Frances Cook'S Bread & Rolls
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 package cake yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons shortening
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup water, lukewarm
- Scald milk and pour over sugar, shortening, & salt.
- Let it cool to lukewarm while softening yeast in a small bowl with the warm water.
- When soft, add the egg and beat together slightly.
- Pour the yeast/egg mixture into the milk mixture and stir them together.
- The flour may be sifted or poured into the liquid.
- With a large spoon, stir until flour/milk is well mixed.
- You should have a firm, but not stiff dough.
- Without removing it from the bowl, cover the dough with a plate or towel and set aside to rise until double in bulk (about 2 hrs depending on the temperature in the kitchen).
- Instead of letting the dough rise at this point you may put it in the refrigerator and use it later, or the next day.
- Watch to make sure it doesn't spill out of the bowl.
- If it starts to spill before you're ready to use it, punch it back down.
- Refrigerated dough is easier to handle but takes longer to rise.
- BREAD:
- If you want to make bread, dump the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface and with more flour as needed to keep it from sticking, knead it until springy and easy to handle.
- This dough does not require a lot of kneading; only enough to make it easy to handle.
- For 2 medium size loaves cut the dough in half and knead/shape each into loaves and put into greased baking pans.
- Allow about 2 hours for the dough to double again.
- Bake in a 375 degree oven until lightly browned on top (if uncertain whether or not bread is done, tip out of pan and see if bottom is browned too).
- ROLLS:
- To make rolls, work and knead dough until springy and easily handled.
- Roll out with a rolling pin and cut with a biscuit cutter and fold over and place on a greased cookie sheet (Parkerhouse rolls), or break dough into small pieces, make into little balls and place 3 in each section of a greased muffin pan (Cloverleaf rolls).
- SWEET ROLLS:
- For Christmas bread or sweet rolls, roll out dough as for Parkerhouse rolls, except trying to make an oblong instead of a round.
- Spread it with raisins and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
- Dot with butter and roll as for a jelly roll.
- Slice and place on a greased pan or make into a circle and make slashes through the dough at intervals.
- Let rise and bake as for loaves.
- Top with an icing made of confectioners' sugar, melted butter, milk, and vanilla or rum flavoring and drizzle over the bread or rolls while hot.
- Decorate with nuts or fruits.
- If you want to make a whole wheat bread, use half white and half whole wheat flour, and use brown sugar instead of white.
- The amounts above will yield 1 large or 2 medium loaves of bread, or 2 dozen large rolls.
milk, cake yeast, sugar, shortening, salt, egg, flour, water
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/frances-cooks-bread-rolls-7166 (may not work)