Pin ItNo trip to the moon on these rolls but you will be over the moon in love with them! I’m not the best roll or bread maker but this recipe is by far the BEST roll recipe I have every made or eaten that has come out of my kitchen. The photos do not do these justice because the taste and texture of these rolls were wonderful, it took everything I had not to eat all of these. The recipe comes from Rebecca Rather and her cookbook The Pastry Queen, I have made a few of her recipes some haven’t turned out like a I had wanted but I can’t blame the recipe because sometimes it’s the cook 🙂 although with this recipe I’m pretty sure you can’t mess them up. Like I said in the beginning I’m not the best bread or roll maker or I should say not experienced but these rolls make you feel like a star in the kitchen. The unique thing about the rolls besides the name is that they have a hint of cinnamon that reminds me of donuts, they are sweet rolls but not too sweet. Now for the funny name, Rebecca Rather owned a restaurant called Rather Sweet Bakery and her colleague wanted to know if they were making rocket rolls. She explained what she was meaning, the sweet white rolls with the fluffy insides. Rebecca knew what she was talking about, but laughed at the cute name she came up with instead the original torpedo rolls. From that day on they were called rocket rolls.
Rocket Rolls
3 (1/4 ounce) packages active dry yeast or about 1 tablespoon
1 cup lukewarm water (105 to 115 F)
1/4 cup light flavorless oil, such as canola or safflower oil
1 large egg
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water (more if needed)
6 1/2 cups bread flour
1 T. sea salt
Pinch of cinnamon
Extra Virgin Olive Oil for brushing on top of warm rolls or butter
Directions:
Step 1: Dissolve the yeast in a large mixing bowl with 1 cup of lukewarm water. Let it stand for about 5 minutes.
Step 2: Add the oil, egg, sugar and the rest of the water. Whisk together by hand.
Step 3: Add the flour and mix on medium low speed until the dough holds together about five minutes. The dough is wet looking but if it doesn’t form a cohesive ball add a few tablespoons of flour. If the dough is too dry add a tablespoon of water until it doesn’t seem dry. Let dough rest for 20 minutes, then add the salt and cinnamon and knead well.
Step 4: Spray a large mixing bowl with cooking spray and put the dough in the the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or tea towel and let rise for about an hour and half. Step 5: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and get a large sheet pan spray with cooking spray or line with partchment paper or silicone mat.
Step 6: Punch down dough and pinch off pieces of the dough and roll into golf ball size for dinner rolls, or tennis ball sizes for sandwich rolls. Arrange the dough on the pan about 2 inch apart then cover with a tea towel and let rise for 20 minutes. The rolls will not double in bulk on the second rising.
Step 7: Bake rolls for 18 to 30 mintues or until golden brown. When they come out of the oven brush lightly with olive oil or take a stick of butter and rub on the tops. Makes: 32 dinner rolls or 16 sandwich rolls.
I have never made homemade rolls! but I think it is about time to try it. We love to make soup and serve warm, buttery rolls on the side. Thanks for sharing. Sharon
I hope you try these out Sharon, I think these would be a great first roll recipe to try. Thanks for the sweet comment.
These rolls look amazing! I love making bread and rolls at home. Nothing smells better than fresh baking bread in the oven. 🙂 Have a wonderful rest of the weekend.
Thanks Amy, your right nothing smells better or taste better than fresh bread. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Beautiful! Love the color and texture of these rolls. I’m sure they were gobbled up quickly!
Thanks Frieda, your right we ate these rolls up really quick 🙂
Those look buttery and fluffy and heavenly!
Thanks Amy, they were a little bit of heaven 🙂
Your rolls look so good.
thanks Christine, you should give them a try for yourself they are wonderful.
Mmmmm, looks delicious! I haven’t heard the term rocket rolls before, but yummm!
Kiri, I know you probably won’t hear the term rocket rolls since they are really called torpedo rolls but rocket sounds better 🙂
Can’t resist that name. And I LOVE working with yeast <3
I know fun name huh, you won’t be able to resist these rolls if you make them!
Made these tonight and they were a big hit! I made the sandwich size and we ate them with leftover BBQ chicken. My kids ate them with butter and couldn’t get enough. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Heather, so glad your family loved them, thanks for let me know how they turned out. xoxox
This looks so delicious, my boys are drooling right now! 🙂
Wow, these are gorgeous! I could eat a few right now with my coffee 🙂
Congrats on Top 9; definitely deserved!
