Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls

My father-in-law was over for dinner on Sunday, and instead of just whipping up a one-pan stirfry meal that is our usual, I decided to do it up right - bbq pork loin fillets, rice, and a couple of different vegetables (including more fiddleheads!) Fancy. I also wanted to try out some dinner rolls instead of my regular go-to - Irish soda bread (which is awesome by the way, you should try it), so I got to experimenting.

I'm definitely a beginner when it comes to yeast-type breads, so if I can do it, you can do it too. All together it takes about 2 1/2 hours so give yourself plenty of time.

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup oil
1 1/3 cups warm water

Mix together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add in the oil and water. Mix well and then knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes. If you're using a stand mixer with a pastry hook, let it mix for about 5 minutes. Cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rise until it doubles in size (about an hour).

Lay the dough out on a lightly floured surface again and roll it into a tube shape. Cut the dough into equal-sized pieces (I cut the dough into 15 pieces but you could make them larger or smaller). Roll each piece into a ball and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover the dough with the tea towel and let rise again for about an hour.

(Note: I'm wondering if this second rise time is necessary. They plumped up even more in the oven so it might not even matter.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

If you want to, brush the top of the rolls with a milk and sugar wash to add some sweetness, or an egg wash (egg and water mixture) to get a shiny crust. I went for the milk and sugar.

Bake the rolls for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned. Let them cool for a minute and then pull them apart.

I don't think I can accurately describe just how good these are. Well, there were only about 6 left over after dinner, so that might say it right there. They were soft and just slightly sweet. Next time I think I'll use a bigger pan so that the rolls aren't as close to each other and there'll be more crust on each one.