Easy Dinner Rolls

Let me tell you what... I LOVE bread!  Actually, I love carbs.  All of them.  Yum!  So, when it comes to bread, I want to make it all the time.  The problem is just that though, the time.  Most breads (besides sweet breads) take for-ev-er to make!  And with having a full time job, I can't just start a bread at noon to have for dinner!

I found these dinner rolls on Pinterest a few weeks ago, and they boasted being fast and easy.  I checked the recipe and ingredient list and thought, what the heck!  I'll try these out.

One hour later, +5 points for Rachel +5 points for recipe!  I didn't change anything from the original recipe that I found on Plain Chicken except for the fact that I half-ed it, then made the same amount of rolls.  She suggested 12 rolls for the full version, and when I put that into my calorie counter, that came up to about 200 calories per roll!  A bit much for me.  So, I half-ed the entire recipe, still made 12 rolls, and I feel like they were a pretty good size.  The full size rolls would have been huge!  (But who doesn't love that?!)  So, here's the recipe that I use (the half-ed version).

Another note, my 7x11 pan already had something in it the day I made this batch and took the photos.  So these particular rolls were made in a muffin tin, and it worked just as well.  Also, please pardon my horrible photography and color balance.

Weeknight Dinner Rolls
Adapted from Plain Chicken
Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients:
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water
1/6 cup oil
1 tablespoon active-dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg white
1 3/4 cups flour (I've used both bread flour and all-purpose with good results.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 7x11 pan or a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the water, oil, yeast, and sugar.  Stir to combine and let rest for 15 minutes.
3. Stir in salt, egg white, and flour.  (I stir in the flour in a couple of small batches.  The original recipe suggested using your stand mixer... which I don't have.)
4. Knead until the flour is mixed in and the dough is soft and smooth (about 2-3 minutes).
5. Here's the messy part.  Divide the dough into twelve equal balls.  (I have my hubby spray my hands with cooking spray first.)  The rolls are not super pretty, but this is a recipe for easy dinner rolls, not pretty dinner rolls.
6. Place rolls into your greased pan.  Let rest for 10 minutes or more.  (I let mine rest for 20 minutes the other day, and they were a little fluffier, but it didn't make a huge difference.)
7. Bake in the preheated over for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy your meal with homemade rolls in less than an hour!  I've made these like three times in the past two weeks just because they're so quick and easy.  I hope you like them too!