Susan's Almost World Famous Rolls - Repeat

Hello Friends. This is a repeat post from January 2012!  I recently had a request for this from a friend and I remembered that it was once posted on the blog.  This recipe produces the best yeast rolls that I have ever eaten, bar none!  I hope you enjoy....

From 2012

I was asked to post the recipe for my rolls when I posted the photo of them over my Christmas break. These are NOT quick rolls, but they are not difficult and worth every minute you invest in them. They truly are THAT good! You mix, rise and shape the rolls on the first day and then you bake them the next morning. They smell and taste SO GOOD straight from the oven.

Ingredients:

4 Cups of Water

1 ½ Cups of Sugar

1 Pkg of dry yeast (NOT Rapid Rise)

1 Cup of Shortening (I use Crisco)

1 Tbsp of Salt

4 Eggs, beaten

14+ Cups of All-Purpose Flour (I use unbleached)

¼ Cup of sugar

¼ - 1/3 Cup of milk

Very Important – begin the rolls around 1 pm (depending on how early or late you prefer to go to bed)

Combine 4 cups of water and 1.5 cups of sugar in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil and boil continuously for 5 minutes. Pour the boiling water into a very large bowl and add 1 tablespoon of salt and a cup of Crisco. Let the water mixture sit and cool unit the temperature is between 105 – 110 degrees (roughly 45-60 minutes). Add the dry yeast to the mixture and let it develop for five minutes. Add four beaten eggs and mix well. Add 6 cups of flour and stir. Add another 5 cups of flour (or so) until the dough is firm enough to handle. Roll the dough onto a floured surface and begin adding flour and kneading. Knead the dough until it is firm but elastic and not too sticky. 

Put the dough back into the large bowl and cover the bowl with a clean dish towel. Let the dough rise for four hours. Punch the dough down and let it continue to rise. Two hours later punch the dough down a second time.

You are now ready to shape the dough into rolls. I cannot stress enough that if the yeast was proofed correctly, this dough will rise!!! I “pam” several large baking sheets and place dough balls (a bit larger than a golf ball) onto the baking sheets. You may also choose to put three quarter size balls into regular muffin tins and let them rise to become Parkerhouse style rolls (see the photo for the risen PH style rolls). I fold the dough around itself creating a smooth top for the rolls. Cover the pans with clean dish towels and let them rise in a draft free area over night.

The next morning preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes (approximately). While the first pan is baking, mix the milk and ¼ cup of sugar in a small bowl. As you remove each pan of rolls from the oven, using a pastry bush, glaze the rolls with milk and sugar mixture.

This recipe make about 60-70 rolls, depending on how large you shape the rolls. I ALWAYS freeze any rolls that are not eaten on day one. The texture of rolls changes slightly as they age. By freezing the rolls they stay Day 1 fresh all of the time. 

I usually just wrap the frozen rolls in foil and reheat them in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes. My kids will microwave a single roll and snack on them, but they are better from the oven.

I hope you enjoy the rolls if you decide to bake them. 

 

Updating the Kitchen

Hello friends!  Today I am going to tell you about a project I have been working on for the few weeks.  I have been updating the look of our kitchen.  It all started when I took a good look at my window treatments and realized I was truly tired of them.  They worked perfectly for the mix of chef/fruit themed decor I had going eight years ago.  But alas, I am more than sick of that look.

I should have taken BEFORE photos, but the photo below is the only one I could find.  Sorry.  Just lots of white and lots of fall-ish colors. 

The real genesis of the re-do was when I entered a contest (which I did not win) for a kitchen remodeling courtesy of HGTV and LG appliances.  I had to create a Pinterest board of the kitchen I would like.  While trying for something original, I went with a French Country Glam look.  It was truly the blues, grays, and French fabrics that attracted me.  

Even though I did not win the contest, nor did I expect to, I had a backup plan - redo the parts of my kitchen that bothered me the most.  I decided to focus on the window treatments, the cabinet colors, the lighting, and the decor details.  

Mid-February - I sat down and made my plan for updating the kitchen.  I found a pattern for my new window treatment at Pate-Meadow.com.  I have used their patterns before and I like many of their designs. I ordered the pattern and the interlining (not interfacing, but a thicker lining for window treatments).

I purchased the face, lining, and piping fabrics this week also.  I took FOREVER selecting fabric.