–Shelley
WOW. That’s all I can say – these rolls are simply GORGEOUS! I love your photographs and I, too, am a fan of The Pastry Queen. It’s a pleasure to meet you through Foodbuzz today!! 🙂
I recently discovered the joys of making home made breads. I just love the feeling of kneading the dough and the sweet smell the bread wafts throughout the house. I love the texture and the golden top your rocket rolls have. I will definitely try this recipe for a change.
Congrats on Foodbuzz top 9, I’m glad to “meet” you through FB!
malou
I am always looking for delicious new bread and roll recipes to try. These look so spectacular and your photos are beautiful! I just discovered your blog from the Top 9! Congratulations! This recipe is definitely deserving of that top spot. Look forward to reading more of your blog.
Wow, these really look fantastic. Turned out perfectly, I be they were delicious. Congrats on the Top 9.
These look delicious! I’ll definately be making them.
I’ve been using my bread machine to make dough for pizza/calzone/artisian breads and also to make sweet & savory breads. Might try to work this into a bread machine recipe too!
In looking on Amazon for the Pastry Queen cookbook, it appears she has a few. Which one did this recipe come from? Might just have to add that one to my collection.
Thanks for your post! Feel free to check out my kitchen gadget blog. Somewhere in the archives is my bread machine post. A recent post has 5 ways to use bread dough. A 5 loaf frozen bag thawed out on me, and I couldn’t bear to throw any of it away.
thanks Cheryl, I will check out your site! I bought the Pastry Queen Cookbook the one with the little tart on the front 🙂
I am dying to try these for dinner tonight, but I’m out of bread flour. Can all-purpose flour be substituted for the bread flour?
I made these tonight (waited until I got some bread flour), and they were AMAZING!!!! Thank you so much for the recipe/post!
Oh wonderful I’m so glad you liked them, thanks for letting me know these are my favorite comments 🙂
These looks great! I printing this recipe for my husband who loves making bread.
I will be making these for dinner for 40 people tomorrow! I have a question tho, on Step 3, do you use a hand mixer or a stand mixer w/dough hook. I only have a hand mixer. Thanks!
Hey Suzanne, I noticed all the amazing dishes you pined on pinterest but had no idea that you had such an AMAZING blog! Although I must admit, it doesnt suprise me. Hope you guys are doing well, we where talking about you guys yesterday and where saying how much we would love to go back and visit some day. Josh especially mentioned how he admired Brad and you and how grateful we are for all that you have done for him/ us and the Miler family… So grateful to have such wonderful friends and examples in our lifes. Love,
The Miller’s
Oh my goodness, I can only imagine the unbelievable aroma as these baked! I’m sure they wouldn’t last even until they were cool at my house!
Hi Suzanne! Wow, these rolls look beautiful (and actually very cute too)! The last picture is so convincing and I’d love to have some of these… Colors, texture, and everything look just perfect!
There is nothing like homemade breads. Your rolls look perfect. I love the last shot with the melted butter – yum!
Oh yum! I love fresh bread, and this looks amazing! Look at that butter melt 🙂
Love your pictures!
Thanks Paula coming from you that means a lot :)!
I never knew these were called “rocket rolls”. I had always thought they were just rolls that were freaking awesome 🙂
Hi Suzanne,
Just stopped by to say thank you for being a part of the YBR! Have a great weekend.
I am very impressed!! Are you sure you’re not an experienced bread maker? 😉 Love the way it looks! So soft and fresh! Home made bread are always the best! This really reminds me of Chinese bread actually! They’re usually sweeter than European bread. Mmmm… I’m definitely bookmarking this! 😀
I just made these, they were amazing. I make a ton of yeast breads and it is right up there with the best. I omitted the cinnamon and only put 2 T sugar to help the yeast. And perfect. I didn’t want a sweet roll. I sure wish I could time them better to be taken out of the oven right before dinner so they are hot, I guess I could put them back in for a few minutes
Awe thanks, I’m so glad you enjoyed them. The cinnamon is so slight it’s just perfect but I’m sure they were just as delicious without it. Thanks for coming back and letting me know.