Give your holiday meals a creative twist this year with these garlic dinner rolls! Tucked inside the layers is a spread of slow roasted garlic, shredded Parmesan cheese and rich butter.
When I stand in front a table of holiday foods with an empty plate, I start negotiating with myself. I can’t possibly eat it all, so what is it that I can cut out to reduce volume that I also won’t miss much?
Rolls. It’s always the rolls.
I love bread, but I’ve become selective over the years. Usually the rolls I’m confronted with are store-bought from the package and those just don’t entice me. (I’d much rather have an extra sugar cookie.)
Should the scenario change, though, I’d have a longer internal debate on my hands. Say, for example, if the rolls were homemade or something I could only get once a year.
Maybe if they had garlic. And Parmesan. It might even help if they resembled a cinnamon roll. We all know I have a mean sweet tooth.
Simply put, if these rolls were on the table, I might have the roll AND the extra sugar cookie.
I love how garlic changes when it’s roasted. It gets so creamy, sweet and rich. These rolls are filled with a layer of that goodness and then rolled up, baked and coated in a bit of butter.
They are easy to make, too. I know, I know. You’re saying, homemade bread? Easy? The truth is, the process is pretty hands-off. It’s long, but your attention is only required for a short portion of it.
Here are a few tips that will help your roll baking (and bread baking in general) go more smoothly.
- Use new yeast that you recently purchased. You don’t want to risk it not blooming in the midst of everything else you have to do. Blooming, by the way, is when you let the yeast sit in the water with the sugar and it begins rise the to surface and expand, creating a frothy layer. It’s like mini fireworks that are contained to the surface of the water.
- The metal bowl of your stand mixer can be used as a vessel for your dough to rise in, but the metal can cool off quickly lowering the temperature of the dough. This means it will take longer for the dough to double in size. I cover mine in a clean dish towel and let it sit inside the microwave. Or if I have the oven on, I leave the bowl in a safe spot on top of the stove where it’s warm.
- I read so many recipes that call for 5 minutes or more of kneading. That is a really long time in my book. I have no doubt that some breads could require that, but I baked in a bread shop for a few years and we simply kneaded until the dough came together and was smooth. Maybe about a minute, two minutes, max. So that is what I do at home and it works fine for me.
So now you are equipped with everything you need for some good homemade rolls. Get the mixer started and then enjoy a big smile as you watch your guests grab one of these at dinner with no hesitation. Cookies or no cookies, few people can pass up a garlic Parmesan roll.
- Roasted garlic spread
- 2 heads garlic
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 tablespoons freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon fine ground sea salt
- Bread dough
- 1 cup water, heated to 105 to 110 degrees F
- 1 tablespoons sugar (any variety)
- 1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoons) dry active yeast
- 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon fine ground sea salt
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil to coat the bowl
- Cold, unsalted butter for after baking (about a ½ tablespoon)
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Slice off the top quarter of each head of garlic to expose the cloves. Place the heads of garlic on a square piece of foil (large enough to wrap them up).
- Pour the 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the garlic and turn to coat. Wrap in the foil and roast in the oven for 45 minutes, or until the clove are softened. Let cool completely.
- While the garlic roasts, make the dough. Stir the sugar in to the water and add the yeast. Give it a couple stirs and then let it sit undisturbed for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the yeast blooms. It should bloom within 10 minutes or you might need new yeast.
- Place the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Turn to low and slowly pour in the yeast. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Increase the speed to medium and gradually add in 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Now add the water, a ½ tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together into a ball. Let the dough knead in the mixer for about 1 minute. It should be slightly sticky, but not wet. Turn the mixer to high and let it knead for about 30 seconds as you add in the ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Form into a ball. Coat the inside of a bowl with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with a dish towel and let rise 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough and place it on a flour surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it out into an oval or rectangle. Aim for one about 21 inches by 14 inches.
- Now finish the spread. Squeeze the cloves of soft garlic into a small bowl. Add the 4 tablespoons of cooled melted butter, Parmesan cheese and ½ teaspoon of salt. Stir well to mash the garlic, or you can transfer it to a small food process to puree.
- Spread the garlic mixture over the top of the rolled dough, covering it evenly.
- Working from the long side, roll the dough up into a log, tucking it tightly as you roll.
- Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with butter. Cut the log into rolls about 1 inche wide. Place the rolls cut-side down in the baking dish. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the tops of the rolls with the remaining 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Baked for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are browned and the rolls are firm in the center and baked through. Spread the ½ tablespoon of cold butter over the warm rolls as soon as they come out of the oven. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Wowza! This is definitely what I need to be making along with dinner! These look amazing!
Thanks so much! I’m a huge garlic fan!
I love dinner rolls, what would dinner be without them? Excited to try these garlic version, I know I’ll fall in love with them!
I hope you like them, Pamela! Thanks so much for your comment.
I could never ever resist a homemade roll…and especially not if it had roasted garlic scattered throughout! Carb perfection.
Carbs seemed to be made better with garlic for me! 🙂