Over the weekend, after all of my pattern and fabrics arrived, I spent several hours editing the pattern to make it fit the print repeat on my face fabric.  I removed an inch from the length and 1.75 inches from each of the window treatment sections.  And then I moved on to cutting the fabric sections and sewing the panels together before cutting the pattern (the actual pattern single piece is about 6 feet long and I will need to repeat it 3-4 times for my full bay window). Yikes.

It was a lot of work, but I LOVE the new window treatments:

**I am going to confess to being intimidated by the size of this pattern.  The overall magnitude of the project had caused me to leave it on the dining room table for three weeks before the sewing commenced.

Late February - I spent time searching for the best (read least expensive) place to buy glass shelves.  I want to add an indoor herb garden to the bay window.  My inspiration for this came from two Pinterest images I found weeks ago.

I scored a total win at a local glass company.  All three glass shelves, with finished front edge, cut to size with 3/8 inch glass for strength, will cost around $25.  Yay!  

I planted my herb seeds and as you can see in the photos below, my baby herbs are growing!!!

Canisters - I purchased new canister for to accent the new kitchen design.  I wanted something to go with the low key French-ish look and to compliment the new colors.  You may have seen the post I did transforming the canisters HERE.  I added a fleur de lis border and French names to the canisters in vinyl.  I think they look much more elegant with the border.

March 7 - I found the light fixtures I want to use to replace the yucky builder's basic long, tubular, white kitchen light fixture and the so-so breakfast nook light.  I have wanted to replace that ceiling hugging double florescent tube, long white light for soooo long.  

I ordered matching lights for the kitchen and breakfast nook, with the kitchen fixture being larger.  I also ordered blue chandelier lamp shades.

Our electrician installed the lights in the kitchen as well as move two others in the house.   Our electrician is Chris Powell, owner of Powell Plumbing and Electrical, LLC in Aiken, SC.  I cannot say enough about how great Chris and his associate were.  They even let me photograph them for the blog!!  If you live in the area and need an electrician, DO contact me and I will pass along Chris' contact information.

While waiting for Spring Break to arrive so that I could complete the painting without Avaleigh as a helper (the child has far too many hands for me to paint with her in the house), I decided to cover my white front dishwasher and oven with faux stainless film.  We plan to update our dishwasher in the not too distant future and will go with a stainless front, but in the meantime I thought the white fronts would really stand out in the kitchen.  With careful measuring and cutting, the film worked well.

I honestly think the faux finish looks pretty good on the stove and dishwasher.

Again, while awaiting the arrival of Spring Break, I began updating the wall and counter decor.  I was so tired of the colors in my kitchen!!  I have always liked blue and as luck would have, I also collect various china patterns.  I went through my stash of blue china and found some old bread plates and Spode Garden plates that I decided to use in the kitchen.  In fact the only new purchase for wall decor is the iron piece in the photo above.  Everything else came out of my dish stash.

Spring Break - Finally, finally, finally (!) Spring Break arrived and with it, the painting began!!  First I started to dis-assemble the kitchen and prepare for painting. 

We had take out four days in a row as the painting project was going on!  But I think the end result was well worth the effort!  I painted the lower cabinets only, Winter Fog.  This was another of the Rust-Oleum kits.  This kit was made especially for kitchen cabinet.  NO SANDING required.  

A final word about the island in my kitchen.  The stainless topped island is on wheels and includes a flip up bar on the backside.  It is great for serving when we have a party and the rest of the time it is home to several large counter top appliances.  Previously it too was white.  When I finished painting the cabinets, I took the leftover gray paint and added some of the blue from the buffet I painted a few weeks ago.  I made a gray-blue color and used that to paint the island.  I positioned it at the end of the cabinets so to better show the color for the photos.

The final update in the kitchen is the new runner on the floor.  I feel that the runner pulls the blues and grays together.  It brings harmony to the entire area.

Thanks for stopping by and viewing my kitchen update.  I will be back soon with a couple of new paper crafting projects!

Spring is popping out in my yard

Yesterday was a grey and rainy day here in Aiken but even the dark sky could not suppress the beauty that is beginning to emerge in my back yard.  Our Tulip Magnolia tree is covered with amazingly beautiful bloom and is focal point of our yard.

This little tree was planted two and a half years ago. In that time it has doubled in size and has become a true spring time gem.  In the summer the tree is covered with lush green leaves, and will someday be a wonderful shade tree.  But the spring is is truly a wonder.  I love the bold pink blooms.

I think my camera did a great job on the close ups.  Did you notice the rain drops on the petals? 

I will be back with photos soon with a few photos of my redecorating efforts.  Don't you love Spring changes???