4cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons salt, plus more for sprinkling
2 1 / 4 teaspoons (1 package) instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons (1 / 2 stick) butter, cubed, plus
4 tablespoons melted butter for brushing Oil or more butter for greasing
Instructions
Heat the milk in the microwave or in a pot on the stove until it reaches about 100°F, a little hotter than lukewarm. To mix the dough in a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, yeast, sugar, cubed butter, and warmed milk in the mixer bowl. With a dough hook, mix on medium-low speed until the ingredients are combined, then on medium speed until the dough is tacky and smooth, 8 to 10 minutes.
To mix the dough in a food processor, pulse the dry ingredients together with the butter a few times to combine, then, with the machine running, add the milk through the feed tube and process until the dough is a well-defined, barely sticky, easy-to-handle ball, about 30 seconds — don’t overprocess here or the dough will lose its pillowy texture. Turn it out onto the counter and knead (you shouldn’t need much, if any, flour) until smooth, 5 or 6 minutes.
Grease a large bowl, shape the dough into a rough ball, put it in the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest at room temperature until the dough has doubled in size, 2 hours or more.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it with a little oil or butter. Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled counter and cut it into 18 pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball and put them on the baking sheet, spaced about 1/2 inch apart. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until the dough balls start to touch each other, 1 to 1 1 / 2 hours. (For a warm place, I usually heat the oven as low as it will go, then turn off the heat, let it cool back down a bit, and let the dough rise in the oven for the first hour, then move the dough on top of the stove for the last 30 minutes while I preheat the oven for baking.)
Heat the oven to 350°F. Brush the rolls with half of the melted butter and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Brush with the remaining melted butter, sprinkle with a little salt, and serve while they’re still warm.