Pennsylvania Dutch Tea Rolls

 These are my go-to dinner rolls, and have been since I ripped out the page from Cooking Light. They have never failed to be enthusiastically devoured. They take a while to make, but the result is a dense, chewy, slightly sweet vehicle for your best butter. The only flaw is that it's hard to eat more than one of them. 

You can use a scale to get rolls that are all the same size, but I like having smaller ones and bigger ones to choose from. 

Ingredients

• 5 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 ⅓ cups warm 1% low-fat milk (100° to 110°)
• 1 package quick-rise yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• Cooking spray
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons poppy seeds 

Steps

1. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour, warm milk, and yeast in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand 1 1/2 hours (batter should become very bubbly and almost triple in size).  
2. Add 3 cups flour, sugar, butter, salt, and egg; stir with a wooden spoon 3 minutes or until well combined. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).  
3. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. (Lightly press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)  
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; lightly dust dough with flour and pat into an 10 x 8-inch rectangle. Divide dough by making 3 lengthwise cuts and 4 crosswise cuts to form 20 equal pieces; shape each piece into a ball. Place balls in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray.  
5. Lightly coat the dough with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size.  
6. Preheat oven to 375°. Brush 3 tablespoons milk lightly over dough; sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until browned. Cool rolls in pan 5 minutes. Serve warm, or cool completely on a wire rack.