I start teaching today, which means that twice a week, I’ll be eating dinner on campus. After three years of graduate school, I thought I was finished toting my dinner to class, but alas, I’ve broken out my lunchbox yet again. For the most part, I’m imagining quinoa salads, but occasionally, I’ll make a turkey sandwich and when I do, I’ll make one on these overnight refrigerator rolls (my absolute favorite roll recipe).
As I’ve mentioned before, my affection for rolls began young. My Grammy would make these soft and buttery dinner rolls that I loved more than any sweet treat that came out of her kitchen. To this day, I’d take a good chunk of bread over a piece of cake or a cookie. Add a pat of organic butter, and I’m drifting off towards my food heaven.
With a baby though, it’s been harder and harder to make homemade bread. That is until I remembered my favorite slow-rise bread recipe. Not only can I make these rolls the night before, while Lucy sleeps, but the overnight rest results in a much more flavorful end-product. So this recipe couldn’t be any tastier or any easier. You mix and knead the dough, plop it into a lightly oiled bowl, let it rest in your refrigerator overnight (or up to three days) and then remove it to shape and proof the next morning.
These overnight refrigerator rolls might take you back to your childhood. They’re soft, slightly sweet, and enriched with milk and butter. Imagine serving these with a bowl of chicken noodle soup or with a slow cooked pot roast. Or, like me, you can slice these rolls in half and load them up with turkey and veggies.
Wish me luck as I embark on my adventure. I’ll be sure to share how my classes are going next week!
Overnight Refrigerator Rolls
*From Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Bread Every Day
1 3/4 cup lukewarm milk (15 oz)
1 tablespoon instant yeast
6 1/4 cups unbleached bread flour (28 oz)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (or 2 teaspoons table salt)
5 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1 egg
Egg wash (optional)
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Poppy seeds
Whisk the yeast into the lukewarm milk and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the flour, salt, sugar, butter, and egg in a mixing bowl. Pour in milk mixture. Using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer (or a large spoon), mix for two minutes. Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed for 4 to 5 minutes (or knead by hand on a lightly floured counter). The dough should be soft and tacky but not sticky.
Form dough into a ball and place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rest in refrigerator overnight (or up to 3 days).
Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 2 1/2 hours before baking. Shape dough into 2-ounce rolls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. This recipe will make about 2 dozen rolls, give or take a few. Mist the dough with spray oil, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise at room temperature for 2 1/2 hours. About 15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Before baking, you can brush the rolls with a basic egg wash (1 beaten egg with 2 tablespoons water). Sprinkle poppy seeds on top of rolls if desired.Bake rolls for 15 minutes, or until just lightly browned.
Good luck, Monet! You are going to rock your classes, as well as bring the tastiest meals 🙂 I appreciate seeing how you’ve adjusted your baking style to accommodate having a sweet little baby. And these rolls look incredibly light-yet-rich. I’d like a sandwich on one! 🙂
I’m with you – homemade bread is my absolute weakness! These rolls look so so good – and I love the overnight rise in the fridge! Good luck with your classes : ) Packing lunch can be hard – we usually just do leftovers from dinner so I don’t have to think too much about it!
These look delicious and perfect for helping you get through a long day. Good luck on your new adventure- it will be fabulous!! 🙂
These are beautiful! I love how easy they are to make on oh-so-busy days. 🙂 Tomorrow is our last day of Summer Holidays, so it’s back to normal life and schedules on Wednesday. I will need recipes like this. 🙂
I just love the way you described these rolls. I need to have one right away!
I knew you would be starting this week, so good luck!
You will do great, I am absolutely sure of it!
ENJOY THE RIDE!
How exciting you are going to start teaching! Good luck.
These tools look so soft and fluffy. Yum!
Good luck with the classes…I just know your lucky students are going to love you! These rolls are so very pretty…makes me want to put my yeast-phobia aside and make a batch of them!!
Monet, Congrats on your new teaching job! I am like you. Put a nice roll or slice of homemade bread in front of me and I’m in food heaven too. I can never resist them when they come out of the oven – I always have to sample 🙂 These rolls look delicious and I’ve never seen a recipe that keeps for up to three days in the fridge. What a great way to have fresh rolls all week. Thanks for sharing. I’m going to try these very soon. Hugs to Lucy. Have great week!
Good luck with your classes 🙂 I love eating fresh out of the oven rolls, there’s nothing quite like it 🙂
Good luck with your classes! Overnight rolls don’t get any better or easy, love them.
Lunchboxes are kind of fun. Especially when filled with treats like this. Gives you something to look forward to at work!
Good luck being back on campus! These rolls sound absolutely perfect! Have a fabulous day friend.
Best of Luck Monet! It’s going to be great!! I always imagine how wonderful your house must smell with all the baked goodness. I am determined to be more adventurous in baking this year, and this recipe looks like something I can handle, even as an amateur. Will keep you posted when I make them!
I’m with you-bread is amazing!!
These rolls look incredibly soft and buttery and perfect.
Good luck starting teaching, again!
Hope this transition goes well Monet! What an adventure you’re about to embark on! Your rolls look amazing, there’s nothing like homemade yeast rolls, especially warm from the oven although your sandwich sounds quite enticing too!
