Thursday, January 19, 2012

Thompson Family Dinner Rolls

Many families have their own coveted recipes that have been passed down through the generations. In my family, we have a fabulous recipe for dinner rolls that are delicate, flaky, moist, and flavorful. They are well revered amongst all of my father's side of the family, and we often have them at large family gatherings (partly because we love them and partly because the recipe makes 144 rolls!). The person that makes them for family gatherings is seen as some sort of saint because few people in my family take the time to make them.

I am one of the few family members that dares to make these rolls. I don't think they are particularly difficult or labor-intensive, but the recipe is a two-day process. If you want to make these but don't often have large gatherings, go ahead and make the entire recipe. It's worth it because they take so long, and they freeze and reheat extremely well. You will have easy go-to dinner rolls on nights where you need some sort of starchy side in a hurry.

The dough itself is also quite versatile. We have another recipe for cinnamon rolls that uses the dough from this recipe. I'm sure you can use it in many other applications that call for a basic dinner roll dough, like monkey bread.