Potato Rosemary Rolls

I am loving January.

Things have slowed down and I am finally able to spend more time in the kitchen, baking up savory breads and preparing actual meals (we had our fair share of frozen pizzas last month).  I have been organizing, tossing, cleaning and condensing all over the house.  Buuuut....I will confess, our Christmas decorations are still up (ps our neighbors still have their multi-colored roof lights on, so don't judge me!).  Now I planned on keeping them up for a while.  In fact, upon arriving back home after spending the holidays with family I warned Nathan:  "Just so you know, we're keeping the decor up through January".  His reply: "heck, you can keep them up all year!"  This is why I love that boy.  But I'll be honest, I'm ready to take them down.  This weekend- it's on my list.

So back in the kitchen- I've been cooking and baking, blog searching and menu planning.  (Tonight we had this salmon.  Wowza.  And this is coming from a non-salmon eater.  Ok, a salmon hater, if we're honest.)  But I should probably gush about these here rolls.  That's what this post is about, afterall.  Soft and flaky, with a sprinkling of salt and rosemary.  They're pretty wowza too.

Potato Rosemary Rolls

Makes 8 rolls

3/4 cup warm water (between 110-115 degrees)
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon yeast
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup dry potato flakes
1 1/2 cups bread flour (I'm sure all-purpose would work fine)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

Combine water, yeast, and sugar in mixer fitted with dough hook and allow yeast to proof for 10 minutes.

Add in olive oil and milk and stir.  Add in potato flakes, 1 cup flour, salt, and rosemary and mix until combined.  Gradually add additional 1/2 cup flour, adding more or less until dough becomes tacky yet pliable.  Knead in mixer for 1-2 minutes to allow yeast to incorporate into dough.  Remove dough hook, cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in the fridge overnight (up to 24 hours)*.

Once doubled in size, punch dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Form dough into a ball shape and roll out into a circle.  Cut circle into eighths (I use a pizza cutter and just cut it like you were slicing up a pizza!).  Take each dough "slice", one at a time, and gently pull at the two ends, stretching out the triangle shape.  Tie the stretched out triangle into a single knot and place on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining dough.

Mix the coarse salt and rosemary in small bowl.  Brush the top of each roll with egg and lightly sprinkle with rosemary salt.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until slightly golden.

*Alternatively, you can let the covered bowl of dough sit at room temp for one hour or until doubled in size.

Adapted from AllRecipes.