Lion House Lite Dinner Rolls

November of 2006 we traveled to Texas for Thanksgiving with Lee's brother Paul and his wife Cindy (Lee's parents were there too along with Aaron.) While there Cindy made these FABULOUS rolls..see Clark's plate? I wish I would have helped her make them.  I got the recipe from her and failed a few times making them.  I finally got it down and now I make them quite often.  They are so good. 


Here is a peek to the rest of the Thanksgiving....family photos....




(Seriously how cute are the boys?!)


Lee's nephew Aaron is 6'8".  I know you wouldn't believe it by looking at us, but here are a pair of his shoes from back then.... And my feet aren't super small: 7 1/2.



Here is a run down of how to make these fabulous rolls. If you're not familiar with working with yeast, it's easy--well, I think so.  I get my water from the tap hot enough that I can still touch it but has a little sting to it.  I don't it so hot that I can't even put my fingers in it.  I add it to the yeast and wait till the yeast gets foamy. 


Then I add in the other ingredients...powdered milk, eggs, salt, sugar, margarine (yes, I use margarine in this recipe!) and part of the flour.


Mix it up.


I have a Bosch, so at this point I take out my wire whisks and put in my dough hook, and add the remaining flour till the dough pulls away from the edge of the bowl.  I tried to get a picture of it while the Bosch was running. You can kind of tell if you look at the left side of the picture that the dough isn't really on the sides of the bowl...more so in the middle.


Another shot at trying to show the dough pulling away.  You'll see it. Let it mix for 8 minutes.


Then I take out the dough hook.


Pop the lid back on and put it in a warm oven.  Warning: put your Bosch or bowl or whichever in your oven at your own risk.  This is how I like to do it. In my new oven it automatically starts heating up to 350. So I just turn my oven on and let it heat for 3 minutes.  Then I turn off my oven. I let it start heating up when I am mixing up my ingredients.  By the time I've mixed up the dough and let it knead for 8 minutes, the oven seems perfect.  My new oven takes FOREVER to heat up so 3 minutes works.  I like the oven to just feel warm.  Of course you wouldn't want to put a bowl or your Bosch on oven racks too hot that it would melt the container.


I let the dough rise till it reaches the top of the lid.  It varies on how long it takes to rise but about 45 minutes. If you let it rise too long dough will seep out the sides.  Not that I know or anything...




Take the lid off and scrap down the sides.  Then I like to throw on a coat of flour.


I grab a piece of dough about the size of an apricot and manipulate it into a ball.  I have to keep putting flour into my mixer so the dough won't stick to my hands.


This recipe makes 35 rolls.  Sometimes I have to make the balls smaller, sometimes bigger. Sometimes I only get about 31 rolls or so




While I am making the rolls I again heat up my oven till it's just warm.  I let the rolls rise until they look like the size of an actual baked roll.  Then I bake them for 12 minutes at 350.  While the oven is heating up to 350, you can gently set the rolls on the counter to wait for the oven.


Hmmm....YUM!  A great treat to go along with a bowl of hot soup.


Lion House Lite Dinner Rolls
(with great tips from my sister-in-law Cindy)

Lion House Lite Dinner Rolls

************

1 pkg. (1 scant tablespoon) active dry yeast

2 C. warm water (110-115º F)

1/3 c. sugar

2 teaspoons salt

¼ c. lite margarine (I use regular)

2/3 c. instant nonfat dry milk

5-6 c. flour

2 egg whites (I use 2 whole eggs)

1 tablespoon olive oil

• In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine yeast and water (I add ½ t. sugar to help the yeast rise quicker). Let stand 5 minutes.

• Add sugar, salt, margarine, dry milk, 2 c. flour, and egg whites. Beat together until very smooth.

• Add 2 more cups flour, one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Add about 1 more cup flour, ½ c. at a time (in your mixer if it will take it, or by hand), until it is well mixed in. (In my Bosch I test it by how soon the dough pulls away from the bowl. The dough should be a little sticky but not stick to the sides.)

• Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead until it is smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes. (that’s 7-8 minutes in the Bosch). Gather dough into a ball. Scrape bowl clean and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Return dough to bowl. (you do not need to remove it from the bowl if using a Bosch mixer)

• Let dough rise in a warm (not too hot) place away from drafts until about triple in bulk. (In a cool oven with a pan of hot water on a rack under it is a good place).

• Use the last of the flour as needed on the board for rolling and shaping the dough (Don’t use it all unless you need it.)

• Turn dough out onto floured board and let rest for 10 minutes so it will be easier to manage as you roll it. Roll it or cut into desired shapes (I just make a ball the size of an apricot).

• Place on baking sheets sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. (I have 7 rows of 5 –or 35 rolls per sheet)

• Brush surface of rolls with olive oil (I don’t do this step). Let rise in warm place until double in size (about 1 ½ hours). Bake at 400 degrees F. for 15-20 minutes, or until browned to your satisfaction.

I bake them at 350º for 13 minutes in Texas.  I think I burned them the first time I used their

recipe.

• Makes about 3 dozen rolls. (I use a large heavy duty cookie sheet.)

From Cindy Robertson: This is my favorite roll recipe. If you want to use it for cinnamon rolls just roll the dough into a large rectangle shape. Spread an even coating of melted butter on top and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. You can add raisins too. Roll up along the long side into a large tube. Cut the rolls using a heavy piece of thread (I use upholstery thread), and place slightly apart on cookie sheet so they have some room to rise. Bake at 350º for 14 minutes. Frost with simple butter cream frosting while still warm. Yummy.