Garlic and Herb Dinner Rolls

These fairly simple rolls are great to go with Italian dishes but will work with just about anything. It is a very forgiving recipe if you are a beginner or just not comfortable with baking. I use a stand mixer with a dough hook, but it can be done by hand in a large mixing bowl as well. You will need:

3 and ½ cups all -purpose flour

2 and ¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 pkg)

2 tsp white sugar

1 tsp Salt (I use kosher, but whatever you have will work)

2 tsp dried oregano or basil or Italian seasoning blend

1 tsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp Olive oil

1 and ½ cups warm water (at least 110 degrees Hot tap water works fine.)

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

3-4 cloves garlic minced

In the bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, herbs and garlic. Add the oil and water and mix until you get a ball that holds together if it is too sticky, add up to a ½ cup more flour or if too dry, a bit more water.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is fairly smooth. Form into a ball, tucking the bottom under to kind of stretch the top surface when you place it into a lightly oiled bowl cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough, and form into rolls I usually get 8-10 out of this batch.

Place the rolls on a parchment lined baking sheet, or you can put them into a small round like in the picture, they come out great either way. Cover and let them rise again for about 30 minutes.

While they are rising mince the garlic and put in a small pan with the butter and slowly melt. Preheat the oven to 375, brush the rolls with the garlic butter and bake for around 20-25 mins until lightly browned on top. When they come out of the oven, if you like, a sprinkle of Parmesan or Romano cheese makes a nice finish.