A traditional sweet yeast dinner roll calabasitas. It takes quite a while to make these.
I won a 4-H Championship with this recipe years ago and have used it constantly since then. It is an amazing, versatile dough. It’s a basic, old-fashioned yeast roll recipe. They smell amazing while baking but be patient good things come to those who wait.
Dense but tender, they remind us of a Hawaiian roll in flavor but with a firmer texture. These rolls are delicious alone, smeared with butter, a bun for sliders, or used to sop up some gravy. Stir in sugar, salt, and butter. Set aside and allow to cool to lukewarm. In a large bowl mix warm water and yeast.
Add remaining flour gradually, mixing as you go. 2 cups called for in the recipe, depending on the humidity and other factors. Your dough should be elastic and slightly stiff but not dry. Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead until smooth and very elastic. Butter the inside of a large mixing bowl.
Put dough in bowl and turn dough over a couple of times to coat it all with the butter. Cover bowl and place in a warm place so it can rise. It will take about 1 hour to double in bulk. At that time punch dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured board to shape. At this point, you can shape and fill as desired.
To make dinner rolls, pinch off about 2-3 tablespoons of dough and shape into a ball. Place each one in a buttered muffin tin or baking pan, barely touching each other, do not crowd rolls. Cover prepared rolls and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, again about 1 hour. Rolls should now touch each other. A little more rising will occur during baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees when rolls are about 10 minutes from being ready for baking.
When ready to bake place rolls in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. They should be browned nicely and smell so good and yeasty! Brush tops of rolls with melted butter immediately when removed from the oven. Allow rolls to sit for at least 10-15 minutes before eating. Last Step: Don’t forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network.