Thanksgiving Rolls!

Sam and I received the beloved February Gourmet Magazine and just fell in love with all the roll recipes. We've made the Cracked Wheat Topknots before and they are to die for! We're going over our friends house for Thanksgiving this year and I wanted to bring rolls that would compliment that dinner. Looking over the roll options in this February issue, my eyes focused in on these adorable Buttermilk Fantails that you bake in muffin tins. They look super fancy and delicious. This recipe takes about 5 hours in total to prepare and bake. I don't think I have that kind of time to make them the morning of Thanksgiving so I wanted to experiment with making them the day before and then reheat them right before they go on the Thanksgiving table.

I made them yesterday and it was a surprisingly easy recipe to make, except for getting the yeast to activate! After 5 packages and no bubbles and foam, I said screw it and just went for it and they came out great! Now we'll reheat them tonight and see how they taste and compare them to the freshly baked ones. Stand by.....

Until then, here's the recipe: (and mine turned out just like the Gourmet photos! that rarely happens!)

Buttermilk Fantails

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided

2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from a 1/4-oz package)
1/4 cup warm water (105–115°F) - I used a turkey thermometer :)
1 tablespoon mild honey or sugar - I used sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Equipment: a muffin pan with 12 (1/3- to 1/2-cup) muffin cups

• Butter muffin cups with 1 Tbsp melted butter.
• Stir together yeast, warm water, and honey in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, start over with new yeast.)
• Mix flour, salt, buttermilk, and 6 Tbsp melted butter into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a soft dough forms.
• Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and knead, dusting surface and your hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Form dough into a ball.
• Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Punch down dough (do not knead), then halve.
• Roll out half of dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 12-inch square (about 1/8 inch thick; keep remaining half covered with plastic wrap).
• Brush dough with 1/2 Tbsp butter and cut into 6 equal strips. Stack strips, buttered sides up, and cut crosswise into 6 equal pieces.
• Turn each piece on a side and put into a muffin cup.
• Make more rolls with remaining dough in same manner. Separate outer layers of each roll to fan outward.
• Cover rolls with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and dough fills cups, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Bake rolls until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Brush tops with remaining 2 Tbsp butter, then transfer rolls to a rack and cool at least 20 minutes.

Cooks’ note: Rolls are best the day they’re made but can be frozen (cool completely, then wrap well) 1 month. Thaw, then reheat on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven until warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes.

Recipe by Ruth Cousineau
Photograph by Romulo Yanes