Mini Hoagie Rolls

Prepare a large kneading board with a light sprinkling of flour. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together water and sugar. Whisk in oil, salt, 4 cups of the flour, and the yeast until smooth. Put away the whisk and whip out your silicone spatula —- stir in more flour and fold, maybe a half cup at a time, until you have a nice, soft, dough that will roll out of the bowl pretty easily.

Turn the dough onto the floured board. Knead until smooth and elastic, sprinkling more flour as kneaded (get it?). This will probably require about 6 to 8 excruciating minutes to get it where we want it.

Grease a large bowl (I wash the previous bowl and use it again) and place the dough inside. Turn it once or twice to make sure the dough has a light coating all over. Cover lightly with a thin kitchen towel and let rise for 45 to 60 minutes in a warm place. I put mine upstairs in the warmest room.

Think of something that really pisses you off and punch the dough. Turn onto a floured board and cut into 20 equal pieces. Carefully shape them into little ingots.

Grease a few baking sheets. Place the dough ingots in neat little rows, making sure they are about 2 inches apart (they need their personal space). Teach them a lesson by slicing a 0.25-inch deep cut lengthwise on top of each. Spray lightly with olive oil and loosely cover then put them back in the warm room for 20 to 30 minutes.

Bake for 13 to 18 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. But grab one before it gets too cool for school, slice it open, and slather some real butter on that bad boy if you want to hear angels sing.