Orange-Date Rolls
by cookbook author Mark Bittman

Yield: About 24 rolls

• 2 1/2 cups(about 9 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling on rolls if desired
• 2 Tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing the bowl and pan and for glazing
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk, plus more as needed

Combine the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in the container of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process for 5 seconds. Add the 2 tablespoons butter and the egg and pulse a few times, until well combined. With the machine running, drizzle most of the milk through the feed tube. Process just until a dough ball forms; add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if necessary. Knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for a minute or two longer, adding a little more flour or milk if necessary, until the dough is silky smooth and quite elastic.

Butter a bowl; place the dough in it. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, at least two hours. (You can hasten the process by placing it in a warm place.) Roll out the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle. Brush liberally with melted butter, then sprinkle with 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons minced orange zest, and 1/2 cup minced dates; add 1/2 cup chopped nuts if you like. Roll it up, lengthwise, then cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place in a buttered 12-compartment muffin tin. Cover and let rise until puffy, about 1 hour. Brush with additional butter and sprinkle with sugar just before baking. While rising, boil together 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup orange juice until thickened. Brush the slices liberally with this mixture before baking.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake until nicely browned, 20 to 30 minutes.

Garrett Oliver’s Beer Match:
German-style Wheat Beer (Schneider Weisse, Paulaner Hefeweizen, Hacker-Pschorr Weisse, Ayinger Brau-Weisse)