Buttered Rosemary Parker House Rolls

I wish I had a picture of these, but we devoured them.

Dear God.

Buttered Rosemary Parker House Rolls

Ingredients:

• 3 T warm water (105° - 110° F)
• 3 T sugar
• 2 ½ t yeast
• ½ cup (8 T = 1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup of milk
• 2 cups of bread flour
• 1 ½ t salt
• 1 ½ - 2 cups all-purpose flour
• chopped fresh rosemary
• sea salt
  

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, pour the warm water over the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Let it sit for 5 minutes and get foamy.
   
   If the yeast does not foam, it is either inactive or the water was too hot or too cold. Start fresh and make sure you have an accurate thermometer to gauge the temperature of the water.


2. In the meantime, melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add the milk and heat to lukewarm (105° - 110° F).


3. In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, the butter mixture, the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, the bread flour and the salt. Mix well. Then stir in enough all-purpose flour to make a slightly sticky ball of dough. The dough should begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl.


4. Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to keep it from sticking.
   
   This dough, rich in fat, is silky and luxurious-feeling, a real pleasure to knead.


5. Get another large bowl and butter it. Place the ball of dough in the buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for an hour.


6. Butter a large baking dish (11 x 7 x 2).


7. Divide the dough into 20 pieces, forming them into balls. Place them in the pan in 5 rows of 4. Cover with a tea towel and let rise another 45 minutes.


8. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
   


9. With the handle of a wooden spoon, press down and make a lengthwise crease on the top of each roll.


10. Cover and let rise another 15 minutes.


11. Brush the tops with the remaining tablespoon of butter, melted, and sprinkle with chopped fresh rosemary and sea salt. Bake 25 - 30 minutes until the tops are nicely golden-brown.


12. Serve hot with more butter, or you can make them ahead of time, wrap them in foil and reheat them in the oven for 15 minutes.
    

Notes:

• I strongly suggest getting a good thermometer to test the temperature of the liquids if you work with yeast dough. It really takes the guesswork out of it.

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