Well, hey, hi! I feel like I have not chatted with you guys in a few days, but really it’s just because I shared that giant line-up of fall foods yesterday. It was just a bit of a different way to start off the week. Either that or I’m thrown off from traveling. Which seemed almost foreign to me after six months of no travel at all. I have to say, it felt nice to leave home, even if only for a few days. My cousin’s wedding was absolutely perfect and my family and I had the best time. As I said in Sunday’s post, it was really nice to take a step away from work and spend time with my family. Especially my sweet cousin, Maggie…who is also part of our HBH team! Her now-husband, Tom, has been my brother’s best friend since middle school! I was also able to see my little cousins, aunts, uncles, and old family friends, plus catch up on everyone’s lives. So grateful for such a close-knit family. I’m back home today, getting right back to it and excited to jump in and enjoy the next couple weeks of fall here in Colorado. Thankfully last week’s snow has disappeared and it’s warmed back up. No more snow until November, right? Yeah, right…
Anyway, sorry for the rambling, but now on to these rolls. As we begin to settle into fall days, I’m leaning towards recipes that feel homey and comforting. Enter these rolls. I feel like I’ve said this story a million times over, but Sunday night dinner was so special to me. We’d always do a family dinner and more times than not my mom would bake fresh bread to pair with dinner. If there’s one thing my mom loves most, it’s bread. Just like her mom. My mom used to have this old school bread machine and I remember loving the way the kitchen smelled on Sundays when she’d bake up a fresh loaf for dinner. Over the years, I’ve shared a few loaf style recipes, but never a roll.
When I set out to create these, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure how I wanted them to come out. I was torn between creating a classic roll that’s soft and buttery, versus one that has a bit more flavored swirled throughout. In the end, a garden full of end of summer sage pointed me in the direction of a more flavorful roll. And guys? I could not be happier with how these turned out. If you love a dinner roll, these are a fun step up from the average roll.
Here are the details.
I like to keep it simple with a mix of flour, instant yeast, and a pinch of salt. My secret…use a good amount of eggs and make a brioche-style base dough. The combination creates a beautiful golden crust on the outside, but the inside stays incredibly soft and fluffy. I prefer to use instant yeast to keep the dough making process quick and simple! When using instant yeast, you can skip the entire hour-long rise. Which is great if you’re not the best planner. Then you can still have beautiful, delicious bread with dinner in under two hours! Of course, you can use active dry yeast as well. But you’ll need to make some adjustments to ensure the dough rises properly!
What makes this bread dough special?
Parmesan cheese! For whatever reason, I have always wanted to do a parmesan roll. I think it was after sharing these Parmesan Popovers. I just loved the flavor and the idea of parm in a bread recipe. It’s delicious and makes these rolls just a little more special than the average.
In addition to the parmesan, there is also some browned garlic sage butter rolled into these rolls. To make it you’ll need to brown some butter with garlic and fresh sage. As the butter browns, the garlic quickly caramelizes and the sage gets crispy. Take the “roasted” garlic and crispy sage from the already browned butter and mix it into the softened, salted butter. And now you have crispy sage garlic butter. Tip: you will want to smear this on everything, so I always recommend doubling it. Simple, right?
Once the dough has risen…
Roll it out, just like you might roll out a cinnamon roll, into a flat rectangle. Then slather that sage butter over the dough, roll the dough into a log, and cut into six big rolls. I like to pinch the edges of the dough to seal all the deliciousness inside. Then simply roll the dough into a ball and place each ball into a loaf pan. Let the dough rise, then bake. Now enjoy the herby, slightly garlicky smell as the rolls bake away in the oven. As soon as the rolls come out, serve with an extra smear of that reserved butter mixture and enjoy warm. I love these the most for Sunday night dinner, but let’s be honest, bread with every dinner is a good idea. So bake these up just about any day of the week! A few dinner recommendations to serve alongside these rolls…autumn soup, hearty lasagna…with a big fall salad, a family casserole, or a creamy pasta. Yumm, got to love autumn cooking and baking!
Looking for other bread recipes? Here are a few ideas: Swirled Garlic Herb Bread Salted Honey Butter Parker House Rolls Herby Everything Cheddar Swirl Buns Lastly, if you make these Pull Apart Parmesan Sage Butter Brioche Rolls be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
