Who doesn't love warm, soft, chewy dinner rolls? Or hot, crusty, chewy dinner rolls? Well I do, so here is a recipe (with a crusty variation) to please you. And it is quite simple.

Ingredients:

1 package (1/4 ounce) of active dry yeast

1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon of sugar, divided

1-1/2 cups of warm water (105° F maximum), divided

1/2 cup of butter, melted, plus room temperature butter for lightly coating the dough rising bowl and the baking dishes

2 jumbo or extra large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 cup of instant nonfat dry milk powder

1-1/4 teaspoons of sea salt

5-1/2 to 6 cups of all-purpose flour (use vital wheat gluten for 2 of the cups of flour if you have it)

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar in 1/2 cup of the warm water in a large electric mixer bowl.

Add the melted butter, eggs, milk powder, salt, 3 cups of flour, and the remaining sugar and water. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.

Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough, ergo add some, mix it in, decide if you have a soft dough, etc.

Turn the dough onto a floured wood cutting board and knead it until it is smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Or, simply knead it in the electric mixer bowl for four minutes.

Place the dough in a lightly buttered two quart bowl, turning it once to coat the top. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until it is doubled in size, about 1-1/2 hours.

Punch the dough down.

Divide/cut the dough into 27 pieces with a pastry cutter or a sharp knife, then shape each piece into a ball by hand. You may want to lightly dust your hands in flour.

Place 18 of the balls in a lightly buttered 13" by 9" baking dish and the remaining balls in a lightly buttered 9" by 9" square baking dish.

Cover both baking dishes with buttered plastic wrap and let the dough rise until it is doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Bake the rolls until they are golden brown, about 17 to 20 minutes. Cool the rolls briefly on one or two wire racks.

Serve the rolls warm, with butter.

Variation: What if you like warm dinner rolls to be crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside? If that is your choice then put the 27 pieces of dough on a parchment paper coated baking sheet, separated from each other and from the sides and ends of the baking sheet, covered with buttered plastic wrap, for the final rising of the dough. Then preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and put a cast iron skillet on the lowest oven shelf. When you remove the plastic wrap from the risen rolls, sprinkle a small amount of kosher salt on the top of each roll, then put the baking sheet into the oven and pour one cup of water into the hot cast iron skillet and quickly close the oven door. After five minutes of baking, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for 12 to 15 more minutes.

Enjoy!