When I discovered the recipe for these delicious dinner rolls in an old Sunset magazine and the chef who invented the rolls was James Beard Award recipient Bradley Ogden, I was sold. When Bill and I got married, our rehearsal dinner was held at the Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur, California where Bradley Ogden was the chef, and it was an amazing dinner!
I served the rolls at Thanksgiving and plan on making them again at Christmas. They were a big hit and wonderful addition to our Thanksgiving meal. It’s the perfect roll recipe as the dough can be made the night before, formed into rolls to fit a 9-by-13-inch pan, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight. The next morning the rolls are set out to rise and then baked fresh for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any holiday to make it easier to prepare other items for a meal. Or make them anytime just because they are so good!
The dough is kneaded with fresh minced herbs- parsley, dill, rosemary, and chives. I personally would love it with the chives but some family members do not care for them so I omitted them. They are still amazing.
Just seeing the photo reminds me of the wonderful aroma that fills the kitchen when they are baking.
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 Tablespoon EACH of minced flat leaf parsley, fresh dill, fresh rosemary, fresh chives
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
- 1 large egg; plus 1 tablespoon lightly beaten egg for brushing on rolls
- 1 cup milk or half-and-half
- 3-1/2 to 3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- Coarse salt for lightly sprinkling on top of rolls
- In large bowl, sprinkle yeast over ¼ cup cool (70 degrees) water. Let stand until dissolved, about 5 minutes. Stir in sugar, table salt, herbs, butter, whole egg, and milk. Add 3-1/4 cups of the flour and stir to moisten.
- Knead dough on a lightly floured board until elastic and not sticky, about 15 minutes, adding rest of flour if needed to prevent sticking. Shape into 12 equal-size balls and place in a well-buttered pan, 9-by-13-inches.
- If making overnight rolls, do not let rise, but immediately cover pan airtight with plastic wrap and chill up to 1 day.* Or if you prefer to bake right away, cover rolls with a tea towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. After rolls have doubled, heat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush rolls with the beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt. Bake until golden, 20-24 minutes.
- *For overnight rolls, remove chilled rolls from refrigerator and remove plastic wrap. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled. Brush rolls with the beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt. Bake until golden, 20-24 minutes. Serve warm.
Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I stumbled upon your site today as I came across one of your blog entries, and then saw this recipe. I can’t explain how excited I am! have been searching my home for that old copy of Sunset because I wanted the recipe to these herbed dinner rolls. I used to make them each Thanksgiving before I got married and it’s been such a long time. Thank you for your generous heart! I hope they were wonderful for you and your husband. 🙂
You made my day, Nancy! I’m so happy you have the recipe again. The rolls are truly wonderful. They will always be on our Thanksgiving table too. Thank you for taking the time to write!
If using a stand mixer, how long would you put your dough in the mixer and on what intensity setting?
Fait- I mix the dough by hand, but if using a mixer with the dough hook, I would mix on low just until moistened then follow the recipe as written.