Baking homemade butter rolls...what is the best way to proof bread at home? & any good substitution for baking without a baking stone?

Sorry Sam1148 but here in the northeast bub is used as a term of familiar address, especially for a man or boy. I am sorry you took offense and thought it was a diminutive.

Many good suggestions. May I recommend this recipe? It is easy and takes on a great little zing. Can be made into almost any form or shape. Yes, I posted it but I give credit.
http://www.food52.com/recipes/8287_alabama_buttermilk_light_rolls

@stockout.

Was the 'bub' diminutive addition really needed there?

I've bought unglazed terracotta tiles from Home Depot for less than $1 each, and they work just like a stone. They are prone to breaking but are so cheap that I don't mind.

Sam1148, yu are basically making a Parker House roll.....these are a great roll. If you are looking for a crusty bread you need a steam tile...sorry, bub.

I don't care for a crust on butter rolls. A stone could give a crust.
In fact I like making them smaller and putting them in a cake pan. So even the touching sides aren't brown. Just like the pictures at the top of the thread.

Quarry tiles are excellent but they have to be unfinished and hard to find sometimes. Every place you go at the end of the season they always have the saucers laying about. Make a deal you could get them for a song. Thanks for the thumbs up......

That is so clever, Stockout! I've also used quarry tiles.

I bought a saucer for a huge clay pot. Soak it in the sink, turn it over and place it in your oven. When the oven comes to temperature, place the bread or rolls on the saucer and bake as you usually would. Make sure to let the clay come back to room temp slowly on the top of your oven or on a large towel. Do not submerge it hot into a sink full of water, it might shatter. I just let mine cool with the bread till it is ok to touch it. The steam from the soaking helps to add in the skin of your bread. Once the bread cools it will pop right off the clay saucer. Trust me it works everytime and I bought mine for $6.00.

I have also used my microwave as a proofbox: heat a few cups of water to a simmer, leave in the microwave and add your dough (in bowl) to microwave. If you have a cast iron skillet, I've used that as a substitute for a baking stone. Just preheat it in your oven and use upside down.

Awesome! They are covered, warm, and rising! Thank you both!

P. S. Don't worry about the stone!

The 3 by-products of fermentation (proofing) are alcohol, carbon dioxide, and heat. Cover your bread with plastic because it retains moisture and heat more effectively than a towel, and leave it alone. It will generate just the right amount of its own heat to proof itself. Enjoy your rolls!

If your kitchen is cool like ours then you can put the light on in your oven and proof it in there (keep an eye on it though and maybe turn the light off half way through proofing if it's rising really fast), Usually I just put in on top of my stove though and that works just fine.

I don't use a baking stone when making bread or rolls. I just pop in in the oven!