Ingredients
3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3 tablespoons King Arthur Easy-Roll Dough Improver (optional)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup potato starch or flour
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened (for filling)
Preparation
Manual Method: In a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine all of the ingredients (except the 4 tablespoons butter for the filling), mixing to form a shaggy dough. Knead the dough, by hand (10 minutes) or by machine (5 minutes) till it’s smooth. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, and allow it to rest for 1 hour; it’ll become quite puffy, though it may not double in bulk.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and divide it into 16 pieces, shaping each piece into a ball. Allow the balls to rest for 15 minutes, covered. Stretch, pat or roll each piece of dough into a 3-inch circle, and place them on two baking sheets; you can crowd them together, as when they’re folded over there’ll be plenty of room for expansion.
Traditionally, these dough circles are brushed with melted butter and folded over. However, we found that as they rise and bake, they pop open at the seam and lose their shape, due to the fact the melted butter doesn’t allow the dough to form a tight seal. Our preferred method is as follows: Deeply crease each circle, slightly off center, with a dough scraper or bench knife. Pinch off a 1/2-teaspoon piece of the softened butter and smear it along this crease, then fold the smaller “half” of dough over the larger half. The edges won’t quite meet. Pinch the dough to form a good, tight seal, cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow them to rise for about 1 hour. They won’t double in bulk, but will become somewhat puffy; if you let them rise too much, they’ll pop open in the oven.
Bake the rolls in a preheated 400°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they’re a light golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and allow them to cool on a rack till they’re almost completely cool; while they’re still very slightly warm, place them in a closed container, such as a plastic bag. This will help keep them soft.
