Parm-Dusted Garlic-Butter Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

SERVES: Makes 18 rolls PREP: 40 minutes TOTAL TIME: 2 hours, 10 minutes (including double rising time)

Parm-Dusted Garlic-Butter Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

SERVES: Makes 18 rolls PREP: 40 minutes TOTAL TIME: 2 hours, 10 minutes (including double rising time)

Garlicky, cheesy, stretchy-tender-fluffy-yeasty-doughy good.

All I can tell you is these rolls get hoovered up so fast they barely have time to cool. The super-fun method of forming the balls of dough by dragging them (YASS, DRAG THEM) under your cupped hand was something we picked up from a few baking books we read while we were making this book, so a thank you to pro bakers Melissa Weller and Claire Saffitz for helping us get our perfect roll on!

The dough balls rise into one another until they allllmost touch, then bake into a tray full of kissing bread cousins (Why did I just write that??). The middles are stretchy-tender-fluffy-yeasty-doughy good, and the garlic and Parm work super-well. I can see these being served with a perfect steak or roast chicken dinner, or warmed up the next morning to soak up bacon grease.

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INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) very soft unsalted butter, plus more for buttering the pan and bowl
¾ teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
3 ²⁄3 cups flour, plus more as needed
2 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
¼ cup (½ ounce) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Measure 5 tablespoons of the butter into a small bowl and add the garlic salt. In a glass bowl, microwave the milk until it feels like just-warm bathwater, about 1 minute. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of the sugar and the yeast and stir until dissolved; let sit until a frothy disc of yeast forms in the center of the milk, 7–8 minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 3 ⅓ cups of the flour with the frothy milk, 1 egg, and the remaining tablespoon sugar. Beat on low speed until a sticky but unified dough forms, 2 minutes. Add the salt and beat another minute, then gradually add the remaining 7 tablespoons butter and ⅓ cup flour. Mix until a soft but not super-sticky dough forms, 8–9 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, grease it all over with a tiny bit of melted butter, return it to the bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Grease a glass or ceramic 9×13-inch baking dish generously with butter. Uncover the dough, transfer to a clean work surface, and punch down a couple of times, folding the dough and turning 90 degrees after each punch. Divide the dough into 18 equal pieces, pinching the cut ends closed underneath. Flour your hands. One at a time, place a roll on the counter and cover it with a cupped, floured hand. Drag the roll toward you, pulling on the surface to tighten the roll, repeating 1 or 2 more times.
Arrange the rolls in the buttered pan in 3 rows of 6 each. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm spot until the rolls rise again and spring back when pressed, 30 to 35 minutes. Beat the remaining egg in a bowl with a fork, then gently brush the rolls with the egg.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake until the tops are shiny, dry, and deep brown, 22–23 minutes. During the last few minutes of baking, melt the garlic butter in the microwave for 15 seconds. When the rolls come out, brush them several times with butter and sprinkle with Parm. Serve hot hot hot!