Easy Yeast Rolls!

My mother's yeast rolls are nearly famous...at least around these parts...lol.  She has made literally thousands of these wonderful rolls through the years and has the art down to perfection.  I use her recipe when I make them and they are pretty good, but nobody makes these rolls like my mother.  Yesterday, I watched her make them from step one, which I had never done before, and I think I might have picked up a few of her secrets.   I can now pass those tips on to you. 

Don't let the steps in this put you off.  There are several steps, but it is not really that complicated and well worth the effort and this is what you will get.

Here is what you will need:

All purpose flour (we prefer White Lily if you can get it in your area), vegetable or canola oil, sugar, yeast, salt, milk (not pictured) and water.

You will need to sift 5 of the 6 cups of flour into a large mixing bowl.  The bowl needs to have plenty of room for these to double in size when they rise.  Warm 2 cups of milk in the microwave for 5 minutes and let it cool to where it is just warm to the touch. 

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.  Make sure the water is not too hot or it will kill your yeast.  To the warm milk add 3/4 cup oil, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1 tsp salt.  Mix together and add to the flour.  Now add the yeast to this mixture and stir to blend.  This mixture will be very loose. Pour about 2 Tbs. oil over the top the dough and spread it around to coat it. Cover with a kitchen towel and let this rise for 2 hours. 

The mixture should almost double and look like this.  If your kitchen is cold or drafty, this will take much longer.  Sit the bowl near the oven if you are cooking and have it on to speed the rising.  Now take the other cup of flour, sifted and sprinkle 1/2 of it on the dough and 1/2 of it on a pastry sheet or wax paper.   Work the dough into a ball, but do not overwork it, unless you like a denser roll. 

It should look like this.  Now you are ready to flour your rolling pin and roll the dough out into a large circle about 1/4 inch thick.

Using a medium size biscuit cutter or a glass with a similar size, cut your rolls.  Melt about a 1/4 stick of butter in 4 round cake pans or 1/2 stick in 2  9"x13" pans.  Place your rolls in the melted butter turning them over to coat.  You should get 36-40 rolls.  They are best if allowed to rise again for 30 minutes to an hour.  They will double in size in the pan.  Don't let anything touch the tops of them or it will make them fall.  If it's warm in the kitchen, they will rise back up fast.  If it's cool it takes much longer.

Place in a 425 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until they are brown on top to your liking. Some folks like them really brown, we like them just browned slightly. 

 

This will be your finished product!  You can brush some melted butter on top when out of the oven or just leave them as is.  These are great for dinner, breakfast or to use for parties with sliced ham or turkey on them.  The dough is very versatile also.  Tomorrow we will use it for Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Rolls!

Ingredients:

6 cups all purpose flour

1 pk. yeast (1/4 oz. packet)

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups milk

3/4  cup oil

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt



Spoon Rolls!

These Spoon Rolls are a super easy yeast roll!!!  If you love the idea of homemade bread, but not the time something like traditional yeast rolls require, you have to try these!!!  They are one step and turn out light, buttery and delicious!!! 

 Here is what you'll need:

1 pk, dry yeast

2 cups warm water

1/2 cup oil  (vegetable or canola)

4 Tbs. butter (melted)

4 cups self rising flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

Ina a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast n 2 cups warm water.  Stir in oil and butter.  With a large spoon mix in self rising flour, sugar and egg just until well incorporated.   Don't over mix.   

Brush  each cup of a 12 cup muffin pan with melted butter or spray with nonstick baking spray.   Fill each cup 3/4 full of dough.   Bake for 10 -12 minutes or until just brown. 

Remove from oven and serve!!! 

Sour Cream Rolls!

1 (8 oz.) container of sour cream

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/4 tsp. salt

2 (1/4 oz.) envelopes active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees)

2 large eggs

4 cups all purpose flour

2 Tbs. butter

Cook first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted.   Cool to 105 to 115 degrees.

Combine the yeast and 1/2 cup warm water in a glass bowl or measuring cup.  Let stand for 5 minutes. 

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the yeast mixture, sour cream mixture, eggs and flour.  Blend well but don't over knead it.

Chill, covered for 8 hours.

Divide the dough into fourths and roll each portion into a ball.   Roll each ball to 1/4 inch thickness on a floured surface.   

With a 2 1/2 inch or 3 inch round cutter, cut the dough.   Brush each piece with the other 2 Tbs. melted butter.   Make a crease across each round with a knife and fold in half.   Press edges to seal. 

