A few weeks ago, while checking out at the grocery store, I impulsively purchased a holiday-bread themed magazine. What caught my attention was a homemade "take-and-bake" roll recipe. It called for baking the rolls at a very low temperature, 300ºF, just until the rolls reached an internal temperature of 175ºF; then cooling and freezing. When you were ready to bake, you simply popped that pan in the oven.

As one of the most frequently asked questions I receive this time of year is "How can I make _____ ahead?" I was excited to try the method on my favorite buttermilk pull-apart rolls.

Sadly, the method did not work. This is what the rolls looked like post parbaking and freezing:

I was too disappointed upon pulling the baked rolls from the oven to remember to snap a photo, but the baked rolls didn't look much different.

All was not lost, however, as the exercise did make me make a few teensy changes to that buttermilk roll recipe, namely adding a touch more flour from the start, to make the dough more manageable to work with, and a touch more salt as well.

I love a roll on a holiday table and these pull-apart rolls are particularly festive, perfect for swiping through pools of gravy and cranberry sauce, ideal on subsequent days for leftover turkey sandwiches.

You can make them the same day or you can place the assembled pan of rolls in the fridge the day before you plan on baking them. Overall the recipe is simple, but if the idea of shaping and rolling is a page turner for you, I have a few more ideas (popovers! biscuits!) below 🍞🍞🍞

Buttermilk Pull-Apart Rolls

It's Here! Thanksgiving Menu 2024

Friends, I've finally updated my Thanksgiving post. You'll find recipes for my favorite stuffings, potatoes, pies, rolls, sauces, and sides in the post, and find a few highlights below. Also here are two Google Docs to help you plan 🎉🎉🎉