These spoon rolls are an easy-to-make dinner roll. They are soft and fluffy on the inside with a thin crispy crust. They are absolutely delicious served hot from the oven with butter.
The flavor is yeasty and reminds me, when buttered, of a fresh and airy crumpet or English muffin, yet even softer in texture.
These rolls have Southern roots. I'm not from the South, but a quick search on the Interwebs tells me that so many folks have sweet memories of being served these rolls by their mothers and grandmothers.
I first found these rolls in the book, Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories by Anne Byrn (I received a copy from Melissa's Produce. The book has an amazing collection of biscuits and corn bread, along with many other recipes!).
Every other spoon roll recipe I found is pretty much exactly the same, although one or two substitute oil for the butter. These rolls are even in Trisha Yearwood's cookbook from about 2010.
Anne Byrn titles these rolls "Pat Lodge's Spoon Rolls." Pat Lodge is the mother of the current CEO of Lodge Cast Iron. She joined the family by marrying a grandson of the founder of the company. In fact, the Lodge Company features the recipe on their website and credits her for it.
The best part? You can keep a bowl of the batter in your refrigerator, and when the yen for a tasty dinner roll hits, scoop out some of the batter into a muffin tin and in 15 minutes you will be enjoying a delicious yeasty roll.
Ingredients:
Salted Butter: Yes, salted! No special trip to the grocery store.
Water: You will need slightly warmed water to mix with the melted butter.
Granulated Sugar.
Yeast: You can use either instant or active dry yeast. I used instant yeast.
Egg: I halved the original recipe so for this recipe, I used half of a large egg, which is 25 grams. Whisk the egg with a tiny pinch of salt and then weigh out 25 grams (the salt is to help the white and yolk emulsify). Or... just double this recipe and use a whole egg.
Self-Rising Flour: Self-rising flour includes flour, baking powder, and salt. Because I live in an area where self-rising flour is rarely used, I made my own. To make your own, combine a cup (120 grams) of all-purpose flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
To Make These Spoon Rolls:
First, melt the butter and then add the water. Let the mixture cool to no warmer than 125 F. Mine ended up to be 115 degrees F.
In the meantime, combine the flour with the baking powder and salt.
In a medium large bowl, combine the yeast and the sugar and then add the butter mixture and egg. After that, whisk in the flour mixture until everything is smooth.
At this point, you can spoon out the batter and bake the rolls, or you can refrigerate the batter for at least three hours for a better texture. Actually, you can keep the batter in the fridge for up to a week, but who has the patience?
Finally, brush a muffin pan with butter and spoon the batter into the cavities of the muffin tin (3 tablespoons of batter per roll) and bake for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees F.
Serve hot! I may have totally devoured my first one in just a minute or two.
Equipment You May Need:
Intant Read Thermometer: To make sure the butter and water mixture is not too hot. Otherwise, it will kill your yeast.
Kitchen Scale: When baking with flour, it's really helpful for consistent results. It also comes in handy when you are weighing out half an egg!
12-Cavity Muffin Tin: As you can see, mine is well used. The Lodge site also recommends their cast iron mini cake pan. I'm tempted!
Small Ladle: For spooning the batter.
Make-Ahead Tips:
As mentioned, you can make the batter up to a week in advance and keep it in the refrigerator.
Baked rolls will keep for about three days at room temperature. You can also individually wrap and freeze them for about a month.
Serving Suggestions:
These are amazing fresh from the oven and slathered with melty butter. You can also add your favorite jams.
Serve them for breakfast, as a side for soups, stews, and barbecue. So good.
This month's Bread Bakers theme is American Breads and our host is Stacy from Food Lust People Love.
American Breads:
- All American Batter Bread with Discard from A Messy Kitchen
- American Parker House Rolls from Sneha's Recipe
- Mount Vernon Breakfast Gems from Food Lust People Love
- Spoon Rolls from Karen's Kitchen Stories
Spoon Rolls
These spoon rolls are an easy-to-make dinner roll. They are soft on the inside with a thin crispy crust. They are absolutely delicious served hot from the oven with butter.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 1/8 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
- 1/2 large egg (25 grams of a whisked egg and a tiny pinch of salt)
- 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons melted butter, for brushing the muffin pan
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, melt the 6 tablespoons of butter. When the butter is melted, remove from the heat and add the lukewarm water. The temperature should be no more than 125 degrees F.
- In a medium large bowl, whisk together the sugar and yeast. Whisk in the butter and water mixture. Whisk in the egg.
- In the meantime, whisk together the flour, baking power, and salt. Add the mixture to the butter and egg mixture and whisk until smooth.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least three hours and up to a week.
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Brush a 12 cavity muffin tin with the melted butter, about a teaspoon per cavity.
- Ladle about 3 tablespoons of batter into each cavity and bake the rolls for 15 to 20 minutes, until browned around the edges and the center is done.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
172Fat (grams)
10 gSat. Fat (grams)
6 gCarbs (grams)
18 gFiber (grams)
1 gNet carbs
18 gSugar (grams)
2 gProtein (grams)
3 gCholesterol (grams)
33 mg