Place the rolls on a baking sheet that has been greased with the sides slightly touching.    Cover loosely and set in a warm place.  Allow to rise until the rolls have doubled in size or usually about an hour.   

Place in a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until just starting to brown.

Serve hot from the oven with additional butter!







Cloverleaf Yeast Rolls!

This is a really easy little yeast roll you make in a muffin tin.  The rolls take on an interesting shape and are just delicious!   It's so easy, even those who don't make homemade breads can do this one!  When making yeast breads, there are a just a few key things to know about that can make it or break it.  I will let you know what those are as I give you this recipe! 

Here is what you will need:



3  1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 pkg. (1/4 oz.)  dry quick acting yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup warm milk

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tsp. salt

1 egg, slightly beaten

vegetable oil

1/4 cup half and half cream

Place the flour in a large mixing bowl.

In a separate small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.  The water should be warm, not hot.  If it's too hot it will kill your yeast! It should feel just warm to the touch.  This is one of the keys to yeast breads and a mistake so many make.

Mix the warm milk, sugar, butter, salt and egg.   Stir this wet mixture into the flour and mix just until combined.
 

Now add the yeast mixture to the flour and mix again until it is all well combined.  Make sure to add the yeast mixture after the other wet mixture has been added and mixed, because the salt and yeast to do not need to make direct contact.  Salt added right with the yeast can also kill the yeast and your rolls will not rise!  This is tip #2!

Put about 1 Tbs. of oil over the roll dough and turn it over in the bowl to just cover it.  Cover loosely with clean kitchen towel and place in  warm place in your kitchen to rise for about 2 hours or until it doubles.

Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.  Shape into a ball and with a knife cut it into 4 pieces.  Cut those 4 pieces into 3 pieces.    The cut each of the 3 pieces into 3 more pieces and roll each one in a ball.   This assures you get uniform size rolls.

Brush a 12 cups muffin tin with the oil.  Be sure  to brush around the tops and of each tin, because the will rise over and bake onto the edge and top of each tin.

Place three of the dough balls in each tin to make a shape like a cloverleaf.

Brush each roll top with a little half and half cream. 

Place in a warm spot in the kitchen allow to rise for 1-2 hours or until they have doubled in size again.   The amount of time they take to rise depends on how warm the area you place them in is.  If I have the oven on, I try to put the pan on the counter by the oven for faster results.

Place in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake for  12-18 minutes or until just brown on top.

 

Serve immediately with butter!



Golden Honey Rolls!

 

 

 

Several of you have been requesting a really good yeast roll recipe for your bread machine.  These delicious "Golden Honey Rolls" are my Aunt Ann's recipe she uses when making rolls with her bread machine.  They are so good, they just melt in your mouth and they couldn't be much easier, as far as homemade yeast rolls go!   Here is what you will need for these rolls:

 

1 cup milk, heated to very warm

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 Tbs. honey

1  1/2 tsp. salt

3  1/2 cups bread flour (can use all purpose flour)

2  1/4 tsp. yeast  or 1 pkg.

 

Add warm milk to the bread machine.  To the milk add egg, oil and honey.  Add the flour.  Make a well in the center of the flour.   Add the yeast right into the center of the well.

 

Add the salt around the outer edges of the flour.  DO NOT let the salt and yeast touch at this point.  Salt added directly to yeast before mixing can inhibit it's growth or even kill it and your bread won't rise.

 

Set you bread machine on the dough cycle.   Watch to see that it forms a soft ball.  If it does not form a soft ball, add a wee bit more flour.  If it forms a ball that is too stiff, add a tablespoon of warm milk.

 

When the cycle has completed, roll the dough out and cut as you would for biscuits.  Place on in a greased baking pan and allow to rise for 1 hour.   They will rise best in a draft free, warm place in your kitchen.

 

Place in a 350 degree oven and bake about 20 minutes or  until golden brown.

 

***If you don't have a bread machine, you can mix these in a stand mixer with a bread hook using the same directions.  You then let the dough rise in the bowl, that has been loosely covered with a clean kitchen towel, for about 2 hours or until it has doubled in size!  Cut out and let rise again for an hour and bake!

 

 

 

 





Easy Homemade Buttermilk Dinner Rolls!

