November 5, 2012 - 1:50pm
Thanksgiving bread?
As usual, I've been charged with baking bread for this year's Thanksgiving Dinner (which is being held two weeks early in my family, but that's neither here nor there).
Usually, I end up baking something fairly safe, like a Vermont Sourdough or a light rye. This year, though, I'm thinking about changing it up a bit and doing something a bit more exciting and unexpected. Problem is, I so rarely take risks with baking that I'm not sure what to do. I don't particularly care for additions like garlic or onions, but I'm willing to branch out. Any suggestions?
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A nice, rich, buttery, soft dinner roll? How about Parker House rolls?
Buttery pull-apart rolls. I do some form of these every thanksgiving. Sops up gravy, holds up to turning things into sanwiches better than store-bought too.
Check out the 'Favorite Recipes' section to the left. The Buttermilk Cluster recipe is a winner here and very easy to make. It can also easily be converted to sd rather than using IY if that is your preference. What I like about it, besides the great flavor and texture, is that it can be made ahead of time and then popped into the refrig. until you want to bake it.
Janet
Thanks for the recommendation! I tried out the buttermilk cluster last night. It turned out exactly as in the pictures, tasted delicious, and had an amazing texture! The only problem is that the rolls are soooo tall. If used for sandwiches, the ratio of bread to meat would be way too high. I wonder if there's a way to make them shorter.... Maybe I'll try reducing the size of the dough balls and not packing them as tightly. Any thoughts about this? Reduce the yeast?
Glad you liked these too.
Yes, I would simply make the rolls smaller and see where that leads...like go to 1/2 of what you did if that is a height that would work for you or you can shape any way you want too - like a hamburger bun or Kaiser roll only don't put into a pan. Shape and bake on a cookie sheet/sheet pan.
Good Luck,
Janet
Perhaps you might try Breadsong's Thanksgiving pumpkin bread. I did it two years ago, and was asked by the family to do it for this turkey day. So, I guess I will.
cheers,
gary
Thanks everyone!
Floyd's sweat potato rolls and even make it into bread sometimes.
Peter Reinhart's Artos (Greek Celebration Bread) would be ideal for your dinner:
http://pinchmysalt.com/artos-greek-celebration-bread/
I also recommmend Floyd's sweet potato rolls. Very good, and will be unexpected. Like the usual potato rolls, they are very smooth and rich, and the sweet potato color is a good addition to the Thanksgiving table.
Read the entire thread here:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/4862/sweet-potato-rolls
jaywillie
I made a couple dozen of Dan Lepard's Alehouse Rolls for a potluck dinner recently. Everyone loved them. I'm planning to make them again for a Thanksgiving potluck. (After seeing this thread, I'm also planning to make the Buttermilk Cluster rolls Janetcook mentioned above. Thanks!)
Casey
I take my recipe for the unfortunately named Stale Cereal Bread, (uses a cup of post-date breakfast cereal per loaf), and replace the cereal with dry turkey stuffing mix. It makes a great turkey sandwich, and you can use any left over to make stuffing.