Get Dinner Rolling – Rosemary Rock Salt Dinner Rolls

I’m back at it with some light and fluffy on the inside and perfectly baked on the outside Rosemary Rock Salt Dinner Rolls. The idea came to me from my favourite local bagel bakery called, Rosemary Rocksalt. Every Christmas we host an open house and I buy countless bagels from this bakery. Needless to say, the namesake flavour goes fast and furiously. I love the flavour combination and thought why not make an easy dinner roll with the same flavours? Lighter, fluffy, and still full of the same popular flavours, these Rosemary Rock Salt Dinner Rolls are guaranteed to go quickly!

Besides today, I haven’t spent much time at all in my kitchen in the past week and a bit. I spent 4 days helping prepare and volunteering at the Food Bloggers of Canada Conference and it was the best thing I’ve done in quite some time for myself and this blog. I met so many wonderful bloggers that I’ve only known virtually until this past weekend, like my friends Taylor, Julia, and Marie. I was so excited to meet them all and just chat in person. Technically we’re all “competitors”, but these are bloggers that I look up to and that I love sharing my journey with. They all are focused on truly doing the best they can with their blogs and I love sharing experiences with them as I try to carve my space out in the blogosphere alongside so many talented individuals. I have so much to learn and I’m grateful that I get to be alongside so many individuals who share their successes.

There was also our key-note speaker and at my dinner table, Deb Perelman (Smitten Kitchen) who really reenforced the theme of the weekend of “doing the work” and despite her fame is a lovely down to earth person (as hilariously self-deprecating in person as virtually). I learned a lot from Dennis the Prescott’s workshops and discussions on photography … as in I need to start using my tripod, like yesterday. Overall, there wasn’t anything life shattering that I’m missing, but I do need to focus on improving one thing at a time. I guess writing it here for you all commits me to doing so.

My kids loved these buns. I did and would recommend picking off most of the salt for any children however. They don’t need the extra sodium and still loved the rolls. I’ll try to remember to come back and let you know how these kept. We ate about a fourth of the recipe at dinner this evening (with roast chicken piled high inside), but I’m thinking these would be fantastic with a fried egg. How would you serve them?

Try not to be alarmed by the time noted in the recipe, the majority of it is for the dough to rest and some baking time. It’s quite an easy recipe and completely adaptable. Not into rosemary or rock salt? Try flaky sea salt with chilli flakes or oregano with chopped olives. I found the recipe that I adapted while reading Food and Wine on my flight home.

PS – I can’t tell you how excited I am to write “#rolls” legitimately on Instagram tomorrow 😉

PPS – I found the rock salt at my local grocery store. Not a fancy one, a regular suburban small grocery store but it was near the cooking spray. I’m not quite sure why it wasn’t with the table salt, but I have yet to figure out why certain products end up in bizarre locations at the grocery store. In summary, if my grocery store carries it, it’s likely to be found in other regular grocery stores.

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Get Dinner Rolling – Rosemary Rock Salt Dinner Rolls

Prep Time

3 hrs

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

3 hrs 25 mins

 

Perfectly light and fluffy on the inside with a crunchy and tasty rosemary rock salt topping.

Servings: 18 -20 dinner rolls

Author: Samantha @MyKitchenLove

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups 118 ml warm whole milk, plus more for brushing
• 1 x 1/4 oz package of dry active yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar 55 grams sugar
• 1 stick 8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 large egg lightly beaten
• 2 tsp fine sea salt
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 2-3 tablespoons rock salt

Instructions

1. In a stand mixer with the dough hook attached, mix warm milk with yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar. Let sit for about 5 minutes, until mixture starts to foam. On low speed, mix in melted butter, beaten egg, fine sea salt, and remaining 3 tbsp of sugar. Slowly add flour (1/2 cup at a time until well mixed). Once all flour is added continue to mix on low until dough comes together, adding flour by the teaspoon if it sticks to the bowl. Mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes until dough is soft and forms a loose ball around the hook.
2. Transfer dough to a large greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm area and let stand until dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
3. Line 2 large baking sheets with non-stick lining. Place dough on a work surface and divided into 18-20 equal pieces (I ended up with 19 pieces all ranging from 67-74 grams in weight. If I wasn't photography them I would not have weighed them, however it does make for more equal baking). Shape each piece into a ball, pinch the side that has a seal on it. Arrange the balls about 3 inches apart and loosely cover again with plastic wrap. Let stand for about 1 hour, until balls double in size.
4. Preheat oven to 350° F. Brush with extra milk and sprinkle generously with rosemary and some rock salt. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until exterior is nicely browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

You could use flaky sea salt in lieu of rosemary rock salt, however I would reduce the amount of salt being used. Don't be alarmed by the amount of time showing! It is almost entirely resting or baking time.

Enjoy!