One-Hour Dinner Rolls…Or Overnight Lunch Biscuits…

“Wooahh, wait a minute, dinner rolls?? I thought we were eating at 12:30?!” my brother cleverly replied when I told him what I’d be serving for our Mother’s Day meal. This sibling banter occurs between us on an almost daily basis, and I can’t help but admit that he makes me smile.

I followed the recipe for these “one hour rolls” perfectly, other than the part about baking them within said hour. I wanted them to be fresh from the oven when my guests arrived, but needed to dedicate those early morning hours to making pasta, sauce, and putting the finishing touches on just about everything else for our large crowd.

In an effort to find a solution for preparing the dough in advance, I searched the lengthy comments page for a solution. I noticed someone’s suggestion to roll them out first, then refrigerate overnight, and figured it was worth a try.

Like a little girl on Chanukah evening (get it? because I don’t observe Christmas?!) I peeked into the fridge to see my pillowy masterpieces.

Or not.

I wish I knew why, but the dough just didn’t rise. Maybe I should’ve let them sit at room temp for longer before sticking them into the cold, but for whatever reason, my little hand rolled friends didn’t budge much in size from the day before.

There was no way I was letting all that hard work go to waste, so I baked them anyway just to see what could happen. The result? A warm, delicious tasting, kind of flat…lunch biscuit, as I chose to rename them. And when you present it that way, as though you meant to do it (just like my TV segment on remedying your baking “oopses!”), it’s really all just fine.

Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time Hubby and I had an issue with bread! (wink, wink). Honestly though, it gave us all a good giggle, and didn’t stop us from enjoying how perfectly they paired with my creamy homemade butter and spreadable roasted garlic. Those turned out just right.

Although these didn’t come out exactly how I planned, to my brother’s relief, there wasn’t a single dinner roll in sight.

Ingredients:

(Recipe courtesy of What Is On Your Menu This Week?)

1 c. warm water

1/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. oil

2 Tbsp. yeast

1 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

3 1/3 c. flour

Instructions:

In your mixer bowl, stir together oil,

Warm water,

Yeast,

And sugar.

Let stand for 15 minutes until yeast mixture is bubbly.

Stir in beaten egg.

And sprinkle in salt.

Gradually add flour. Dough will be kind of sticky, but add enough flour until it’s manageable.

Let dough rest in the bowl for 10 minutes.

Spray hands with non-stick cooking spray and form dough into balls.

Place balls so they don’t touch on a cookie sheet (18″ x 26″ pan). I lined mine with parchment paper sprayed with nonstick spray.

Let rise for 20 minutes. For flat lunch biscuits, spray plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray, cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove 2 hours before baking.