I decided last minute that I wanted to rolls to serve with our Easter dinner. And since I had a pile of potatoes to julienne and pork and carrots to roast I wanted something easy. After a quick search I found this recipe and went for it. I didn’t expect too much because I’ve never made rolls with a no-knead method before (I figured no-knead doughs needed a long rise to develop properly). But the fact that I’m sharing this recipe today means I was pleasantly surprised… these rolls were soft and fluffy, especially delicious with a pat of butter and drizzle of honey, and my little family fought over them!

The original recipe below notes that it’s best to use buttermilk (not a substitute). I’ve learned to just keep buttermilk on hand because it’s inexpensive and I use it often in baking and breakfast foods (pancakes, waffles, even french toast). If I’ve had a jug of buttermilk open a few days and haven’t used it up I put the rest in the freezer and thaw it out as needed. Budget Bytes recommends freezing it in ice cube trays, but I usually just measure it by cup-fulls and freeze in ziplock freezer bags.

No Knead Buttermilk Dinner Rolls

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. kosher salt (use less for table/sea salt)
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/8 tsp. instant yeast
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 Tbsp. melted butter, divided
pinch of flakey salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour salt, sugar, and instant yeast.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, pour the boiling water over the buttermilk, stir to combine, and let cool for 10 minutes. The buttermilk may look curdled, but this is okay.
3. Pour the buttermilk mixture and 2 Tbsp. of the melted butter over the flour mixture. Stir until a sticky ball of dough forms. Cover the dough in the bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.
4. Grease an 8-inch circle or square baking dish. Using two forks, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides of the bowl and pulling it toward the center. Rotate the bowl quarter turns as you deflate, turning the mass into a rough ball.
5. Liberally flour a work surface. Use the two forks to lift the sticky ball of dough out of the bowl and onto the floured surface. Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the dough into 10-12 pieces. Using well floured hands, shape each piece roughly into a circle. It’s okay if each piece is a little misshapen. Place the dough balls into the prepared pan, spacing them evenly apart.
6. Begin preheating the oven to 375ºF. Let the dough rise, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, or until the dough pieces have puffed to almost fill the pan.
7. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove them from the oven and immediately brush the surfaces with the remaining 1 Tbsp melted butter. Sprinkle a pinch of flakey salt over top. Let the rolls cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto cooling racks and invert onto a plate. Let the bread rest for 5 minutes before serving.

NOTE: I highly suggest using real buttermilk for this recipe instead of a milk and vinegar substitute. If you’re concerned about having leftover buttermilk, follow these instructions for freezing your buttermilk for later use.

Makes approx. 10-12 rolls (and can be easily doubled to make more).

Recipe from Budget Bytes

Cinnamon rolls might be my absolute favorite food (contending with really good pizza or focaccia)… can you tell I LOVE bread?! And when it comes to dessert, I’ve always loved anything with almond. Almond + dark chocolate = amazing. Marzipan (almond paste) = heavenly. Almond paired with cherries or any berries = divine! Because of this obsession, I decided I wanted to make a version of my mom’s famous (to us, anyway) cinnamon roll recipe that features almond. This recipe I found uses sliced almonds ground (with some sugar, butter, orange zest, cinnamon, vanilla, etc.) into a paste to make the filling. And an orange glaze gets drizzled on top. And it was insanely good! I did feel like the orange flavor was a bit stronger than the almond, so next time around I plan to use a classic glaze, omitting the orange juice and replacing the vanilla with almond extract. I’ve provided both glaze options in the recipe below!

Like I mentioned, I used my mom’s dough recipe. In addition to classic cinnamon rolls (and orange rolls & lemon rolls which I’ve already shared), it makes killer dinner rolls. You can follow the links to those recipes if you want more details on the dough process.

Almond Sweet Rolls

INGREDIENTS

for the dough:
3-4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. instant yeast
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg, whisked
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. warm milk

for the filling:
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup unsalted butter
zest of one orange
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (you could use a combo of almond and vanilla extracts if you want extra almond flavor- I would try 1/2 tsp. vanilla + 1/4 tsp. almond)

for the orange glaze:
juice of one orange
1 1/2- 2 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt

OR for the almond glaze:
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 Tbsp. milk (+ more to thin the glaze if necessary)
pinch salt

for topping:
handful sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Whisk to combine. Pour in wet ingredients (butter, eggs, and milk). Stir until it is a thick paste. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until it comes together into a ball.

2. Lightly flour a flat surface, and knead the dough, adding more flour to prevent sticking, 8-10 minutes, until smooth. Spray the inside of a bowl with cooking spray, place the dough inside, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

3. While the dough is rising, prepare the almond cream. In a food processor combine the almonds, sugar, egg, butter, cinnamon, orange zest, and vanilla, and pulse until well combined and it has a smooth, pasty, buttery texture. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

4. Roll out the dough on a clean, well-floured surface into a large rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Spread the almond cream evenly over the surface of the dough. Roll up the dough, keeping it pretty tight, and cut into rolls. Almond cream might seep out the sides and makes things a bit messy – that’s okay. Let rise in a loosely covered, well-greased 9 x 13 pan for another hour, or until doubled in size. You could also let them rise overnight in the refrigerator at this step and then bake them in the morning.

5. Sprinkle sliced almonds on top of the rolls & bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, or until slightly golden brown and cooked through.

6. To make the glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, fresh orange juice, and pinch of salt (or butter, powdered sugar, almond extract, milk and salt)-adjusting the powdered sugar and milk as necessary to achieve a pourable glaze- and then drizzle all over the rolls.

Makes a 9×13 pan, about 12 rolls.

Adapted from The Food Wright