As you may already know I’m a “make it from scratch” kinda girl. I really don’t cut corners or choose the easy road because, if you’re going to bother to do something you might as well do it right. Right? For example, I wanted to make cupcakes with the perfect shade of pink frosting for my daughter’s last birthday, but I didn’t want to use red food coloring to do it. So instead I cooked down fresh raspberries, strained out the seeds and pulp and used the juice to flavor and tint the frosting. And voila, perfect pink!

The one place I must confess I’ve never had much “from scratch” success is baking bread. I find bread baking to be tricky. Either my dough is too wet, too dry or requires more time then I’m willing to invest in a simple loaf of bread. Whatever the case may be, I’m usually disappointed by the results and off to the bakery we go. That is until I found a recipe for pull apart dinner rolls that are baked in a muffin tin.

These rolls are super easy to make, require only an hour or so rise time and look fancy with their clover shape and a touch of coarse salt scattered on top. The only thing that could possibly make these lovelies a bit tastier would be some homemade butter to slather on.

Pull Apart Dinner Rolls
There is nothing like bread fresh out of the oven to make any dinner
seem extra special. These rolls are so easy to make that you could almost
serve them every night. Almost!

1 package active dry yeast
1 1/3 cup milk (105 to 115°F degrees)
3 cups flour
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tablespoon melted butter
coarse salt (or sesame seeds), for garnish

1. Heat oven 375°F. Dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm milk and set aside.
2. Stir together 2 1/2 cups flour and salt. Add the yeast/milk mixture and oil and blend until smooth. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup of flour until a soft dough ball forms.
3. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and drape with a dish towel. Let rise in warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Punch down dough and fold over a few times. Brush a 12 cup muffin pan with melted butter. Pinch off 1 inch balls of dough and quickly roll in palm of hands. Put 3 balls to one muffin cup, brush with more melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt or sesame seeds.
5. Bake until crust is light golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Immediately remove from pan and enjoy. (These babies are really at their best right out of the oven with a little butter. In my house there are rarely leftovers, but if you do have some store them loosely covered or they will become soggy.)

* adapted from amanda’s cookin’