Good luck teaching! I’m sure you’ll be great at it and these rolls will make a great lunch for you to look forward to 🙂
there’s nothing quite as addicting and memory-making as homemade bread and the gorgeous aroma that fills the home… Now when you say ‘shape the dough’ is this a purposeful thing? It looks like your buns have been twisted into lovely little knots but i’m not sure if they evolved/baked this way organically from a simple ball shape (which seems unlikely) or whether I need to shape them like this beforehand and if so, I think I may need a twelve point diagram 😉 (guess who doesn’t make bread 🙂 ). Looking forward to hearing about your new teacher adventures – xo.
Good luck with teaching, Monet! I have no doubt that you are totally going to rock it and I can’t wait to hear all about it in future blog posts. I love carbs so much – if I baked these gorgeous rolls, I’d seriously inhale all of them by myself. They sound and look heavenly! I can almost smell them through my screen.
Good luck! I love that this dough can stay in the fridge for 3 days!
I would definitely take fresh bread over most desserts or really most other food, too .. Bread is one of my biggest weaknesses and these rolls look divine. Congratulations on your new teaching endeavor, I’m sure you’ll be fantastic at it!
Monet, these look amazing! I think I can live on bread and pastries (that’s why I got Paris as my “city of destiny” in that FB test:)
I will send you a bunch of sunshine from SoCal, and I know that you will be a wonderful teacher! Congratulations! And kiss that baby for me!
These rolls look absolutely delicious! and I love the sound of being able to make them over two days, it sounds perfect for when life gets a little hectic! Congratulations on your teaching job! I bet you will be perfect at it, you have some seriously lucky students xx
How exciting! I can’t wait to hear how it goes. These rolls are beautiful! I love the way you’ve shaped them.
Love homemade bread and your rolls look fantastic! They look so soft and buttery and would go perfect in your lunch box 🙂 Hope you have a great week and good luck with your classes Monet!
Freshly baked homemade bread and a dab of melty butter has to be one of the best treats on Earth. I love it!
These rolls look utterly delicious, soft and fluffy. A must-try indeed!
Best of luck and hugs to you! You’ll do wonderfully darling! xx
Overnight rolls sound like a great solution for a tough schedule! I love how beautiful the simple knots look. 🙂
Monet, good luck teaching! I am just like you and would choose stuff like this over any kind of sweet… any time! These look gorgeous. And, I can just imagine the texture in these rolls. Pinning. Have a great rest of the week at school! (=
Don’t you love Peter Reinhart? I have his book, “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” and it’s great. Good luck with your new classes!
Good luck Monet!!! Also, overnight bread is the way to go. These look like fluffy heaven!
Perfect rolls..they look so delicate and tasty. Nice to put a homemade roll in your lunch box! Good luck with the classes! 🙂 ela
You will love getting back to work even for a short time. It will be different using all adult words. 🙂
I remember the day I went back to work after my daughter was born. It was afternoon and I’d just given her a bath and did the, “Oh my, you have stinky feet!” bit. Then I got to work and found her sock in my pocket.
I LOVE Grammy’s rolls and I’m going to try them tomorrow.
I love Peter Reinhart’s books. He has such great recipes. Look delicious! I’d love to have fresh loaves or rolls every day. But…sigh…. Time doesn’t allow. But at least I try to make time for something once or twice a week.
Pinning!
Wow!! These look so amazingly delicious!! I bet they go great with a bowl of hot soup on a chilly afternoon!!! YUM 🙂 Thanks for sharing Monet! Hope that you have a great week!
These rolls look delicious, Monet, and are perfect for a lunch at school. Congrats on a new beginning and best of luck to you!
Good luck! You’ll be great. For sure butter and bread over cake and cookie and these sound delicious. Have a great week, friend!
We usually bake our own bread (and have been for over a year) using the no-knead method. Lately we’ve been baking a lot of beer bread (simply because we like the flavor), which is pretty easy, too. Only downside is it tends to crumble a bit. Anyway, lovely rolls — such a nice recipe. Thanks.
AMAZING! I always loved rolls over sweet treats when I was young as well. My mom would make them and have them on the counter when we got home or after we came in from playing. They would be cooling and I could hardly contain myself from grabbing one that was fresh out of the oven and frequently did.
Definitely trying these!
What a neat recipe. Good luck on your new adventure, Monet! =)
These rolls look irresistible! I’d love to butter one and have a taste right now. Hope your class is going well!
Can’t wait to hear how things go!
I have just saved this one for breakfast this weekend. Can’t wait. They look amazing!
Teaching – wow! Best of luck on your new adventure! These rolls look insanely good! We’re having soup all the time and need good bread like this to go with it!
You are definitely a way healthier eater when you go to campus than I am. I mostly just bring sandwiches…always sandwiches..
I am a sucker for homemade bread. This looks so good!
Congratulations on your new teaching position, Monet! I know you’re going to do great and this new gig will soon fit seamlessly into your day-to-day routine. I can just picture you carting some delicious meal and a bunch of these beautiful rolls with you!
Pinning, this is on! I love rolls (way too much my waist size says) so I love the idea of preparing them the night before. Yummy! Good luck!
these rolls look so lovely!