Countdown to Thanksgiving-Lion House Rolls

I have been making these rolls for 15 years I think. We were living in Salt Lake City, and I was invited to attend a Luncheon at The Lion House. The Lion House was originally a home that Brigham Young built for his wives (yes, I said wives) and their children. It is now a restaurant, that has banquet rooms, alot of people in Salt Lake City have receptions there. At the luncheon, they served these rolls, from the pans. They were hot, and they were huge in size. They were the best rolls I had ever had. So my friend that I attended the luncheon with went through her Lion House Cookbooks, and we found the recipe. I made my first batch, and I haven't used another roll recipe since. If I come across other roll recipes, I make it for dinner (those nights when I have time) and I'm ususally disappointed, because they aren't The Lion House ones. This recipe makes 3 dozen.

2 cups Warm Water (110-115 degrees)
2/3 cup Non fat dry milk
2 tablespoons Dry Yeast
1/4 cup Sugar
2 teaspoons Salt
1/3 cup butter, shortening, or margarine (I always use butter or margarine)
1 egg
5-6 cups all purpose flour or bread flour (I use bread flour)

In a large mixing bowl, combine water and yeast until yeast dissolves. Add non fat dry milk, sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups of flour. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes at medium speed, the dough will be smooth. Mix by hand another 1-2 cups of flour; dough will be getting stiff and remaning flour may need to be mixed 1/2 cup at a time after the first 3-4 cups of flour. Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff. It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour. The dough will be smooth and elastic. I knead it for 5 minutes, adding a little bit of flour if needed.

Place dough in a well greased bowl (I use shortening), cover with plastic wrap, and then a warm wet towel. Place the bowl someplace warm until double in size (about an hour). Push down dough and knead it for 1 minute with a little bit of flour. Divide dough in 3 sections. Roll out dough into a circle. With a pizza cutter (or a sharp knife) cut out 12 triangles. Starting with the wide end of the triangle, roll up dough into a crescent, tucking the small end underneath the roll (so it won't unravel when it rises). Repeat process and place onto a greased cookie sheet and allow to rise and double in size (about 30 minutes or so).

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until light or golden brown. Brush with melted butter right after they come out of the oven. Makes 3 dozen or 1-1/2 dozen if you want them to be bigger.


*Hope's Notes:

Yeast: I use SAF Perfect Rise Yeast, you can buy it at Williams-Sonoma. It's not that expensive. It comes in a little box. It's the best I've ever used, and haven't looked back.

Butter vs. Shortening: I made this recipe with butter and with shortening. It was way better with butter or margarine than it was with shortening.