we have holiday dinners (or lunches...or breakfasts...rolls make every meal better!!)  I usually make Parker House Rolls (which I thought I had posted about but turns out I haven't lol).  Every time I make them everyone tells me how much they love them - and they are delicious so no arguing from me.  This year I was hosting a small Christmas dinner at my house and I wanted to try something new so I decided to find an overnight roll recipe I could use my sourdough starter with.  You can see how they turned out here.  Since I wasn't too sure about them, I decided I needed a different overnight roll for the Christmas lunch I had with my family 3 days later.  We were leaving early (for us) and I wanted to let them do the second rise on the drive over.  I found a new recipe that was similar to the Parker House Rolls - follow the link for the original recipe for Blue Ribbon Overnight Rolls. 

The same ingredients are used for both recipes , but the measurements are different.  I never thought I would say this but I like these ones better than the Parker House ones - I think the extra rise time makes them taste amazing!!  Also they have less flour and less butter - so they are healthier right?! :)

Blue Ribbon Overnight Rolls

2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 package)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted but not too hot
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour

Combine the milk and sugar in a small pot and heat until milk is warm and sugar is mostly dissolved, it should be hot but not burning hot or boiling at all (I think of it as 'yeast rising' tempurature lol).  Pour into a large bowl and add the yeast.  Let sit for 30 minutes.

Add the salt, butter and eggs to the yeast mixture and mix well.  Add 3 cups of flour and stir until well incorporated.  Add the last cup of flour and stir until it gets too thick to stir easily.  Use your hands to mix/knead the rest of the flour into the dough.  The dough should be soft, elastic and slightly sticky (but not too sticky).  It may take a few times of making them to get the correct dough consistency if you aren't familar with making bread dough by hand, but it will work itself out as it rises.  You can add additional flour if you think it is necessary, but I think the most I have ever added is 1/4 cup more flour.  Leave it in the bowl and cover with wax paper, parchment or saran wrap.  Store in a the oven overnight. 

The next morning, take out and gently knead the dough in the bowl.  Divide the dough into 24 rolls.  Place in a buttered 9x13" casserole dish.  Cover and let rise until double (about an hour).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 15-20 min, covering them with foil if they start to brown too much. 

I actually made these 2 other ways as well:

One time I put it into the fridge to rise overnight, then took it out and let it come to room temperature to finish rising.  I was hoping it would rise faster than it did, but I stuck it in my oven with the bread proof setting and it had no trouble rising quickly.  If I wanted to let it rise at room temp, I think it will take about 8 hours.  I was working and then going to a friends house for dinner so if I had known it took so long out of the fridge I would have taken it out before I left and then formed the rolls when I got home.  It's untested but I'm pretty sure that would have worked. 

The second way was an accelerated time schedule - all in one day.  I used my bread proofing setting and raised the first and second risings quickly.  This turned out really well, but the yeast flavor was milder.  It still took around 5 hours to get them made, but Eric had rolls all week while he was home and I was at work (He asked me to make them at 6 on Sunday night lol).  They lasted for about 4 days wrapped up brfore they started to get stale.

If you have a favorite overnight roll recipe, I would love to hear it.  Comment and share!!  I really like being able to leave the dough overnight - it really cut down the prep time and made it feel less like a chore. That made it a little easier for me since I made all three batches in less than a week. :)
 
Enjoy!
Beth