Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water

2 Tbsp. dry yeast

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 1/2 cups hot water (as hot as you can get it and still be able to touch it)

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp salt

5 cups flour

Step 1: Stir together warm water, dry yeast and sugar, until yeast is dissolved.  Let set until foamy.

Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, combine hot water, oil, sugar and salt with the yeast mixture and stir.

Step 3: Add 5 cups flour  (I have made it with all white, or all wheat, or a combination of flours).  

Stir well using a sturdy strong spoon.  At this point the batter will still be very sticky.

Step 4: From here on, you will add at least 3 more cups of flour.  

Stir it in with spoon until you need to start working the dough with your hands. (It will get to difficult to stir.)  When it is too difficult to stir with the spoon, push the dough down with your hands, fold it in half, push it down with your fist, fold it in half, continue working the dough in this manner. 

Step 5: Add more flour and work it in as above, until the dough is smooth and not sticky.  If the dough feels wet or sticks to your hands, you need more flour.  Slowly add it, a 1/2 cup at a time until you get a soft dough.

Step 6: Shape it into a ball.  

Step 7: Pour about 2 tbsp oil into the bottom of a large mixing bowl*.  Turn your dough ball upside down into the oil to coat the top of the dough ball and then turn it over with the oiled side up.  

Make a clean dishtowel wet with warm water, squeeze out excess moisture and cover the bowl of dough.  

Step 8: Allow the dough to rise until double in size. 

A warm summer or fall day is perfect for rising bread dough! If your kitchen is too cool, the dough will not rise properly. But don't worry! Maybe you have a nice cozy spot in your house, near a fire or on top of a warm oven. I like to turn my oven on for about 2-3 minutes, long enough to heat the oven a bit to provide a warm environment for my dough to rise. I put the dough into the oven after I turn it off!  If you do use this trick, make sure to turn your oven off before it is too hot as it will start to prematurely bake the bread!  (If you use the oven to keep your dough warm, use a metal or glass mixing bowl.)

Step 9: When the dough has doubled in size, usually 1 hour later, punch it down and let it rest for 10 minutes.  

Step 10: Shape the dough into balls, a little larger than a golf ball. Line them into baking pans.  

I gently grease the pans and allow the dough balls to touch each other slightly.  

Step 11: Allow to rise until double.  

Step 12: Bake at 350 degrees about 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  I brush a little melted butter on the tops to soften the crust!

I hope they turn out well for you! We love these rolls. You can also use this for bread, stromboli or cinnamon rolls.