I started 2012 with the promise that I would commit myself to all things yeast and tonight I attempted my Grandmother’s rolls.  A daunting task.

When I was young we would drive to my grandmother’s house several states away and we arrived to the smell of rolls in the oven.  My grandmother would pull them from the oven and brush them with melted butter and we would argue over who got the center roll.  She made us wait for them to cool enough to handle…..  They were always 4” high at least and they were so tender they melted in your mouth.  So it was with fear in my heart that I attempted a recipe that I didn’t think anyone could do as well as her.

Ingredients:

1 cup boiling water

1/4 cup butter

1 dry yeast package

1/4 cup water (105 – 110 degrees)

4 1/2 – 5 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Stir 1 cup boiling water and butter together until melted and let cool until it is 105 – 110 degrees.

In mixer loaded with bread hook, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup water with 1/2 teaspoon sugar.  After it activates, add butter and water, 2 cups flour, sugar, eggs and salt.  Beat at medium speed and scrape sides until it is all combined and smooth.

Add remaining flour until the dough is the right consistency (smooth and soft); Turn the speed up to 5 or 6 and beat for 10 minutes.

Remove dough from bowl and knead a couple of times by hand and put in oiled bowl, covered, for at least an hour or until doubled in size. (Dough is ready when pushed in it doesn’t spring back).

Punch down and divide in half.  Flour your hands and board and shape dough into 12 rounds.  Place in a greased 13 x 9 pan or a 12” cake round.  Cover and let rise until doubled in size (about another hour).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Brush rolls with melted butter upon removal.  Attempt to wait for them to cool enough to eat.

Results:  I admit they were delicious, but my Grandmother’s recipe does call for kneading this by hand for 10 – 15 minutes and I think that’s part of why my rolls didn’t rise to the height of hers.  While the mixer did do a great job and they did rise nicely in the bowl, I don’t think I was patient enough for the second rise and rushed to bake them.  I also remember them being a hair sweeter so maybe Grandma was using a heaping 1/4 cupful of sugar.

The best part of the night was the smell and the feeling like my Grandmother was here in the house……… I didn’t get it quite as good as my Grandmother, but frankly, I don’t think anyone can.  That’s the part of the rolls that I loved best.  They were Grandmas and no matter if I master this recipe to the exact way she made them, they will never be quite the same without her.