Ingredients

• Basic Dinner-Roll Dough, recipe follows
• Nonstick cooking spray
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/4 -ounce packet active dry yeast
• 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• Mix-ins (herbs, spices, cheese, etc.; see recipes)
• Vegetable oil or cooking spray, for the bowl

Instructions

1. Make the Basic Dinner-Roll Dough with no mix-ins. Let rise as directed. Lightly coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and pat it into a rectangle. Cut the dough into 24 equal pieces with a bench scraper or chef's knife.
2. Gently roll each piece of dough into a ball; arrange on the prepared baking sheets. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let stand until puffy, about 45 minutes.
3. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 375 degrees F.
4. Brush the rolls with some of the melted butter and cut an X in the center of each with kitchen shears or a small knife. Sprinkle the tops with sea salt. Bake, switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the rolls are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, then brush with the remaining melted butter. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
5. Warm the milk and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan or in the microwave until very warm (110 degrees F). Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook; mix in the sugar, yeast and 1 cup flour until combined but still lumpy. Let stand until the mixture is very bubbly, about 30 minutes.
6. Add the butter, salt and 2 cups flour; mix on medium speed until smooth and elastic, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs until combined, scraping the bottom and side of the bowl as needed. Add 1 1/4 cups flour and the mix-ins, if using; mix until the dough is smooth and starts to gather into a loose ball, about 4 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky; if it's too wet, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour.
7. Lightly oil a large bowl; scrape the dough into the bowl and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
8. Photograph by Ryan Liebe