Light & Fluffy Dinner Rolls (my basic bread dough recipe)

Many months ago I found this recipe for light and fluffy dinner rolls on TheSavvyHomemaker.com. It was a huge hit at our house and has become my "go to" recipe for almost anything that requires bread dough (stromboli, breakfast braids, pepperoni rolls, cinnamon rolls, etc.).

I have made a few changes and additions so I figured that it was time to post my variation. The first change comes in removing all of the dairy. We have a friend who is allergic to dairy and we have her over for dinner fairly often so I decided to attempt these without the use of milk or butter. They turned out just as delicious as they are with dairy.

They second change is in the size of the dinner rolls. I've started dividing the dough into 24-36 rolls instead of the original 20. There are two reason for this: 1. it lowers the calorie count per roll (which is great when you are trying to lose weight like I am), and 2. I have a good number of rolls to freeze for later use (I will include directions below).

Here is my version:

• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons melted coconut  or olive oil
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• egg wash (1 egg yolk + 1 tablespoon water), you can replace the egg wash with either of the oils as well

Directions:

1. Combine the water, oil, sugar and yeast in the pan of your bread machine. Add the flour and then the salt. Set the bread machine on the dough setting and start. 
2. After an hour, turn off the bread machine. Oil hands, remove the dough from the pan and punch down dough, dividing into 24-36 portions They should be between the size of a ping pong ball and a golf ball. Make tight balls out of the dough by pulling the dough tightly around and pinching it at the bottom.
3. Place in a greased 9"x13" pan. Cover with a damp towel and set rolls aside until they double in size, about 20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Brush egg wash (or oil) onto the tops of the rolls. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until nicely browned on the top and bottom.

Now for the freezer option...

1. Follow steps 1 and 2. Place on a baking sheet and place in the freezer. 
2. Remove pan from freezer once the dough is frozen. Place frozen dough balls in a gallon freezer bag and place back into the freezer for future use.
3. To use the frozen rolls, place them in a greased 9"x13" pan. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with non-stick and cover the pan with it. Place the rolls on the counter to thaw and rise (3-5 hours).
4. Remove plastic wrap, brush rolls with egg wash or oil, and place the pan in an oven preheated to 400 degrees. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until nicely browned on the top and bottom.