No Knead Crusty Rolls

These no knead rolls have a crispy crust and a chewy interior.

“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.” – Robert Browning

There are few things more satisfying in life than freshly baked bread. It truly can make a meal. For example, I’m serving these tonight alongside my mom’s tuna casserole that I grew up on from the ’70’s. A humble meal to be sure (and I will love every bite of it), but fresh bread  elevates the whole dish.

These rolls are great because they are the no-knead variety and therefore don’t require a lot of work. They only require a few ingredients which you more than likely have on hand. Plus, they get started the night before you want to serve them, which helps cut down on prep time while you’re trying to get a meal on the table.

You actually have two options in making these rolls. The super easy, do almost nothing version, and the do very little version. In the first version, you just mix together the ingredients and let the dough hydrate for several hours…that’s it. This will produce a VERY soft, wet dough and you’ll swear that it will never turn into rolls. Trust the process. In fact, you’ll portion the dough out into rolls and you’ll think “those look like cookies and not rolls.” But trust me, they’ll puff up in the oven.

In the “do very little version,” you’ll fold the dough over on itself a few times before letting it set for several hours, which will develop a little more gluten.

See what I mean about looking almost like cookies? The dough on the left has been left to sit overnight, while the dough on the right has been folded over on itself three times.

Above is the end result of each version. Like I said, you can either let the dough sit and do its thing, or you can give it a few turns and get a little more structure. Both will give you a good, crusty, chewy roll with very little effort.

No Knead Crusty Dinner Rolls

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Prep Time 12 hours hrs

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups bread or all-purpose flour see note
• 1 cup room-temperature water
• 1/2 teaspoon active yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and yeast. Whisk in the salt. Add in the flour and, using a wooden spoon, stir until a stiff, shaggy dough forms. (If the dough looks too dry and won’t come together, add in a little bit of water a tablespoon at a time. If it's too wet and looks soupy, add a extra flour, a tablespoon at a time until it forms a shaggy dough.)
• Option 1: Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours. The dough will be very wet and soft when it's done, and you'll think it won't turn into a roll, but trust the process. (The rolls will look very flat but will puff up when baked.)
• Option 2: Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, using a wet hand, fold the dough over on itself in half three times. Repeat this process three more times in 30 minute increments before covering with plastic wrap and allowing to rest at room temperature for 12-24 hours.
• After the dough has risen, it should look bubbly and smell very yeasty.
• Turn dough out onto well-floured counter. Divide dough into eight equal portions. Using your fingers, pinch each portion until a ball is formed. Set the dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet and loosely cover with oiled plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 45 minutes.
• When the rolls have risen, place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and a metal pan on the lowest rack. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone liner.
• When ready to bake, toss about a half a cup of ice cubes onto the metal sheet pan on the bottom of the oven. Place rolls onto middle rack and quickly shut the door. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

** Bread flour will give a chewier texture, but all-purpose works just as well.