Conestoga Yeast Rolls Recipes

SOFT DINNER ROLLS RECIPE

Steps:

• Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 Tablespoon of sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/rubber spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula is a better choice.*
• Add the remaining sugar, egg, butter, salt, and 1 cup flour. With a dough hook or paddle attachment, mix/beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the remaining flour. Beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If the dough seems too wet to a point where kneading (next step) would be impossible, beat in more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until you have a workable dough, similar to the photos and video above. Dough should be soft and a little sticky, but still manageable to knead with lightly floured hands.
• Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 3 full minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 3 full minutes. (See video tutorial above if you need a visual of kneading dough by hand.)
• Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
• Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan or two 9-inch square or round baking pans. You can also bake the rolls in a cast iron skillet or on a lined baking sheet.*
• When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Divide the dough into 14-16 equal pieces. (Just eyeball it- doesn't need to be perfect!) Shape each piece into a smooth ball. I do this entirely in my hands and you can watch in the video tutorial above. Arrange in prepared baking pan.
• Cover shaped rolls with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until puffy, about 1 hour.
• Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). (It's best to bake the rolls towards the bottom of the oven so the tops don't burn.)
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven, brush with optional honey butter topping, and allow rolls to cool for a few minutes before serving.
• Cover leftover rolls tightly and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

GRANDMA'S YEAST ROLLS

Steps:

• Dissolve 1 tablespoon of sugar into the water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water; let stand 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam. Meanwhile, whisk the flour, the remaining sugar, and salt together in a bowl. Once the yeast has foamed, stir the melted lard into the yeast, then stir the yeast mixture into the flour until a sticky dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. You may need to add additional flour to keep the dough from sticking. Once elastic, cover the dough with the mixing bowl, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with lard.
• Cut the dough into three equal sections, then cut each section into 8 pieces. Form into balls and place into the prepared baking dish in 6 rows of 4. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until the tops of the rolls are golden brown and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped, about 1 hour. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before eating.

GRANDMA'S YEAST ROLLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the sugar, applesauce, egg whites, salt and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes (dough will be slightly sticky). Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 24 pieces. Shape each portion into an 8-in. rope; tie into a knot. Place on 2 baking sheets coated with cooking spray., Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.Bake at 375° until golden brown, 12-16 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

CONESTOGA YEAST ROLLS

Steps:

• Mix in large bowl by hand. Cover and let rise all day in the refrigerator.
• Grease 24 muffin cups. Fill with scoops of dough.
• Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes.

HOMEMADE YEAST ROLLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Melt 1 stick of the butter in a small saucepan, then bring to a boil and cook until there are light brown specks in the butter, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour the browned butter into a small bowl and whisk in the sugar until dissolved. Whisk in the milk; the mixture should be lukewarm, around 110 degrees F. Next, whisk in the active dry yeast. Set aside until foamy, 5 minutes.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Make a well in the center, add the eggs and whisk the eggs together with a fork. Pour the browned butter mixture into the well. Using a fork, gradually incorporate the flour into the liquids. Continue stirring just until a shaggy dough comes together. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead with floured hands until the dough becomes very smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil. Add the dough, turning it once to coat. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Punch down the dough. Melt the remaining 1/2 stick of butter and use half of that to grease the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Divide the dough into thirds and divide each third into 10 balls. To create smooth tops: roll each ball between your palms, and then stretch the dough across the top of the ball, pinching the excess at the bottom.
• Place the dough balls, seam-side down, in the prepared baking dish -- 5 to the short side, 6 to long side. Cover and let rise until slightly puffy, 30 minutes. Brush the tops with the remaining butter and sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt.
• Bake until the tops are golden brown and the rolls sound hollow when lightly tapped, 15 to 17 minutes. Serve warm.

GRANDMA'S OLD-FASHIONED YEAST ROLLS

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Stir in sugar and salt until you see foam rising. Add 3 cups flour and 3/4 cup shortening; mix with the dough hook until the mixture is the consistency of a thick pancake batter.
• Fill a pot with hot (not boiling) water.
• Remove the mixer bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and a towel. Place the bowl over the pot of hot water, making sure the bottom does not touch the water. Let rise until doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Place the bowl back on your stand mixer and gradually mix in remaining 4 cups flour until dough is smooth and elastic; you may need to add up to 1 additional cup.
• Heavily grease two 9x13-inch pans with shortening.
• Divide dough into 24 balls. Place 12 balls into each of the prepared pans; cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rise in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 hour; balls will start out at about 1 1/2 inches in diameter but will rise and touch the sides of the pans.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bake rolls in the preheated oven until golden brown on top, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush melted butter over top.

QUICK YEAST ROLLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix the shortening, sugar, and hot water. Allow to cool until lukewarm, and mix in the yeast until dissolved. Mix in the egg, salt, and flour. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size.
• Grease 8 muffin cups. Divide the dough into the prepared muffin cups, and allow to rise again until doubled in size.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

EASY YEAST ROLLS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine sugar, egg, oil, salt, yeast mixture and 4 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough., Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into four portions. Divide and shape each portion into 12 balls. Roll each ball into an 8-in. rope; tie into a loose knot. Tuck ends under. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°., Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.