Dinner Rolls

Mine are on their first rise right now! I've made them several times and they are soooo good! The recipe is from "The Complete Book of Breads". If you Google "Lenora's Yeast Rolls" you'll find info about the recipe, but here it is:

1/2 cup potato, mashed or prepared "instant"
1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
1 egg, room temp
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk, room temp
1/3 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt
3 to 3-1/2 cups flour

In a small bowl sprinkle yeast over water, stir together with a fork and set aside.

In a large bowl, blend egg and sugar. Add potato, milk, butter and salt. Mix together, add yeast and 2 cups flour. Beat 1 minute or 100 strokes. (At this point, I let the mixture sit for 20 minutes.) Gradually stir in additional flour, 1/2 cup at a time, first with wooden spoon and by hand as the dough becomes firm. Work the flour into moist ball until it cleans the sides of the bowl and has lost much of its stickiness.

Turn soft dough onto a floured work surface and knead until it becomes smooth and velvety under the hands. Keep the hands and work surface dusted with flour.

Return the dough to the bowl, cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in warm spot until dough has risen to double its volume. (Approx. 1-1/4 hours.)

You can shape into many different types of rolls (bowknots, rosettes, crescents, pan rolls, fan-tans, etc...), I like these options best:

Cloverleaf: Butter insides of 12 muffin tins. Dust work surface with flour, divide dough into two pieces. With palms, roll each into a 16-inch rope. If rope draws back, allow it to relax for 3 minutes before proceeding. Cut each length into 18 pieces. Shape each into a small ball and place 3 in each muffin cup. Makes 12.

Bowknots or rosettes: Grease baking sheets. Dust work surface with flour, divide dough in half. Roll one piece into a 12-inch rope. Divide into 12 pieces. Roll each into a slender 8-inch rope. For a Bowknot, tie each into a knot. For a Rosette, bring one end up and through the center of the knot, bringing the other end over the side and under. Place on baking sheet 1 inch apart; press end to the sheet to keep from untying. Makes 24.

Second rise:Brush tops with melted butter, cover with wax paper and place in warm place until rolls have doubled in size. (Approx. 30 minutes.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place rolls in the oven and bake until golden brown, 12-16 minutes.

Remove from oven and place on rack to cool. Immediately brush with melted butter.

All my friends make refrigerator rolls. I don't have the recipe but there are tons of them online. They just make the dough, put it in their "Lot's a bowl" or their "That's a Bowl" from Tupperware with the lid on and the next morning the dough is has risen and is perfect.

Bridgeford Bread dough my dear! My secret ingredient in all my rave reviews! I use it for my cinnamon roll dough and oh my gosh... you would not believe the feedback... I am famous because of good old bridgeford dough and of course my famous cream cheese icing... but Bridgeford does have rolls as well....
You spray a pan and lay out the frozen rolls, let them rise for a few hours and then bake... I would make a batch before and just warm them up a bit to make sure they turn out... everyone's ovens are different but at the last 3 minutes of baking, if you gently brush with melted butter... you will have a hit that might just surpass your dear SIL's!!
And they totally taste like you have slaved all day with yeast and flour!!! ;)

Betty Crocker cookbooks are wonderful...also, go online & choose the recipe that fits YOU! I change up my recipes all the time & try new ones, add things into the bread/rolls like sausage, cheese, onions, etc.. You will do fine once you find YOUR perfect recipe!