This recipe has been all over Pinterest and the various blogs and anything with buttermilk in it catches my eye, so I thought I would give it a try.  If you are a little leery of making homemade breads, this one is a good one to start out with because it's very forgiving and not really all that temperamental like some others.  The other great thing about this recipe is that it can be made ahead and you can just take out what you want to make and refrigerate the rest for up to seven days.   I did tweak the recipe slightly, but not a lot, if you have read many of my recipes you know I am bad about changing recipes.  I don't know which blogger or pinner started this recipe originally so I am not sure who to give credit to, but thank you for it, because it turned out great!   Here is what you will need:

3 cups buttermilk (room temperature, you can put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds)

3 cups plain flour ( I prefer White Lily)

1 pkg yeast (1/4 oz.), dissolved in a 1/4 cup warm water

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

5 cups plain flour
3 eggs

3/4 cups oil

butter

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water.  Just warm tap water works, make sure it is not too hot or it will kill your yeast.  Let it sit while you mix the other ingredients and it will activate. You should see some bubbles.  Mix the buttermilk, first  3 cups of flour, and the yeast together in a  large mixing bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let this rise for about 2 hours or until double in size.

Next add the sugar, beaten eggs, the other 5 cups of flour, salt, baking soda, and all of oil except about 1/4 cup.  Mix together and kneed to dough for about 3-5 minutes.  Take out what you want to cook for a meal and place the rest covered back in the refrigerator. Pour the remaining oil over the rest of the dough and turn it.  This keeps it from being too sticky in the bowl.  Make sure your bowl is big enough to allow for the rest of the dough to double, because it will rise even in the refrigerator.  About 1/3 of the dough will make approximately 12 nice size rolls.  The entire recipe will make approximately 36 rolls.

Place your dough on a floured surface and roll it into a circle.  With a pizza cutter or sharp knife cut it into fourths and then each fourth into three sections. 

Roll each into a crescent shape and place it on a buttered cookie sheet.  Brush melted butter over each roll.  Let these sit and rise for about 2 hours.  They should double in size.  If they were not refrigerated, they may rise more quickly.  Once they have risen, place them in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 12-13 minutes.  They should be just browned.

"Easy Homemade Buttermilk Dinner Rolls" are sure to impress your family and guests!

Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Rolls!

The yeast roll dough in the post before this one is very versatile and can be used for various other tasty recipes.  One of my favorites is homemade cinnamon rolls.  After making these, you will never want to open another can of cinnamon rolls again. 

Click here for the recipe for the Yeast Rolls!!! 

This is one of my father's favorite things that I make. He has always loved a cinnamon roll, a honey bun or a danish of any kind and he says these are some of the best!  He is the connoisseur of sweet rolls so to speak...lol.

 If you are serving these for breakfast, it's best to make them the night before and let them rise through the night, ready for baking when you get up.

Take 1/2 of the yeast roll recipe in the post before this one and roll it out into a circle. You can substitute a thawed loaf of frozen yeast bread like Rich's.  If you use the yeast roll recipe, you can freeze the other half of the dough in an airtight bag for up to a month or you can make dinner rolls for dinner and make the cinnamon rolls for breakfast the next morning.   

Roll the dough somewhat thinner than you do for the yeast rolls.  Melt 1 stick of butter in a 9"x13 pan, pour almost all of it on the rolled out dough, leaving enough to coat the bottom of the pan.  Spread the melted butter over the dough all the way to the edges. 

 Mix 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon.  Sprinkle this mixture over the entire dough circle covering it all.  Chop 1 cup pecans or walnuts and sprinkle these over all.  Now you start rolling it into a tight roll.  The dough will roll better if you get it cold in the fridge before rolling it out to begin with, but it isn't a must. 

With a sharp, serrated knife slice the dough into about 3/4 inch slices and place in the buttered pan.

These will need to rise again.  They should rise for about an hour or you can let them sit overnight and they will be fine.  Make sure your pan is deep enough to accommodate them as they will get big overnight.  Place them in a 375 degree preheated oven and let them bake for 15-17 minutes or until lightly browned.  Mix 1lb confectioners sugar, 2 Tbs half and half, and 1 tsp vanilla.  This should be sort of thick.  Drizzle this over the hot rolls. 

Ingredients

1/2 recipe for yeast rolls or 1 loaf frozen roll dough thawed (Rich's)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 stick butter

1lb confectioner's sugar

1tsp vanilla

2 Tbs half and half

Here is the link for the Homemade Yeast Roll Recipe!