MEIER & FRANK BEER ROLLS

I was inspired by Em at Sugar Plum Sweets when she made her beer buttermilk biscuits. I have had this recipe in my 'to try' files for years. I've made beer bread lots in the past but never thought of making it into rolls. This recipe calls for a beer that I had not seen before. My son brews his own beer and I was thinking I could use some of his home brew, but he gave me this beer to use and I think it worked well. In the past I could always taste the beer in the bread, this is very subtle. I tried to do some research on what Meier & Frank was and it points to a department store in Portland, Oregon that was kind of a precursor to Macy's. Apparently there was a restaurant there called the Georgian Room that served these rolls. I think they would be a nice addition to any meal and they go together really quickly and are easy.

MEIER & FRANK BEER ROLLS

1 12-ounce bottle hefeweizen beer
1-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 tablespoons granulated sugar (I only used 3)
3-1/4 to 3-1/2 cups self-rising flour
Melted butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking pan. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the beer, oil, and sugar. Add 3 1/4 cups flour and stir until just combined. If the mixture is too wet, add an additional 1/4 cup flour and just barely mix in. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and knead 4 or 5 times. Pat or roll the dough 3/4 inch. Cut rolls with a 3-inch biscuit cutter and arrange the rolls in the greased pan. Reroll and recut dough scraps as necessary. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool slightly. Makes 12 rolls.