Potluck Pan Rolls

I had my first private cooking lesson this week. I'd quietly mentioned the option to one woman from the community center workshops who'd asked about more focused instruction, and she called me and said yes, and so on Tuesday morning she came to my kitchen for ninety minutes and we worked on bread.

Her name is Sandra. She's in her fifties, newly retired, always wanted to bake bread and never done it. She stood at my counter and learned to feel the dough — when it's shaggy, when it's smooth, when it's ready. The process of learning to trust your hands and not just the recipe timer. By the end we had two loaves in the oven and she was slightly flour-covered and entirely delighted.

She asked if she could come back for a second session on enriched dough. I said of course. She left with both loaves and a look on her face that I recognize from the workshops — the look of someone who has just found out they can do something they didn't think they could.

I've been thinking about the private lesson format more seriously. The community centers and school series reach large groups. The Provo pantry reaches families in need. The channel reaches strangers. The private lessons reach one person at a time, which is inefficient by most metrics but there is something about individual instruction that no group setting can fully replicate. The one-on-one transformation is its own thing.

Channel hit 95,000 this week. I made a video on summer peach galette — free-form, rustic, impossibly good, the kind of recipe that makes people feel like real bakers. Peaches are at peak right now and I am eating them over the sink like my grandmother taught me, which is the correct way to eat a perfect peach.

Watching Sandra leave with flour still in her hair and two warm loaves tucked under her arm reminded me why bread is the best possible entry point into baking — it asks you to slow down, to feel, to trust. These potluck pan rolls are the recipe I keep coming back to when I want that same experience in a smaller, shareable form: soft and pull-apart and forgiving, the kind of bread that makes you feel like you’ve been doing this your whole life. If you’re just starting out, or if you want something to bring to a table full of people you love, start here.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 2 hr 15 min (includes rise time) | Servings: 24 rolls

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk, warmed to 110°F
1/3 cup warm water (110°F)
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (one standard packet)
1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons melted for brushing
2 large eggs, room temperature

Instructions

Proof the yeast. Combine warm milk, warm water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir gently and let sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy and fragrant. If nothing happens, your yeast may be expired — start over with a fresh packet.
Mix the dough. Add the eggs, softened butter, remaining sugar, and salt to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the flour one cup at a time, mixing until a shaggy dough forms. If using a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook at this stage.
Knead until smooth. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8–10 minutes by hand (or 6 minutes on medium speed with a dough hook) until the dough is smooth, elastic, and springs back when you poke it. This is the moment to trust your hands — it should feel soft but not sticky.
First rise. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Shape the rolls. Punch the dough down gently and divide it into 24 equal pieces (a bench scraper helps). Roll each piece into a smooth ball by cupping your hand over it on the counter and moving in a tight circular motion. Arrange the balls in a greased 9x13-inch baking pan, spacing them evenly so they’re just touching.
Second rise. Cover the pan loosely and let the rolls rise for another 30–45 minutes, until puffy and crowding each other in the pan.
Bake. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake rolls for 18–22 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and the internal temperature reads 190°F. Rotate the pan halfway through for even browning.
Brush and serve. Remove from the oven and immediately brush the tops generously with melted butter. Let cool for 5 minutes before pulling apart and serving warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Potluck Pan Rolls — The Bread That Teaches You to Trust Your Hands