These soft, fluffy dinner rolls are the perfect conveyance for butter. Somehow, it’s impossible to over butter them. And what a butter! Butter browned with sage, and then cooled and whipped to spreadable perfection. Whipped brown butter is my THING now. It makes everything more delicious, even warm dinner rolls.

INGREDIENTS [DINNER ROLLS]:

6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for

2 1/3 milk, warm

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling

2 teaspoons lemon juice

4 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 egg and 1 tsp water or milk for egg wash

INGREDIENTS [WHIPPED BROWN SAGE BUTTER]:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 sprig sage

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the yeast, warm milk, and sugar in a small bowl. Stir lightly and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes, until foaming.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, including the yeast mixture, knead the dough by hand for about 5 minutes, or until the dough should be slightly tacky, but not not sticky. If the dough is sticky, let it rest for another 10 minutes and then knead again for 2 minutes. Cover the bowl plastic wrap and let rise for at least 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Lightly coat your counter with flour, dump out the dough onto the counter. Slice the dough into 15 equal pieces and with floured hands, shape each piece into a ball.

Place the dough balls in a well-greased 10 x 14 inch cake pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it sit for for 45 minutes while the oven preheats to 375F.

Whisk one whole egg with a teaspoon of cold water until well blended. Brush the tops of the dough balls with a light, even coat of egg wash. Sprinkle with sea salt. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown and puffy.

For the butter, melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium low heat, with the sage sprig, stirring consistently until the butter foams and then browns. Immediately pour off the butter into a bowl, pluck out the sage, add the salt, stirring to combine, and pop in the freezer. After 10 minutes, stir the butter, and let it finish chilling in the fridge. Once it’s mostly hardened (a little stiffer than softened butter), whip the butter. Put into a ramekin to serve with the rolls.