Make-Ahead Buttermilk Dinner Rolls

This roll recipe, Make-Ahead Buttermilk Dinner Rolls, leans on buttermilk at room temperature, flour and instant yeast. It makes 36 Rolls and takes about 216 minutes.

• Yield 36 Rolls
• Ready in 216 minutes
• Prep 200 minutes
• Cook 16 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups buttermilk at room temperature
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 6-7 cups flour (more or less)

Instructions

1. In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer (I only ever use a Bosch, never tried this in a Kitchenaid), mix the buttermilk, 3 cups flour and yeast together. Cover and let stand at room temperature until puffy and bubbly, 2-3 hours.
2. Add the sugar, eggs, salt, oil, and baking soda. Mix well and start adding the remaining flour until a soft dough is formed that clears the sides of the bowl and is smooth without being overly sticky or overflowed. Knead for about 7 minutes.
3. At this point, you can roll out the dough or cover and refrigerate for up to seven days. If doing so, place the dough in a large container or bowl as it will expand a bit in the refrigerator.
4. To use immediately, shape the dough into rolls: cloverleaf (three balls each about 3/4-inch in diameter popped into a greased muffin tin), crescent (divide the dough into thirds and roll each section into a 10- or 11-inch circle, brush with butter and cut into 8 or 12 sections and roll up), classic dinner rolls (about 2-3 ounces of dough rolled into a taut ball and placed in a 9X13-inch baking dish or on a large baking sheet). Cover the rolls with greased plastic wrap and let rise until double, about an hour or so.
5. Bake at 375 degrees until golden and baked through (exact time will depend on shape; for cloverleaf about 11 minutes, crescent about 15-16 and dinner rolls about 16 or so).
6. For refrigerated dough, pinch off the desired amount and shape. If the dough is really cold and hard to work with, let it rest covered at room temp for 30-45 minutes before shaping.
7. Once shaped, cover with greased plastic wrap and let rolls rise until double in size, 2-3 hours (dough taken from the refrigerator will take longer to rise since it's been chilled) and bake with the above instructions based on shape.
8. Remove from the oven and butter the tops, if desired.

Cool the bake on a rack until the crumb sets, then slice.