Easy Batter Rolls

Four weeks in. The sourdough is improving. The second loaf was better than the first, the third better than the second. I am baking bread twice a week now, which means I have bread and Priya has bread and Diane has bread and there is an extra loaf that I have been leaving in the apartment building hallway with a note that says take some if you need some. Two of my neighbors have knocked on the door to thank me. One of them is a woman in her seventies, widowed, who said: I have not had fresh bread since before. She did not specify before what. She did not need to.

I drove to Prattville on Sunday, the first time since the pandemic began. I called Gloria first and she said come if you need to and I said I need to. She met me at the door with a mask, which I have not seen her wear before, and I stood on the porch and she stood in the doorway and we talked through the screen door for an hour. I brought bread, three loaves, and sourdough discard crackers that I had made from the starter.

I did not go inside. Standing on that porch, talking through the screen to Gloria and seeing James in his chair in the background, was one of the harder things I have done in recent memory. Not the hardest by far. But it required holding something down that wanted to come up. She saw my face through the screen and she said: this is temporary. I said I know. She said: you will be back in this kitchen. I said I know. She said: the kitchen will be here. I know. It will be here.

The sourdough was for me — the discipline of it, the waiting, the watching a wild culture come to life on my counter. But when I needed something I could make in volume and leave at a door or press into someone’s hands through a screen, I came back to this recipe. Easy batter rolls don’t ask much of you: no kneading, no shaping anxiety, no long cold retard. They just rise quietly and bake up soft and golden, and they travel well, and they taste like someone meant them for you — which, standing on Gloria’s porch, was exactly the point.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 1 hr 40 min (includes rise) | Servings: 24 rolls

Ingredients

2 packages (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110°–115°F)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 tablespoons butter, melted (for brushing)

Instructions

Proof the yeast. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
Build the batter. Stir in the sugar, salt, egg, and vegetable oil until combined. Add 2 cups of flour and beat well with a wooden spoon or hand mixer until smooth.
Add remaining flour. Stir in the remaining 2 1/2 cups flour until a soft, sticky batter forms. Do not knead — this is a batter dough, not a kneaded dough.
First rise. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Prepare the pan. Grease two 9-inch round baking pans or a 9×13-inch baking dish. Stir the batter down gently.
Fill the pan. Drop batter by heaping spoonfuls into the prepared pans, filling each cup or space about two-thirds full. Smooth the tops lightly with the back of a wet spoon if desired.
Second rise. Let the rolls rise, uncovered, in a warm spot until nearly doubled and puffed above the pan rim, about 30 minutes.
Bake. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake rolls for 18–22 minutes, until golden brown on top and set through.
Finish and serve. Brush tops immediately with melted butter. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out. Serve warm or wrap tightly to share.

Nutrition (per serving)

Easy Batter Rolls — The Bread That Crossed the Distance