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Everyone in their right mind will want two of these cloverleaf rolls, even if a single serving should definitely consist of only one.

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Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients

¾ cup milk (skim works)
¼ cup sugar
2¼ tsp salt
4½ Tbs butter, cut into chunks (+ more for brushing, optionally)
1 package active dry yeast
4½ cups or so of flour^[1]

Directions

1. You’ll need a 12-count standard-size muffin tin. If you have nonstick, fine. If not, grease the cups. 2. Nuke the milk in a 16-oz measuring cup for about 1 minutes and 10 seconds, or until it’s pretty damned hot. Stir in the sugar and salt, and then dump in the butter. Set aside. Pour ¾-cup lukewarm water into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water. Return to the milk mixture. Stir it until the butter has fully melted. Then, place it in the fridge or freezer for five minutes to encourage it to cool to room lukewarm. Once it gets there, add it to the yeast mixture. Add flour by the cupful to the yeasty milk mixture, stirring after each addition, until the batter is difficult to stir. Continue to add flour, mixing it in by hand, eventually scraping it to a floured surface so you can start kneading it.

As an option, consider beginning with ¼-cup whole wheat flour or a full cup of light wheat, and use white bread flour for the rest. This isn’t enough wheat flour to produce a wheat roll, by any stretch, but it is just enough to lend a bit of substance and flavor.

3. Once you get the dough to the point that it’s no longer sticky, knead it for a few minutes. Then, divide the dough into 36 equal pieces.^[2] Shape each piece into a small ball.^[3] Place all three of the balls together into a single muffin tin cup, smooshing them as needed to get them all snuggled in. Once all twelve cups are filled, butter some plastic wrap and place it loosely over them. Place the tin in a warm place and let rise until the dough has doubled, about 1½ hours. (It could take an hour longer or more if the room’s not really warm.) 4. At least 15 minutes before the rolls have risen, preheat the oven to 400°F. When the rolls are ready, brush them lightly with melted butter (optionally – if you want them to be a bit crustier^[4]), and pop them in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until beautifully golden. Because the pan of rolls has a varied topology, browning won’t occur uniformly. Make sure to leave time so that you have a nice golden color overall, not just in a few spots. Don’t worry, they can take it. Allow them to cool in the tin just until you’re able to safely handle them, then pull them out and let them continue to cool on a wire rack. You’ll be proud to serve them at room temperature, but when they’re justly slightly warm (or rewarmed), they’re so good they’ll trigger an out-of-body experience.

If you make these dinner rolls for guests, believe me … if they know food at all, they will be absolutely stunned. If they’re not, then next time you have them over, serve them Beefafuckingroni right out of the goddamned can, with some Wonder Bread.

Store leftover cloverleaf rolls in a resealable bag. Re-heat them in the microwave, about 25 seconds for a single roll, 35 for two, 45 for three, etc. They’ll continue to be delicious for a miraculous three days, at least. You’ll love’m with jam for breakfast.

Cloverleaf Rolls

Notes:

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These cloverleaf rolls are just like grandma used to make, if your grandma was James Beard. I’ve adapted this recipe from The Best of Beard- not that there’s any way I could improve upon it. It’s just that I live in an age where a kitchen without a microwave in it is inconceivable.

Credits for all images on this page: hover over image and/or green caption text. Click to jump to source.

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