You know what I love? Traditional food with a twist. I’m not one of those people who hates the traditional thanksgiving food by any means (I’m not a Chandler Bing). But don’t you get tired of the same exact menu every year?
Take your average dinner rolls for example. In a couple weeks you’ll see them on tables across America for Thanksgiving. It’s nothing new.
Don’t make average rolls.
But these rolls are different. They’re not like the regular rolls (they’re cool rolls). Because unlike the traditional version, they have pumpkin. And they’re made with mostly whole wheat flour as a healthier twist.
And the honey butter to go with? It has bourbon in it. BOURBON for crying out loud. These rolls are serious business. They don’t play.
Let’s be honest here, doesn’t bourbon make everything better? Even if you don’t like to drink it straight up, just a little of that flavor in a dish shifts “standard” and “boring” to “interesting” (and slightly hipster) in an instant.
Rolls for any old time.
You need these rolls on your Thanksgiving table. Or on your regular dinner table. Or just straight from the pan into your mouth. They are have this delicious nuttiness from the whole wheat flour. The pumpkin is super earthy.
They’re coated with a sweet buttery glaze and served with the bourbon honey butter. Which I know I already told you about, but I just had to tell you again. Because bourbon.
Bread making tips for noobs like us.
Bread-making can be intimidating. But once you get a few basics down, it’s actually pretty simple.
Here are few tips or things to know (they are not absolutes, but hold true for the most part).
Bread making tip #1.
Yeast is a living thing.
This is why you need your water to be a certain temperature when you dissolve your yeast in it. Too hot and it kills the yeast. Too cold and it won’t activate and “bloom”.
Ideal is between 100-110ºF. You can dip a finger in the water to test it. Water should feel warm but not hot. Or you can do what we like to do and use your digital thermometer.
Bread making tip #2.
Usually a recipe will call for you to bloom the yeast in water before adding it to the other ingredients to let it get a head start at getting all nice and foamy.
Bread making tip #3.
Sugar feeds yeast. Salt stops the growth.
This is why recipes will often instruct you to add a little sugar when you bloom the yeast at first and wait to add salt until it’s with all the other ingredients.
Bread making tip #4.
Bread dough needs to be kneaded to activate the glutens and help it hold together.
You can do this by hand or you can let your stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook attachment, do all or most of the work for you.
Bread making tip #5.
You can usually know when you have added enough flour by waiting until you see the dough start to form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl. It will look less like batter and more like dough.
Bread making tip #6.
When allowing bread dough to rise, you want to put it in a warm place.
Basically, the same rule applies as when you’re checking your water temperature before you add the yeast (but less crucial). If you sit your bread dough in a cool place, then it won’t rise well (or will take forever). If it’s too warm, then the bread will just bake.
My favorite thing to do is to turn my oven on for no more than one minute (so it barely warms), turn it off and stick the dough in. Rising in the oven also ensures it will be free of drafts.
Bread making tip #7.
Bread dough needs to rise twice.
Usually the first rise will be in a greased bowl. Then after the dough has doubled in size, put your dough into a loaf pan, shape it into a loaf or shape into individual rolls depending on the recipe. Allow it to rise again before baking.
Keep these things in mind and you’ll be a pro bread baker in no time!
[cooked-recipe id=”2585″]
