Bready or Not: Soft Dinner Rolls
Back when I first started Bready or Not in 2011, one of my first recipes was for Soft Dinner Rolls. I’m featuring it again today because it’s still a family favorite, and one I make regularly.
I used to be very intimidated by working with yeast. Would the dough rise? How would I know when it was ready? I used box mixes for a while and built up my confidence to handle the stuff from-scratch.
These soft rolls have never failed me. Other doughs are persnickety; this dough is not. The result is soft, and it bakes up into soft, luscious rolls.
These are the rolls I make every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I can make them weeks in advance. They thaw fast. They keep for as long as six days in a sealed bag. Most importantly, they reheat and taste as fresh as ever (and can even be reheated another time, too).
If you’re shy about yeast rolls, give these a try! If you’ve already mastered yeast bread, add these to your repertoire–they are worth making again and again.
On the subject of yeast, the only kind I use is SAF Instant Yeast. I store it in a sealed plastic tub in the freezer; the yeast granules don’t freeze, but the cold preserves the yeast.
Bready or Not: Soft Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water 110 degrees (temperature especially important if mixing by hand)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons white sugar
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast or 1 packet bread machine yeast
Instructions
If making by hand
- Mix all ingredients together and knead until soft. Place the dough in a bowl and lightly cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise 45 minutes to 1 hour; knead down again. Let rise another 45 minutes to 1 hour.
If making in a bread machine
- Add ingredients in the order specified. That often means the liquids first. Set the machine on dough cycle and start; this should run for about 2 hours.
- Prepare a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan by greasing lightly with butter. When the dough is done, lightly flour a mat or flat surface. Gently flatten the dough with hands. It's so soft, a rolling pin isn't necessary. Use a biscuit cutter or other round shape to cut out rolls. Place them spaced out a bit on the pan; it should produce 12 to 15 rolls, depending on the cutter. Lightly cover pan with plastic wrap and let it sit for an hour, or until rolls have doubled in size.
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Bake the rolls for 10 to 15 minutes, watching them for desired brownness. Let cool a few minutes before serving.
- Completely cooled rolls can be frozen in gallon freezer bags for several months. Sealed rolls will keep well at room temperature for at least 6 days.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Cato BBQ Rib Rub
Today I’m providing my personal favorite, tested-a-gazillion times rub recipe for pork ribs.
How you cook the ribs is up to you. My husband has a smoker, so he smokes these things for hours for delicious, succulent results.
However, using this rub, you could barbecue ribs on a grill, or bake them in the oven. The choice is yours!
The amounts stated in this recipe will cover about 5 pounds of meat. If you have leftover mix that hasn’t been in contact with raw meat, jar it and save it for later. You can also double or triple the recipe with that in mind.
I have made this with several types of paprika. I favor smoked paprika, but all kinds worked well. I have also made this with fresh oregano and dried. You could certainly substitute or add other herbs, too.
Whenever I find ribs on a good sale, we use this recipe. It’s one we often make for when company comes over, too. Everyone leaves full and happy!
Bready or Not: Cato BBQ Rib Rub
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons paprika any variety
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar packed
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano or 1/2 Tablespoon fresh oregano
- 1 Tablespoon ground coffee
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Instructions
- Combine rub ingredients well, making sure to break up any clumps. Coat the meat, front and back.
- Cook ribs as desired: smoke, grill, or bake.
- OM NOM NOM!
Read More
Bready or Not: Oreo and Caramel Cake Batter Brownies
If you need a fast chocolate fix, I have the recipe for you.
This uses cake mix as a base for decadent brownies. If you don’t have caramels, chop up some candy bars. Use full-size Oreos or break up some other kind of cookies. Just let caramel and chocolate, in some form, get cozy.
After you combine everything, this bakes up in about 20 minutes. It smells like heaven, too. A heaven oozing with chocolate.
These bars end up chewy and mild. If you want deeper flavor, use dark chocolate.
This is a Bready or Not Original, too. I modified it from my Golden Oreo Cake Batter Blondies.
Bready or Not: Oreo and Caramel Cake Batter Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 box devil's food cake mix
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional but awesome
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1/2 cup milk or half & half
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 5 ounces Caramel Bits or chopped caramel
- 8 ounces Mini Oreos or chopped Oreos, some reserved for top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- Combine first three ingredients in a large bowl. Add egg and milk. Fold in the chocolate chips, caramel pieces, and Mini Oreos.
