Barb at King Arthur

November 19, 2023 at 11:13am

In reply to by Alix (not verified)

Hi Alix, a lot depends on the amount of yeast in your recipe and how warm the dough is going into the refrigerator. There is always a risk that the rolls will rise too much in the fridge, especially if your dough is warm and the recipe contains a lot of yeast. This could result in rolls that collapse before you've had a chance to bake them. On the other hand, too little rise in the fridge isn't generally a problem, since you can always give the rolls a little more time at room temperature after you take them out of the refrigerator and before you bake them. My advice would be to make sure your dough is a little on the cool side (75°F or a tad lower) going into the fridge. If the rolls have risen significantly overnight, you'll want to keep them fairly cool until baking time. If the rolls haven't risen much overnight, you may want to give them some rise time at room temperature before your departure. 

My preference for do ahead rolls is usually to refrigerate the dough in bulk form after an abbreviated first rise. For your recipe this might mean an hour at room temperature, then deflate the dough and place it in a greased bowl with room to rise. Cover the bowl well with plastic wrap so the dough doesn't dry out overnight in the fridge. The next morning, you can go straight to dividing and shaping your rolls from the refrigerator. The final rise time will be a bit longer for dough that starts out cool from the fridge, but if you don't mind getting up a bit earlier on baking day, this method is a bit safer. 

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