Aunt Alisa is our bread expert and having one good recipe is not enough for her. She likes learning new ways to serve us delicious bakery items, and no one complains about her “experiments.” This recipe has become a frequent treat for everyone. We also enjoy her sweet dinner rolls and homemade French bread.
Ingredients
- 2 packages or 4½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/3 cup warm water (1100 to 1150F)
- 2 cups warm 2% milk (1100 to 1150F)
- 1 cup butter flavored shortening
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 8 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 3-4 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water.
- Add milk, sugar, eggs, salt, and 4 cups flour. Beat 3 minutes. (It will still have clumps of shortening.)
- Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
- Turn onto a floured surface and knead lightly.
- Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.
- Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 2 hours).
- Punch dough down. Divide into 4 equal parts.
- Roll each section into a 12-inch circle, then brush with butter.
- Cut each circle into 12 pie-shaped wedges. Roll up each wedge from wide edge to tip of dough and pinch to seal.
- Place rolls with tip down on baking sheets and let rise one hour or until doubled in size. Bake until golden brown at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes.
You Can Freeze Raw Dough
You can also freeze the raw dough once shaped and rolled. Place each roll in airtight freezer containers for up to 4 weeks. Once you are ready to enjoy your bread, arrange frozen rolls 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Let rolls rise in a warm place until doubled (about an hour). Bake following recipe instructions.
