Rosemary Potato Rolls with Herbed Garlic Butter

This bread is so good it’s bound to become a tradition this Thanksgiving. Baking bread can sometimes be intimidating, but these little rolls are actually quite straightforward to make.

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups milk

3 tbsps white sugar

1 package (2 ¼ tsp) active dry yeast

3 1/2 cups flour, plus a bit more for dusting

1/2 cup instant potato flakes

1 egg

2 tbsps chopped rosemary

2 tsps salt

For the garlic butter:

3 tbsps unsalted butter

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh thyme

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a small saucepan gently warm the milk, butter and sugar until butter is melted; don’t get it too hot or it will kill the yeast. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface of the warmed buttery milk and allow the yeast to bloom for 5 minutes. If it doesn’t smell “yeasty” start over/find fresher yeast.

Add the bloomed yeast liquid to a bowl of a standing mixer with a dough hook attachment. Add in the flour and potato and knead on high until combined. Add the egg, rosemary and salt and continue kneading. The dough should be slightly tacky, but not sticky. Add more flour if it seems too wet.

On a lightly floured surface, turn the dough out and shape into a ball. Transfer the dough ball to a lightly greased bowl and cover with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap. Set in a warmer area of the kitchen and allow the dough to rise until doubled (about 1 ½ hours).

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface once again. Gently punch the dough down and cut into four equal portions. From those four portions continue cutting and forming small dough balls; you should have 12-18 balls in total.

Butter a baking dish or cast iron pan and transfer the shaped dough to the dish. Let the dough balls rise for an additional thirty minutes - preheat the oven to 350°F while they’re rising.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

While baking, make the garlic butter. In a small pan melt the butter with the garlic and thyme and allow the garlic to cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes.

Remove the rolls from the oven and brush with the garlic butter. Finish with a sprinkling of flakey salt. Serve warm.

Serves 16