- Pour into prepared baking pan. Add the reserved Oreos on top. Bake for 20 minutes, or it until passes the toothpick test.
- Allow to set for at least 30 minutes before cutting into squares.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Churro Waffles
This reprinted Holy Taco Church recipe produces waffles that are sweet, fluffy, decadent, and not the slightest bit healthy. CHURRO WAFFLES, people. These are hardcore churro.
This recipe is amazingly easy. As typed up below, it makes three big waffles in your waffle iron. Double or triple to feed a crowd or stash extras to freeze. You won’t need extra pats of butter on top, and you’ll probably need just a minimal amount of maple syrup, dulce de leche, or chocolate sauce. Heck, even dip these in something like Nutella.
Be crazy. Be churro-y. Dip your whole day in cinnamon and sugar.
First posted at the Holy Taco Church; modified from Chica Chocolatina.
Bready or Not: Churro Waffles
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon white sugar
- 2 shakes cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup milk or almond milk
- 3 Tb unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 Tb cinnamon
- 1/4 cup melted butter
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and cinnamon. Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter so they can cool a few minutes. Preheat waffle iron.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg with the milk, melted butter and vanilla extract. Pour the milk mix into the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Apply non-stick spray to the waffle maker. Use a 1/2 cup to add batter to the iron and close the lid. While the waffle cooks, melt the butter for the topping and in a separate bowl combine the cinnamon and sugar.
- Remove the waffle from the iron. Brush butter all over a side, then sift or spoon the cinnamon and sugar over it. Flip over waffle and repeat. Add more batter to the waffle iron and repeat the process.
- OM NOM NOM!
Read More
Bready or Not: Crock Pot Green Chile Chicken
My slow cooker is my friend, and in this case my friend heats up some fantastically flavorful chicken that’s good in all sorts of dishes!
This recipe is a cousin to my Verde Pork Loin one. Both make a great protein for salads (my preference), tacos, burritos, casseroles, and likely all other sorts of stuff.
Don’t be afraid of the chiles here, either. I was for years. A standard can of green chiles is pretty mild and adds a punch of flavor. If you’re feeding people who can take the heat, by all means, use the hot version! We favor the Hatch brand because my husband used to live in Las Cruces, near the Hatch Valley; it’s good to support New Mexico products, in any case.
And yes, you can make this with chicken breasts or tenders, but there’s greater risk of the meat drying out. I much prefer to use boneless thighs in the crock pot.
Modified from The Perfect Pantry.
Bready or Not: Crock Pot Green Chile Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 16 ounces verde salsa
- 2 cloves garlic smashed
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 4 ounces Hatch green chiles canned, mild or hot
Instructions
- Cut the chicken thighs into thirds and place in a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker. Pour the salsa over them, followed by the garlic, cumin, and canned chiles. Give it a stir then pop the lid on.
- Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours; if the chicken was still a little frozen, cook on high for an hour or so to speed the process. Use a slotted spoon to remove chicken pieces, and shred or cut them into chunks. Place back in crock pot to soak in juice for another 20 minutes.
- Serve chicken on a plate, or in burritos, tacos, salads, or just about anything. Freezes fantastically for later dining.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: White Chocolate Lemon Blondies
Memorial Day weekend is coming up, so let’s do make something fresh and summer-y! How about chewy bars that taste like lemonade?
These bars are soft and chewy with a delightfully fresh flavor. White chocolate and lemon make for a wonderful pairing in both taste and texture.
I’d like to say that these kept well for days, but I really don’t know. They stayed yummy for one day, at least.
When my husband took these to work, a co-worker told him, “Your wife can make these any time she wants.” I always welcome that kind of encouragement to bake more!
Modified from A Kitchen Addiction.
Bready or Not: White Chocolate Lemon Blondies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- sparkling sugar or turbinado sugar for top, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line an 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking dish with aluminum foil and apply non-stick cooking spray.
- Cream together butter and both sugars. Add lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla extract, and beat until combined.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: flour, lemon zest, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the flour mix into the wet ingredients.
- Stir in white chocolate chips; dough will be thick. Spread into the bottom of the ready baking dish. An offset spatula works well to smooth it out. If desired, sprinkle sparkling or turbinado sugar all over the top.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test.
- Set on a wire rack to cool completely, then use foil to lift contents to a cutting board. Cut into bars.
- OM NOM NOM!
