It was my job this Thanksgiving to make rolls. Luckily I had a private tutoring lesson from my friend’s mother about a month ago, on how to make great bread J I had never done bread by myself, ever………. until now! I was scared, but I had taken detailed notes during my lesson, so I felt like I could do it!

Here is the recipe I used

2 Cups milk

2 cups water

1 stick margarine

4 T sugar

2 T salt

3 T yeast

10-11 cups flour

The directions say to scald the milk, which was necessary back when people used raw milk, but now if you just use store milk, just get the milk really hot, but not boiling. Melt the butter in the milk, and add the sugar. Pour this mixture into your mixer (I have a Bosch that I got for a wedding gift, and I LOVE IT! Sorry if you have a bread machine, I don’t know how to tell you how to make the bread L)

Add 2 cups cold water to the milk, the point is to get the milk down to a luke warm temperature, like 15 minute old bath water J Then add the yeast, be sure to let the yeat activate for like 10 minutes, I didn’t, and my bread wasn’t as light and fluffy as it was when I made it with my friend’s mom.

Here is the yeast, milk, water, and sugar...

 So now comes the previously difficult part for me, the 10-11 cups of flour, what is it 10 or 11?!?!?!?! I would always ask people how they knew and I got the same answer, “until it looks right” well I don’t know what RIGHT looks like!!! My friend’s mom told me that you just add flour until the dough cleans your bowl! I was unsure about this method of seeing if you have enough flour or not, but IT WORKS!!!!

The next few pictures are of me adding more and more flour, notice how the sides of the bowl get cleaner and cleaner :)

 After the bowl is clean, grease a big bowl, then put the dough in it, make sure the top of the dough ball gets some oil on it, and then cover the vowl with a light cloth, or pillow case :) and let raise untill doubled in size, like 45 minutes or so.

 O ya, having the dough in a warm place, like in fron of a space heater, will help it rise...

 Like this! 

 Then punch the dough down (my favorite part) and get the air bubbles out of it. I made some clover rolls, by breaking off little dough balls and putting them into a cup cake pan, and when all the cup cake molds were used, I braided the rest.

 Cover and let raise for another 35-45 minutes.....

 Then cook for half hour at 350, and when they are done baking put butter over the top, that is what makes it taste really really good!!

 I put the rolls on their sides, because my mother in law told me to do that with bread loaves, so they dont flatten down in the center, so I did it with my rolls, I dont know if it makes a difference with rolls, but it is what I did.

And now I have proof that I can make bread/ rolls ALL BY MYSELF!!! :) It also means that I don't have an excuse to NOT make bread any more :)