Yeast Rolls

In years past, I've been a big fan of Sister Schubert's frozen yeast rolls. No holiday meal was complete without them, and we also used them as buns when we made our own mini-burgers at home. Anyone else out there love these rolls?

I already knew I couldn't serve these rolls any more simply because of the white flour. What I didn't realize, though, until I looked them up on foodfacts.com, was that they also contain 3 kinds of oils we're trying to avoid, including hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils. (Translation? Trans fats.) Of course, on top of the oils are the ingredients of white flour and white sugar. Too bad!

However, a friend of mine shared the following recipe for homemade yeast rolls, which, in my opinion are every bit as delicious as Sister Schubert's, and they don't contain any of those harmful ingredients! They freeze really well, too, so when you make this giant batch, you can put some in the freezer (freeze them separately on a cookie sheet first, then put them in a freezer baggie together) and pull them out to use as needed.

I'll be honest--I don't serve yeast rolls alongside Sunday dinner. I use them for burger buns, lunch sandwiches, and things like that. When Thanksgiving rolls around, however, I do believe they'll be showing up this year instead of Sister Schubert!

Yeast Rolls

adapted from The Bread Beckers, Inc. Bread & Rolls recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups hot water
1 cup cold milk
4 and 1/2 tsp. quick rise yeast
3 eggs
1/3 cup olive or grapeseed oil
1/3 cup honey
6 to 7 and 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur)
1 Tbsp. sea salt

Directions:
Mix together the water and milk. The resulting lukewarm temperature will activate the yeast, but not be so hot that it kills it. Add the yeast, stir briefly with a whisk, and allow to set for a few minutes. Add the eggs, oil, and honey, and mix well. Add the flour, one cup at a time, and mix after adding each cup. I try to stick to about 6 cups at this point, so I can add more later, but if your dough is extremely sticky or runny, feel free to add a little extra.

When the dough is mixed well, set it in a large bowl sprayed with olive oil or dusted with flour, and cover with a towel. Let the dough rise until it is about double. Turn it out onto a floured surface, adding a little flour at a time to avoid excessive stickiness as you knead the dough (dough will be somewhat sticky.)

To make 30 full sized yeast rolls (about the size of a burger bun), divide the dough into three parts. Cut each third in half, then divide each half into 5 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball (do not smash down or your rolls will be very flat), or roll into a rope and tie the rope into a knot. Place the rolls on greased cookie sheets and allow to rise until about double (about an hour or so). Bake at 350 for about 15-20 min.

Note: If you'd rather make mini rolls, divide each roll in half before placing on the baking sheets. Reduce baking time to 10-15 min. or until slightly browned.

For an extra buttery taste, spread melted butter on the tops of the rolls before serving.