Shaping Homemade Rolls

So my most favorite part of the Thanksgiving feast is the rolls.  You’ve got to have a good homemade roll.  All the recipes I am going to share today are from my archives, but I am also going to show you some fun ways on shaping homemade rolls.  You can mix things up just by making your rolls look fancy by the way shape them.  I saw a few of these ideas on Studio 5, a local television show, demonstrated from Brenda Hopkin from the Lion House.

So my all time favorite basic roll recipe is the Lion House dinner roll.  If you have been to Utah, you probably know about these famous rolls.  They are to die for.  They sell massive amounts of them for Thanksgiving.  I think they charge like $6 for a dozen.  However, I have shared the recipe before and shown how the rolls get their famous Lion House shape.  Their honey butter recipe can be found there too.

There is a mix out there for the Lion House rolls that you can also buy now.  I haven’t tried it yet, but I will at some point.  If you are local you can find them at The Lion House, Deseret Book, and Associated Food Stores.  If you aren’t local you can purchase the mix online. They also have a new cookbook out that has a DVD included which shows how to make the rolls and their pie dough.

Now, I love Lion House Rolls, but they do take several hours to make. 

With the shaping homemade rolls pictured today,  I used the recipe I have for Molly’s Rolls.  Molly’s Rolls are very similar to the Lion House rolls but can be made in about 1 hour and 20 minutes.  I haven’t made them for a little while and after making these with all the shapes, I really must make them more often.  Now, I would highly recommend this roll recipe if you want rolls that taste as fabulous as the Lion House rolls but don’t take as much time.  I will forever be in debt to Amy at The Sisters Dish for sharing this recipe.

I made the roll shapes that go in a muffin tin in my Demarle straight muffin pan.  Loved them.  The Demarle pan gave the rolls a ever so light, crispy outside with a airy, moist, fluffy inside.  I was in heaven!.  They also help the rolls to get a beautiful golden color.  So glad I have that pan, now I need another.

I also have a delicious roll recipe that can be done in 30 minutes.  Now, I prefer the Lion House dinner roll or Molly’s roll, but this roll still is good.  I do make it frequently just because it can be done so quickly.

Don’t forget to have some yummy butters for your rolls.  I have recipes for honey butter, cinnamon honey butter, and raspberry butter.

I can’t talk about rolls for Thanksgiving and not mention my mom’s Orange Rolls.

If you want something different from your regular dinner roll, this is a good one.  I remember having them at some of our Thanksgiving dinners when I was young and I have made them for Thanksgiving dinners while I’ve been married.

Now last year for Thanksgiving with my husband’s family I was asked to bring the rolls.  I was torn between making Molly’s Rolls and my mom’s orange rolls.  So I sent out an email asking everyone which would be their preference.  It ended up basically being a split vote,  half wanted orange and the other half wanted the Molly’s.  So I ended up doing both.  This roll dough is great because you make it ahead of time and put it in the fridge.  Then you just shape the rolls and let them raise.  They do require a long rise time, but they are so worth it.

Enough of my babbling about rolls.  Here are the different ways you can shape your rolls.

This is the clover leaf shape for shaping homemade rolls. 

You can make this by rolling the dough into 3 small balls and placing in you muffin tin.  I found a simpler way, and more uniform way to make them.   I rolled the dough out to about 1/2 inch thick.  Then I used a small circle cookie cutter that was about 1 1/2 inches across.  If you don’t have one of these an old medicine bottle is about the same size and you can use one it’s place.  Then in a sprayed muffin tin, place 3 of the circles on their sides in the muffin tin creating a triangle.  Bake accordingly and brush tops of the hot rolls with melted butter.  This was my second favorite shape.

This is the crescent shape. 

To make these, take a ball of dough, enough for a dozen rolls.  Roll out into a circle about between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick.  Then cut the circle into 12 equal triangles, just like you would cut a pizza.  I actually use a pizza wheel for this.  Then roll each triangle up, starting with the larger end.  Place on baking sheet and bake according to your recipe.  Brush with melted butter after baking.

The nest way for shaping homemade rolls is Parker House roll. 

You make this by simply rolling the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and cutting with a circle cookie cutter or biscuit cutter. I used one that was 3 1/2 inches across.  You can even use a drinking glass if you don’t have a circular cookie or biscuit cutter.  Brush the circle with melted butter and fold in half.  (Butter side inside) Place on baking sheet and bake accordingly.  Brush hot rolls with melted butter.

Finally is my favorite shape, the rose shape. 

This one is a little hard to just explain in words.  I would have made a video, but didn’t think about it when I was making the rolls.

You make this one by starting out, just like the Parker House roll by rolling the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and cutting with a circle cookie cutter or biscuit cutter. I used one that was 3 1/2 inches across.  You can even use a drinking glass if you don’t have a circular cookie or biscuit cutter. Brush the circle with melted butter and fold in half. (Butter side inside)  You will need 2 of these circles for each roll. 

You take one circle that you fold in half (into a taco shape) , and fold it in half again making a triangular shape.  Then take one end of the other taco shape and insert it into the middle of the triangular piece and fold it in half.  Wrap the half of the taco shape, that is sticking out, around.  You end up with two triangles interlocking each other. Then place it in the greased muffin tin.