Coconut Milk Dinner Rolls

• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup coconut cream
  
• 1/2 cup regular milk
  
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into smaller pieces
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 5 - 6 cups all purpose flour
• 1 egg, beaten, for wash (optional)

Dissolve the first teaspoon of sugar in the 1/2 cup warm water, then sprinkle in the yeast. Allow to bloom for 10 minutes before stirring. In the meantime, warm both kinds of milk in a flame-proof bowl or saucepan until luke warm, stirring all the while. Stir in the butter, the 3 tablespoons of sugar and the 2 teaspoons of salt, as well as the 1/2 cup warm water.

Take off the flame, making sure that the milk isn't hotter than luke warm. Then add in the yeast and 2 cups of the flour. A whisk comes in handy hear to beat the dough until starts to become smooth and elastic.

At this point, I switched to a wooden spoon and added in about 2 1/2 more cups of flour. Continue to beat until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed. I kneaded the extra 1/2 cup of flour into the dough, as well as a bit more. Continue to knead until the dough is smooth, elastic and no longer sticky.

Place the dough in a large, greased bowl and turn so that all sides of the dough are greased. Cover with a towel and allow to double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Punch the dough down, then divide in half, and in half again, and again, until you end up with 16 dough-sections. Roll each section into a bun between the palms of your hands and place on greased baking sheets. Brush with the beaten egg wash.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the buns are a golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Transfer to cooling racks, and enjoy.