Thanksgiving Dinner On A Bun Recipes

SOFT DINNER ROLLS RECIPE

Steps:

• Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 Tablespoon of sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/rubber spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula is a better choice.*
• Add the remaining sugar, egg, butter, salt, and 1 cup flour. With a dough hook or paddle attachment, mix/beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the remaining flour. Beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If the dough seems too wet to a point where kneading (next step) would be impossible, beat in more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until you have a workable dough, similar to the photos and video above. Dough should be soft and a little sticky, but still manageable to knead with lightly floured hands.
• Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 3 full minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 3 full minutes. (See video tutorial above if you need a visual of kneading dough by hand.)
• Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
• Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan or two 9-inch square or round baking pans. You can also bake the rolls in a cast iron skillet or on a lined baking sheet.*
• When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Divide the dough into 14-16 equal pieces. (Just eyeball it- doesn't need to be perfect!) Shape each piece into a smooth ball. I do this entirely in my hands and you can watch in the video tutorial above. Arrange in prepared baking pan.
• Cover shaped rolls with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until puffy, about 1 hour.
• Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). (It's best to bake the rolls towards the bottom of the oven so the tops don't burn.)
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven, brush with optional honey butter topping, and allow rolls to cool for a few minutes before serving.
• Cover leftover rolls tightly and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

THANKSGIVING ROLLS

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the milk, 3 tablespoons butter, and sugar. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and cool to about 110 degrees F. Scatter the yeast over the surface of the liquid and set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt and set aside.
• Pour the milk and yeast mixture into the bowl of flour and mix until a soft, ragged mixture is formed. Transfer the flour mixture to a well-floured work surface and knead by hand until a soft, elastic dough is formed, about 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm spot, until puffed and doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Transfer the dough to the work surface and, using your hands, gently flatten into a disc. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Using your hands, round each dough piece into a ball.
• Butter a buttered 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish. Place the balls of dough, seam side-down, in 3 rows of 4 each. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm spot until they've risen almost to the top of the baking dish, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter and liberally brush the rolls with it. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
• Remove the rolls from the oven and let cool slightly. Transfer the rolls to a cooling rack to cool completely before serving.

THANKSGIVING ON A BUN

Steps:

• Split the Hawaiian sweet roll (or you can use a potato bread roll which is equally delicious) and spread each side with mayonnaise to your liking (the more, the merrier for me!).
• Take a big slice of turkey breast right off the bone and lay it down on one half of the roll. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Spread stuffing on top of the turkey, then add fresh whole berry cranberry sauce/sliced canned cranberry sauce.
• Put the top piece of bread on the sandwich and go to Thanksgiving heaven on a roll! (also tastes good hot if you microwave it for about 45 seconds on high).

THANKSGIVING DINNER ON A BUN

Steps:

• Heat up mac & cheese and/or stuffing and gravy.
• Warm buns.
• Put 1 T cranberry sauce on the bottom of each bun.
• Layer turkey slices over cranberry sauce.
• Place about 1/4 cup mac & cheese or stuffing on top of turkey.
• Top with 1 T gravy.
• Top with bun.