Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Rolls

Here we are nearly a week after Thanksgiving and for some reason it feels like it was just yesterday that I was serving up our holiday feast.🦃  All of the family, food and fun last week made for some long lasting memories.  At the top of that list of Thanksgiving 2025 most memorable moments has to be the oven fire in the midst of all the Thanksgiving dinner prep.🔥😬😮😳 ​Before I go any further, I feel like I should disclose that the fire was quickly extinguished (thanks to my quick thinking husband) and the fire department did not have to make a house call that day.🧑🏻‍🚒  

With that in mind, you should also be aware that this blog is more than just a delicious roll recipe - it should also serve as a cautionary tale.🤣  These innocent looking rolls just so happen to be the cause of the aforementioned fire. 🤦🏻‍♀️  I debated about whether or not to even post the recipe but I feel it might help someone else to hear the story.

​I had timed my rolls so that they would still be warm from the oven when I served them with our Thanksgiving dinner. I prepared the dough according to the recipe from saltnsprinkles.com on Wednesday so that it could rest overnight in the refrigerator.   When I pulled it out on Thursday morning, it was perfectly puffed and proofed and I finished up the roll preparation while the turkey cooked on Thanksgiving morning.      

Right about now, you're probably wondering where it all went wrong and how in the world I managed to catch my oven on fire.  The short answer is - I really don't know.🤷🏻‍♀️  Things started to go off the rails when I slid my 2 pans of rolls into my 450 degree oven.   Despite the fact that I had placed a pan underneath the rolls to catch any oil that might have spilled over during the cooking process, a considerable amount of oil ended up in the bottom of my oven and it didn't take long before my kitchen was filled with smoke. 💨  My keen senses (and watering eyes) clued me into the fact I had to get the rolls out of the smoke filled oven.😂  I pulled them out halfway through the baking process and put them in my second oven to finish baking.  To my surprise - the rolls were somewhat unaffected by the disruption and they didn't even taste like smoke.😂  

I should have realized that where there's smoke... because when I reopened the oven doors to remove the drip pan that I placed under the muffin tins - the fire ignited.  I can't explain the science behind it but I can tell you that the oxygen in the room, the intense heat and the oil in the bottom of the oven proved to be a fiery combination.🧯  The flames didn't extinguish even after closing the oven doors but a thankfully a wet towel did the trick.  

It's a humbling experience to fill the house with smoke just before guests arrive on Thanksgiving day but it all made for a lasting memory.😅  Lesson learned - just let my mom make the Thanksgiving rolls from now on.😂  

Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Rolls
1 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoons honey
1 ¼ cups warm water
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons sea salt
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 Tablespoons sea salt 

Rosemary Garlic Topping
1/3 cup olive oil
2 fresh sprigs of rosemary, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced

Stir together yeast, honey and water.  

Allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Add flour and salt and stir to form a loose, rough dough.

Drizzle the dough with 2 T. oil.  Rotate dough to cover with oil.  

Cover and refrigerate dough overnight. 

Drizzle 2 T. oil over dough and gently knead in bowl.  

Pat dough into a rectangle on oiled counter.

Cut dough into 12 equal pieces. 

Divide dough among 12 oiled muffin cups.

Cover and let rise 2 hours. 

Heat oil in saucepan for topping.  Add rosemary and garlic and cook until fragrant.  Remove from heat. 

With oiled fingers, poke holes in the rolls.  (Deep enough to reach the bottom of the pan.)

Drizzle 1 T. rosemary garlic oil over each roll. 

Bake 20 minutes at 450.

Brush rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with flaky salt.

The melted butter and flaky salt didn't get added to my warm rolls after baking - I was too busy cleaning my oven at that point.🤣  

​Ciao!

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