I bake sweet rolls or sticky pecan rolls for freezing in either a regular muffin tin or larger ones in jumbo muffin tins so they are in individual portions. To freeze, I wrap one roll in a foil pop-up sheet (I get a box of them a Sam's Club). This way they go from the freezer, thaw overnight on the counter, and get warmed up in the toaster oven. We nearly always have one roll each for breakfast every Saturday morning. If I freeze a pan of sweet rolls, I'll wrap either the entire pan amount, or in portions (4-rolls) in heavy-duty foil. They can be rewarmed in the foil like the individual rolls. Add frosting or glaze after they have been reheated. -Grainlady

This is my favorite, versatile and a little heavy which is how I like them! 16-1/2 ounces (3-2/3 cups) all-purpose flour 1/4-ounce package rapid-rise yeast 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon table salt 1 cup half-and-half 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces; more for the pan 3 large egg yolks 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted how to make Mix the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Poppyseed Variation: If making this variation, add 1 tablespoon poppyseeds to the flour mixture now. Fit the mixer with the dough hook. In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the half-and-half and the 3 ounces of butter, stirring constantly, until the butter melts and the liquid registers about 120�F on an instant-read thermometer. With the mixer on medium low, pour the warm milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Add the yolks. Mix on medium low until the flour is completely incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Cheddar & Black Pepper Variation: If making this variation, add 5 ounces (about 2 cups loosely packed) finely shredded extra-sharp Cheddar and 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper now. Increase the speed to medium high and knead until the dough is very smooth and elastic and pulls away from the bottom of the bowl (a little will stick to the sides), about 5 minutes. Herb Variation: If making this variation, add about 3/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (try 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, 1/4 cup chives, and 1 teaspoon thyme) now. If the dough climbs up the hook, stop the mixer and scrape the dough back into the bowl. Repeat as needed. Also, the mixer might dance around on the counter, so hold on to it. Let the dough rise: Scrape the bowl, scoop up the dough, and shape it into a ball. Lightly grease the sides of the same bowl (or another large one) and put the dough into it. Cover the top securely with plastic. Let the covered dough rise in a warm spot until nearly doubled in size, 45 to 55 minutes. Portion the dough: Turn out the dough onto a clean surface and gently press to deflate. There's no need to flour the countertop or your hands (unless you're making the herb variation, in which case the dough may be sticky). With a pastry cutter or a chef's knife, divide the dough into about 16 equal pieces, 2 to 2-1/3 ounces each. To ensure even rolls, use a scale to weigh the portions. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch Pyrex baking dish with butter. Shape the rolls: Work with one piece of dough at a time; cover the others with plastic or a damp towel. There's no need to flour your hands (unless you're making the herb variation). Put one piece of dough on the counter. With a cupped palm, press down gently but firmly, rolling the piece in tight circles on the work surface until it forms a smooth-skinned ball with a seam on the bottom. Put the ball, seam side down, in the greased baking dish, cover loosely with plastic, and repeat with the remaining dough. (The dough balls can be arranged in rows or placed randomly; just be sure they're even.) Cover the baking dish with plastic and let the balls rise in a warm spot until they're about one and a half times their original size and have risen about three-quarters of the way up the pan rim (they won't yet fill the pan). This will take 40 to 60 minutes, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375�F.

I agree with Linda C - bake the rolls and then reheat them before serving. The horror stories I could tell.... You can also find recipes for par-baked (partially baked) rolls (similar to brown and serve rolls) you can make at home. Here's a recipe from the Kansas Wheat Commission - 2000 booklet - a special recipe developed by Cindy and Christy in the KWC test kitchen. Even if you use your own recipe, you can follow the freezer/thawing/baking instructions. -Grainlady FREEZER ROLLS 6-1/2 to 6-3/4 c. bread flour, divided* 1/2 c. granulated sugar 1/4 c. nonfat dry milk powder 1-3/4 c. cold water 1/2 c. shortening 2 large eggs, beaten 1 t. grated lemon peel 1 t. lemon juice 2 T. active dry yeast 2 t. salt *Variation: Substitute 2-1/2 c. whole wheat flour in the first step. In large mixing bowl, combine 2-1/2 c. flour, sugar and nonfat dry milk. Add cold water, shortening, eggs, lemon peel and lemon juice. Beat 3 minutes. Stir in undissolved yeast and 1 cup flour; beat 2 minutes. Add salt and 1 cup flour; mix 2 minutes. Add enough remaining flour to make a firm dough. Knead 15 minutes by hand or with dough hook. Divide and shape into 24 rolls. Place on greased sheet. Cover with plastic bag or wrap; seal well. Freeze until solid. Remove rolls from sheet; transfer to sealable bag. Use within 2 weeks. When needed, remove rolls from freezer and place on greased baking sheet; cover with plastic bag or wrap. Place in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. Place shallow pan of boiling water on bottom oven rack. Place covered rolls on top oven rack. DO NOT turn oven on. Let rolls rise until double, about 1-1/2 hours. Change boiling water half way through rising. Remove rolls from oven. Preheat oven to 400°F. Uncover rolls; bake 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from sheets; cool on racks.

I use coconut oil (kept at room temperature) instead of vegetable oil or shortening. Coconut oil is very stable at cool room temperatures and has an extremely long shelf-life, which is important to those of us who do home food storage. Coconut oil will easily store for up to 5-years, while vegetable oil lasts 6-months at room temperature (less time if stored where it gets a lot of light, or at temperatures above 70F), or 1-year if you refrigerate it. Refrigeration is suggested rather than freezing. Check the label of the container or call the help-line on the label for more information. Cooking oil is actually already rancid from the process it takes to make it and storage due to exposure to heat, light and oxygen during processing and home storage and use. Rancid oil doesn't have to smell rancid to be rancid. The exposure to oxygen did that long before it started to smell rancid. By the time it smells rancid, it's been that way for a long time. Cooking oil is oxidized to the point of being a body-damaging free radical. I haven't used vegetable oil or shortening in over 25 years. If you have a FoodSaver vacuum sealer, you can vacuum-seal oil after you open it to keep the oxygen out of the container. Heat, light and oxygen are the enemy of all foods. Eliminate those and they will last longer. (See the link below.) I store foods vacuum-sealed in FoodSaver bags in the freezer in order to prevent freezer burn, wasted food, and increase the storage time. Vacuum-sealing also helps maintain the quality of the stored foods. Once again, oxygen is the enemy of stored food, and that includes in the freezer. Freezing will slow down foods from going rancid, it just won't PREVENT it if there is oxygen present. Vacuum-sealing will prevent moisture in foods from migrating from the food to the air and creating ice crystals, unlike zip-lock bags in which you trap air in. A true vacuum can't be done using a drinking straw and drawing air out of the bag, but that's is an improvement over a bag full of air. If you have ice crystals accumulating in your foods (especially present in bags of bread or burger/hot dog buns), you don't have it properly stored. To improve the storage of foods in the freezer, it requires as tight a wrapping as possible to prevent as much air as possible being in contact with the food. -Grainlady