We love this enriched dough so much, we baked it up twice, first as a crowd-pleasing pull-apart Monkey Bread and then as Sister Schubert-inspired Sausage-Stuffed Dinner Rolls. One dough, two delicious directions—no wrong answers.
What makes this dough so exceptionally good is the sour cream. Fat in an enriched dough coats the gluten strands, limiting their development and resulting in a more tender, finer crumb. Sour cream brings fat, yes, but also a gentle tang and extra moisture that keeps the rolls soft for longer than your average enriched dough. The brief rest after kneading—just 20 to 30 minutes, not a full first rise—gives the gluten time to relax before you start shaping, which makes it much more cooperative when rolling each little portion into cinnamon sugar or wrapping around a sausage.
Dinner Roll Dough
Ingredients
- 4¾ to 5 cups (594 to 625 grams) all-purpose flour, divided
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1½ tablespoons (14 grams) instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon (9 grams) kosher salt
- 1 cup (240 grams) water
- ½ cup (120 grams) sour cream
- 1/3 cup (76 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg (50 grams), room temperature
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 1½ cups (188 grams) flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
- In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup (240 grams) water, sour cream, and melted butter over medium heat until an instant-read thermometer registers 120°F (49°C) to 130°F (54°C). Add hot sour cream mixture to flour mixture, and beat at medium speed until combined. Beat in egg until combined. With mixer on low speed, gradually add 3¼ cups (406 grams) flour, beating just until a shaggy dough forms.
- Switch to the dough hook attachment. Beat at low speed until a soft, somewhat sticky dough forms, 10 to 12 minutes, stopping to scrape dough hook and sides of bowl; add up to remaining ¼ cup (31 grams) flour, 1 tablespoon (8 grams) at a time, if dough is too sticky. Cover and let stand in a warm, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) until dough is puffed up, 20 to 30 minutes.
Monkey Bread
Monkey bread is, in essence, a brilliantly chaotic idea: simultaneously a bread, a dessert, and a centerpiece for everyone to share.
Sausage-Stuffed Dinner Rolls
These soft, pillowy yeasted rolls are stuffed with savory, smoky cocktail sausages for the ultimate breakfast to feed a crowd.
