Sixty-Minute Cloverleaf Rolls

Considering that bread is my favorite food of all time and I love making it, it's strange that I haven't shared most of my bread recipes here. Time to change that! These are my go-to rolls for holiday get-togethers. They're really easy to make and taste delicious, especially just out of the oven.  

This recipe, as well as many of my other favorite bread recipes, come from Fleishmann's Bake-It-Easy Yeast Book. That's an affiliate link. I'm shocked to see it available on Amazon, since I got my copy when I was a teenager and it wasn't newly written then. I don't see a publication date in mine, but according to the Amazon listing, my cookbook and I are the same age (51)!

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Sixty-Minute Cloverleaf Rolls

                                                    3.5 to 4.5 cups flour                            1 cup milk

                                                    3 tablespoons sugar                            1/2 cup water

                                                    1 teaspoon salt                                    1/4 cup butter

                                                    2 packages Fleishmann's yeast

In a large bowl, mix 1.5 cups flour with the sugar, salt, and yeast. Set it aside. Combine milk, water, and butter in a saucepan (or microwavable bowl) and heat until liquids are 120-130°F. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat at medium speed for two minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Add 0.5 cup flour and beat at high speed for two minutes. Stir in enough additional flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured board and knead until soft and elastic, approximately 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover, then place in a warm place (approximately 98°F) for 15 minutes. 

Turn the dough out onto the floured board. Divide dough in half, then in half again, then in half again. Divide each portion into three equal pieces. You should have 24 balls of dough, each the same size.

I like to weigh my pieces to see how accurate my dividing is. It's not necessary, but your rolls will bake evenly if they're the same size, so it's worth the extra few minutes. I put a piece of plastic wrap on my kitchen scale, weigh each piece, then adjust as needed. I've made these hundreds of times, so I'm fairly accurate. 

Shape each roll into a ball and place it in a greased muffin tin. Use kitchen shears to snip each roll in half, then in half the other direction. Cut almost to the bottom of the rolls. 

Cover; let rise in a warm place for about 15 minutes. Bake at 425°F for 12 minutes or until done. Cool on wire racks. 

Yum! There's nothing better.