Rockin and "Rollin" Roll Recipes

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving filled with great food and family time! So I don't know about you...but the dinner roll is one of my favorite staples of the Thanksgiving meal. I LOVE the turkey and the cranberry sauce, but if there are no homemade rolls Thanksgiving just does not feel the same. I know I am shallow.... : ) And yes....I love carbs a little bit too much, but nothing beats a fantastic homemade roll recipe.  So in order to contribute to my in-law's Thanksgiving meal this year I decided to make my grandmother's roll recipe. Growing up my "Mamaw" would always make these rolls and I looked forward to them every year. This year was the first year I made them for myself with the help of my mom and Ryan.

Here is Mamaw's Recipe: (The secret to the recipe is lots of butter...Paula Deen WATCH OUT!!!)

2 packages active dry yeast
1 c. water (warm to touch)
1 tsp. sugar
2 c. milk (can be cold)
2/3 c. melted shortening
3/4 c. sugar (-2T)
4 tsp. salt (use 3-4 tsp.)
2 beaten eggs
10-11 c. sifted enriched flour

Directions:  Soften yeast in warm water, add 1 tsp. sugar to yeast mixture. In kitchen aid mixer, add milk, shortening, 3/4 c sugar and salt. Then add yeast mixture to kitchen aid bowl. Add eggs, beat well. Add 4 cups flour and use hand mixture to just get the clumps out then change over to bread hook and add rest of flour, 2 cups at a time till it makes a soft dough. Knead in the mixing bowl with butter (on hands) till smooth and elastic. Cover with wax paper and keep sitting in warm place approximately 2 hours till risen. Punch down to size then divide in halves until you get golf ball sized rolls. Flatten and add a sliver of butter in center and fold on top of itself. Place in 9x13 glass container with raised sides with parchment paper. Bake at 400-425 for 15-20 minutes.


These rolls will not disappoint. The only drawback of this recipe is that the rolls tend to dry out significantly by day 3 and are not the best for making Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches (Does anybody else out there love themselves a good Thanksgiving meal sandwich?)hahah. Anyways, this year my mom made some of her own rolls off of a recipe she got from allrecipes.com. I was hesitant at first because they were not what I grew up eating but the rolls she made were AMAZING! They tasted significantly similar to my grandmother's recipe, however, these rolls stayed moist for days and days. They are some of the best rolls I have ever had!

Here is the recipe which can also be found on allrecipes.com

 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups warm milk
• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 7 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Pour milk into a large mixing bowl, and sprinkle yeast over the surface. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Beat in the sugar, eggs, 1/2 cup butter, and salt; blend thoroughly. Gradually stir in the flour to make a soft dough. Cover bowl, and set in a warm place until dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
2. Punch down the dough, cover the bowl, and allow to rise again. Repeat this step two more times.
3. Break off 2 to 3 inch size pieces of dough, roll lightly into round shape, and place in prepared baking dish, edges touching. Repeat to make 36 dough balls. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
5. Bake rolls in preheated oven until tops turn golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. When rolls are finished baking, drizzle melted butter over the top, and serve warm.

The next time I make rolls I might just have to use this new recipe. I hope you get to try these recipes for yourself sometime! Take care everyone.