My Best Dinner Yeast Rolls

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If you love to bake bread then this recipe is for you!  If you have never made bread, but are ready to learn something new – this recipe is for you!

I have been making bread since I was in high school.  My brothers will attest to the fact that I have made some pretty bad stuff.  However, time and practice does help and last year my new neighbor, Gaye, gave me this recipe that she received from a home school co-op friend.

I think recipes are so much like family trees.  If we were able to follow the path of where a recipe came from we would find branches upon branches of friends, family, cooks, and bakers that have passed a recipe from one to another.  I rarely claim a recipe as “mine” because most generally the recipes in my box all have roots somewhere else.  Occasionally I will “teak” it to the point that the original may be unrecognizable and then possibly it may be “mine.”  Through the years I have been given recipes by so many people I have met along my life’s path.  I do believe that if I had them filed chronologically they would tell a good portion of my story.  Today is about this wonderful bread recipe.

One of my best childhood recollections is walking into my grandmother’s farmhouse and smelling all the incredible smells coming from her kitchen.  She was a fabulous cook and baker.  We would show up and she would have a homemade feast just waiting for us.  This always included homemade bread and dinner-type rolls for sandwiches.  The smell of yeast rising in the kitchen still brings back these childhood memories.

Making bread is not hard.  There are just a few simple rules you must follow to get a good end result.  With this recipe you will find the kind of dinner rolls that are meant for Sunday alongside some fried chicken, mashed potatoes, a couple good veggies and some apple pie! Oh for heavens sake, I am hungry again!

Dinner Rolls

Heat to scald but DO NOT stir!  (This can be done in the microwave or on top of the stove)

  • 2 ½ cups milk
  • 2 ½ cups water
  • 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 4 teaspoons salt

Bubbles rising to the top of milk indicate scald is satisfactory.

Stirring will cause scorching so put milk and water in kettle first and then dump sugar and salt in without stirring.

Remove from heat and then add:

  • ½ cup butter (1 stick)
  • ½ cup potato flakes, potato water or mashed potatoes (leftovers work just fine)

Cool slightly so yeast will not die and then add:

  • 5 eggs, beaten
  • ¼ cup yeast

Begin adding approximately 10-12 cups bread flour, (can use part wheat flour if you want)  Dough should be soft and slightly sticky.  If you have a Kitchen Aid or a large food processor you can use the dough hook and it will knead this dough wonderfully.  If you don’t have either of those, then flour your workspace and just kneading the dough by hand, working in a little bit of flour at a time until you have smooth, elastic dough.  Continue to work until dough is a proper consistency and then cover with a towel and set in a warm place.

Let rise until almost double and then work out into rolls (about the size of a golf ball) and place in greased pans. Rise again until doubled and then bake in 350 degree oven until lightly browned. Enjoy!

Note: You can cut this recipe in half if you don’t want to make such a large batch.

You can place them in a cake pan and they will rise touching each other, or you can bake on a large cookie sheet and again they should rise to touch one another. If you want individual rolls you can place each ball individually in a muffin tin.

You can work these out into rolls (about the size of a golf ball) and then immediately freeze them on a cookie sheet. Remove them at least 4-6 hours before baking and let rise in a warm place. Bake as normal when risen to double in size. Enjoy warm rolls with dinner.

Parker House Rolls: Generously brush a 9×13 inch baking pan with butter. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Roll into a 12×6 inch rectangle. Brush dough generously with 3 Tablespoons melted butter. Using a pizza wheel or a sharp knife, cut dough into 6 equal strips lengthwise. Cut dough crosswise into 4 equal sections. You will have 24 elongated rectangles. Fold each rectangle in half, and place in prepared baking pan, 4 across, and 6 down. Brush tops with remaining 3 Tablespoons melted butter. Cover pan with buttered plastic wrap. Set aside to rise until dough does not spring back when pressed with a finger, 25-30 minutes.

Clover Leaf Rolls: Shape 3 small balls and place in muffin tin and allow to rise and bake as normal.

Ephesians 2:10  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

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