Yeast Rolls
I made these back at Thanksgiving and they were a huge hit. They are soft and buttery and so tasty.
Just like any other yeast bread recipe though, patience is required in the baking process. They need several hours to rise and they need a lot of attention. I promise your patience will be rewarded. If you want to just make the dough and not bake the rolls yet that is perfectly fine. Just refrigerate the dough for up to two days and bake them whenever you want to. I always take an afternoon and bake all the rolls then wrap them up really well and freeze them. Then whenever we need bread for a meal I just pull them out a couple hours ahead of time and pop them in the oven for a couple of minutes before serving to warm them through. You’d never know they were in the freezer.
Yeast Rolls
adapted from The Pioneer Woman
4 cups milk (I used 2% and it worked fine)
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
9 cups of flour
4 1/2 tsp dry active yeast or 2 packages
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 scant teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons salt
Pour 4 cups of milk into a large pot. Add 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of vegetable oil and stir to combine. Turn on the burner to medium and warm until little bubbles start to appear around the edge of the pot. Do not let it come to a boil. Turn off the burner.
Leave the pot on the stove and let it cool. Hot water kills yeast so we need it to come to lukewarm. It took mine about 45 minutes or so to cool off.
When it is cool add in 4 cups of flour and 4 1/2 tsp of yeast. Stir to combine. Add another 4 cups of flour and stir to combine. Place the pot in your oven (TURNED OFF) to stay warm and let it sit covered with a towel for an hour. It should double in size, if it doesn’t look like it has risen enough let it sit for another 30 minutes. When you are happy with how it has risen add another cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir until combined.
If you are not ready to bake the rolls then put the pot of dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. When you are ready pull it out of the refrigerator a couple of hours before you use it so it can come back to room temperature.
If you are ready to bake now, spray 3 sheet pans with non-stick spray. Form the rolls by pulling small portions of the dough out and forming them into about egg sized balls. Fill the sheet pans and let them sit covered with a towel for an hour to rise.
After an hour bake in a 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes.
Throw them in a basket and serve or wrap them in plastic wrap and foil and freeze.