Easy Make Ahead Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls Recipes

CLOVERLEAF ROLLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the butter, egg, sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down and divide in half. Divide each half into 36 pieces and shape into balls. Place 3 balls in each greased muffin cup. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Brush with additional butter. , Bake at 375° for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks. Serve warm.

MAKE-AHEAD DINNER ROLLS

Steps:

• Warm 1/4 cup of the milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat to anywhere between 100 and 115 degrees F. Pour the milk into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment. Add the sugar and yeast, and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the softened butter, half the flour, half the remaining milk and fine salt. Mix on medium-high speed just to incorporate. Add the egg, mix until fully incorporated, then add the remaining flour and milk. Knead with the hook on medium-high speed until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides, about 5 minutes (the dough will still be sticky).
• Lightly butter a large bowl with some of the melted butter, and turn the dough out into it. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand in a slightly warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Lightly butter two 12-cup muffin tins with some of the melted butter. Punch the dough down. Divide it into 24 even pieces, and roll them into rough balls. Roll each ball in the melted butter to coat, letting the excess drip off, and plop it into a muffin cup. Cover lightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in the refrigerator at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.
• Position oven racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven, and preheat to 375 degrees F. Remove the tins from the refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature 1 hour (the dough won't puff up significantly). Sprinkle evenly with sea salt, and bake, rotating the tins halfway through, until just lightly golden but still rather pale and almost cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Let the parbaked rolls cool slightly in the tins, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely. Pack them in resealable plastic bags, label and date, and freeze for up to 2 weeks.
• To serve, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the frozen rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet until warmed through and golden brown on top, about 20 minutes. Brush the warm rolls with melted butter.

EASY MAKE-AHEAD CLOVERLEAF DINNER ROLLS

Steps:

• Cook's Note: I almost forgot to tell you-I used White Lily flour in this, which is a soft wheat flour. I like it for the delicate texture it adds. You may wonder why I mention it, but not all flours are created equal. Even among brands, there are differences, and it stems from the type of flour they use, which makes the protein count vary. Really high protein flours (often called bread flours) absorb a lot of water, and lower protein flours (cake flour is probably the lowest) absorb less. Each brand will use a different blend, and the one I used absorbs less on the whole, but is known, especially in the Southern US, for its excellence especially for making tender flaky biscuits. So this is why it may sometimes seem the water you add doesn't work right, on occasion. So in making dinner rolls, just as in bread, you start with an amount of water in the bowl, and you want to add flour, about a half cup at a time, until it comes together and forms the dough ball, coming away from the sides of the bowl. It shouldn't be as runny as cake batter or add more flour. It shouldn't be dry and crumbly or cracked, or you have added too much flour and need to add a little water and work it in until you get the dough ball. This is why you should never just dump all the flour in at once. I know most bread makers already know this, but there is always someone just finding out, and I got your back here.
• In your stand mixer, place warm water to heat the bowl.
• When the temperature of the water reaches 110F, drain off all but one cup.
• Sprinkle yeast over the water and let it soften.
• Add room temperature melted butter, sugar, room temperature eggs, and salt.
• Add dough hook and run mixer on low, adding flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough comes together, adjusting flour amount if necessary, then run mixer until dough is fairly smooth.
• Turn dough out into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half, then each half into 4 pieces, then each piece into thirds. Roll each piece into a log and cut into three more pieces, and roll in between lightly oiled hands into smooth balls.
• Place dough balls on waxed paper on a baking sheet and freeze until firm, about an hour or so. Place balls in a freezer bag, and keep frozen until needed.
• To prepare, grease a muffin tin and place three balls into each cup. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm, draft-free place for several hours or until doubled in size.
• Bake at 375F for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

GRANDMA'S CLOVER LEAF ROLLS

Steps:

• Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until bubbles begin to form, but the milk is not simmering. Stir in the sugar, shortening, and salt; set aside until cooled to 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and set aside for 5 minutes.
• Beat the egg in a mixing bowl, then stir in the yeast and milk. Stir in half of the flour until no lumps remain, then stir in the remaining flour a little at a time until a smooth dough forms. Place into a greased bowl, turn once to grease the top, cover, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
• Grease a 12 sectioned muffin tin. Deflate the dough, and place onto a well-floured work surface. Divide the dough into 36 pieces, and form into balls. Place 3 balls into each muffin cup. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.