When I was in school, the "lunch ladies" made the best rolls. I remember the wonderful aroma of those rolls being prepared for lunch. You could seriously smell them all over the school before lunch. Several years ago, David worked at a job that took him to the school cafeterias to support the staff with their IT issues. He got first hand experience with the amazing smell of the rolls and somehow managed to get the recipe from the grateful "lunch ladies". Of course, the original recipe makes 120 rolls and had to be scaled down to a more reasonable amount.
He hasn't made them for years; but recently, at the request of my mom, the baker returned and he made a batch of these amazing rolls. I knew that I had to share these with you just in time for Thanksgiving.
School House Rolls
adapted from the "Lunch Ladies" recipe from Lincoln Parish Schools
3 1/2 cups Water
1 Tbsp. Honey
6 1/2 to 7 cups of All Purpose Flour
1 cup Dry Milk
1/2 cup Sugar
2 1/2 tsp. Salt
2 sticks Unsalted Butter*
3 packets of Yeast
Extra butter for the tops of the rolls
Heat water to 110 degrees (hot tap water). Stir honey and one stick of melted butter into the water until thoroughly combined. Add yeast and let it grow (about ten minutes). Add all of the other ingredients to the water and butter mixture and mix until a ball is formed. Transfer the ball into a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover and let rise until double in size.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once the dough has risen, pinch rolls into balls and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Let the rolls rise again, approximately 30 minutes. Brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter and place in the preheated oven. Bake until golden brown, approximately 20 minutes.
* The lunch ladies used shortening instead of butter in the rolls. We don't like to use shortening so David used butter in place of the shortening this time. The rolls are delicious either way; however, I think the rolls made with the shortening have a slight edge.
Thanks so much for stopping by,
