Dinner Rolls (Make Ahead)

My brother-in-law was getting married, and his fiancee requested that I prepare the rolls. Although I was quite unsure how I would manage to prepare freshly baked rolls for ~150 people, I did not want to turn her down. So I looked for the recipe that included instructions for freezing before baking (my first attempt at baking rolls had an output of 4 dozens! It was hard to consume all. Nakakasawa!). And I found this recipe from Sarah's kitchen (see links on the side). Still, my problem was planning the timing of baking, as well as preparing the materials that I would need (about 8 baking pans at least!)
Glad my mom-in-law saved me from that predicament, though. She told my bilas that we could buy finger rolls and then just use with egg- or ham- or tuna-mayo filling. I really love my mom-in-law. Still, I prepare this once every 2 months (dividing it into 3 batches for serving 3 times in a week's span.). My husband sees it as a treat!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c warm water (110-115 deg F)
2 pkgs active dry yeast
1/2 c warm milk (110-115 deg F)
1/3 c butter or margarine, softened
1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
5 1/2 to 6 c all-purpose flour (or 1:1 ratio of APF:whole wheat flour), may use up to 7 cups)
2 large eggs, room temp

Instructions:

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Place 1/2 cup warm water in the mixing bowl. Sprinkle in yeast; stir until dissolved.
Add remaining warm water, warm milk, butter, sugar, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed.
Add eggs and 1/2 cup flour. Beat at high speed for 2 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough.
Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Put in a greased bowl, grease top of dough, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.
Punch dough down. Shape into desired shapes for dinner rolls.

TO BAKE WITHOUT FREEZING: Place on a greased cookie sheet 2 in apart (or muffin pans) , cover with plastic wrap or paper towel and let rise in warm, draft-free place, until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (Tip to make it rise faster: Put inside the oven, turn on the oven for 1 minute then turn it off. This will create a warm draft-free environment.)

TO BAKE WITH FREEZING: Place shaped rolls on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet or greased muffin pans. Place uncovered in the freezer for 30 minutes or so until frozen. Then transfer into plastic bags for storage upt o1 week. To bake, place on baking sheets as above, cover with plasctic wrap and let thaw rise in a warm, draft-free place for 3 hours at room temp (faster if warmer as in under sunlight).

Bake at 350 deg F for 15 minutes or until done. Remove from baking sheets/muffin pans; brush with melted butter. Serve while hot. (Note: If you noticed in the slide show, I baked this along with the chicken roll-up. If you plan to serve rolls with a baked dinner such as this, put the rolls into the oven during the last 10 minutes. They may reach 12-15 minutes to get golden brown, but those extra minutes won't hurt the chicken.)