Thyme and Sage Savoury Dinner Rolls

Sometimes, you need to break out the flour and the yeast and make homemade dinner rolls because they are always so much better than store-bought! Thyme and Sage Savoury Dinner Rolls are light and fluffy, filled with buttery flavour, and very easy to make too! They’re perfect served with any holiday meal!

I grew up in a home where homemade bread and homemade dinner rolls were a constant. We were a family of five and like most Newfoundland families, bread was served daily. In fact, on some days, it would have been served with every meal. Though these are quite different from those my mom used to make, I’m sure she would have approved of these Thyme and Sage Savoury Dinner Rolls!

Back in those days – no, I’m not that old! – store-bought bread wasn’t readily available. If memory serves me correctly, you were able to buy the plain, white Wonder bread, but that was it. My mom bought that bread sometimes, but it was only used to make sandwiches.

She would buy a loaf every Friday morning when she did her grocery shopping. We lived in a small town, so my siblings and I were able to come home from school for lunch. Every Friday’s lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich with a can of Cott Cola or, if we were really lucky, a lime Pop Shoppe Soda! Great memories!

Anyway, I digress. The point here is that my mom always made bread and dinner rolls. She never purchased bread for regular consumption, like for toast or to be served with soup or anything like that. That was always homemade! And if the bread wasn’t white, it was this Molasses Sweet Bread.

She would make bread at least twice a week. Each time she made it, she would prepare enough dough to get four or five large loaves. So, you can tell just how much bread we ate and why it was considered a staple. I don’t think that was excessive though. It was normal for most Newfoundland families.

THESE ARE SAME-DAY DINNER ROLLS

Unlike store-bought dinner rolls, these Thyme and Sage Savoury Dinner Rolls are meant to be eaten the same day you make them. Store-bought rolls will last for a few days in a bread box. But, these will not and should be eaten while they are still warm and fresh out of the oven.

I’ve left some overnight to test it and they are still edible, but they don’t have that soft and fluffy freshness anymore. Great for toasting though! John.e tried freezing them to see if they thaw well and retain their freshness. For me, they weren’t as good, but he swears that if you thaw them at room temperature and pop them in the microwave for ten seconds, they are like they were when first baked. We’re a household divided, Dear Reader!

But, as I said at the beginning of this post, sometimes, you just need to put everything else aside and break out the flour. Fresh is always best anyway! And, I can guarantee you that if you make these, the last thing you’ll have to worry about is having any leftover rolls – you won’t!

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So, welcome, Dear Reader, to my annual holiday-themed recipes. Traditionally, every year I share a series of recipes that you might already be familiar with. For example, I’ve previously shared 12 Holiday Trifles, 12 Holiday Bars & Squares, and even these 12 Edible Holiday Wreath recipes! Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

This year I’m doing it differently. Rather than sharing multiple back to back series, I’m sharing a new holiday-themed recipe almost every day from now until Christmas Eve. For those of you who have followed my annual Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series, don’t worry, you will still get lots of new cookie recipes this year too. I will not, however, be publishing the cookies back to back in a 24-day series. This would have been my 8th year running the series and it becomes very exhausting, not to mention that we have a vacation booked in what would have been the middle of the series, so this year, I’m spreading the recipes out so that I’m not sharing the same type of recipe every day.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! And, just in case you’re curious, you can see previous annual posts for my 24 Cookies of Christmas Series here!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post. 

• Active Dry Yeast – Do not confuse this with Instant Yeast. Active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in water before use, while instant yeast can be mixed right into dry ingredients.
• Sugar – Sugar has more than one function in baking.  Not only does it add sweetness, but it will help with browning too. 
• Lukewarm Water
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Salt – This is a common ingredient in baking and cooking.  In baking, it helps to enhance and balance the sweetness.  In cooking, it helps to bring out natural flavours in things like vegetables.
• Butter – Make sure your butter is softened and at room temperature! I always use salted butter, unless stated otherwise.  To be perfectly honest, there’s never much of a difference in taste or appearance once all is said and done. Use what you have on hand.
• Eggs – Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Fresh Herbs – You will need fresh sage, fresh summer savoury, and fresh thyme.

HOW TO MAKE THYME AND SAGE SAVOURY DINNER ROLLS

MIXING THE DOUGH

In a small bowl, add 1 tablespoon of sugar and the yeast. Pour in the water and leave for yeast to froth for 5 minutes. In the meantime, in a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, salt, the remaining tablespoon of sugar, and all of the fresh herbs. Form a well in the center.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and melted butter and pour this mixture into the well you formed with the flour mixture. Add the yeast mixture too. Stir with a spoon until the flour and wet ingredients are well combined. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and set the dough aside to proof for 2 hours. In the meantime, line a deep 9 x 13-inch pan with parchment paper. Be sure to leave overhang so that the rolls are easy to remove once baked.

FORMING THE DOUGH BALLS

Once the two hours have passed, remove the towel and use your fist to punch down and deflate the dough. Dust a work surface (countertop) with flour. Turn out the dough and form it into a log about 12-14 inches long. Use a dough cutter or knife to portion the dough into 12 equal portions.

Roll each portion into a ball, folding the dough into itself on the bottom. This will help to create a smooth, glossy top when baked. Place the dough balls into the prepared pan. Spray the top lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Lightly cover with plastic wrap. Drape the kitchen towel over top. Set aside to proof for 45 minutes.

BAKING THE DINNER ROLLS

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 390 degrees F. Once ready, remove the kitchen towel and plastic wrap. Place the pan of dough balls in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. (Once the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow if tapped with your finger, it’s done.)

Remove the rolls from the oven. Lift the rolls out using the parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops with a little bit of butter if desired. This is optional. Allow the rolls to cool for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down to follow me and never miss another recipe!