Garlic & Herb White Rolls

Clowie Comeaux found this one while working her way through dinner roll trial and error, and it stuck. She makes them alongside spaghetti or lasagna. In her words, she genuinely loves making bread by hand, even though it's time consuming, because it's so rewarding.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F
• 2¼ teaspoons Platinum yeast
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup (4 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour (spooned & leveled)
• 1 tablespoon rosemary
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon thyme

Optional topping

• 2 tablespoons (28g) melted unsalted butter mixed with 1 tablespoon honey

Instructions

1. Prepare the dough. Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients. Add the remaining sugar, egg, butter, salt, and 1 cup flour. With a dough hook or paddle attachment, mix on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the remaining flour along with the herbs and garlic powder. Beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If the dough seems too wet to knead, beat in more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until workable.
3. Knead the dough. Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. If it becomes too sticky, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or work surface. Do not add more flour than you need. After kneading the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger — if it slowly bounces back, it's ready to rise.
4. First rise. Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover and allow to rise in a relatively warm spot for 1 to 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
5. Grease the pan. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan, or two 9-inch square or round pans. A cast iron skillet or a lined baking sheet works too.
6. Shape the rolls. Punch the dough down to release the air. Divide into 14 to 16 equal pieces and shape.
7. Second rise. Cover the shaped rolls and allow to rise until puffy, about 1 hour.
8. Heat the oven. Adjust the oven rack to a lower position and preheat to 350°F.
9. Bake. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through. If the tops brown too quickly, loosely tent with foil. Brush with the honey butter topping and let cool a few minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

• From Clowie: the herbs can be a bit much, so lessen them to taste.