Donna Lou's Rolls

Sorry, story is at the bottom and I couldn't figure out how to move it to the top.

The view from the back of the van. Dina lives "down in the holler" as Missourians would say. The girls raised their hands like they were on the roller coaster.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk, scalded
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup shortening (Aunt Donna Lou uses lard)
¼ cup lukewarm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 egg, beaten
4 cups sifted flour

Step 1:
Pour 1 cup milk into sauce pan and heat to the scalding point (this is just below boiling)
Turn off heat.
Stir in . . .
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup shortening
Set the mixture aside to cool to lukewarm.

Aunt Donna Lou's Tips will be in blue: Put lard in milk while its warm. Skip sugar and salt in milk and do it in step three.

Step 2:
When the milk cools . . . put ¼ cup warm, not hot, water into large mixing bowl. Sprinkle a package of dry yeast into the warm water. Add 1 teaspoon sugar. Stir until dissolved.

The actual recipe came out of this 4-H book. Notice the copyright from 1914.

We loved this picture depicting the relationship of the man and wife. Man sitting in his chair while the wife serves him on a tray in her skirt and heels. Aren't you glad we are past that?!!

Milk and Lard Mixture: Can't you just see the fat?

Step 3:When milk has cooled to lukewarm . . . Add it to the dissolved yeast. Stir in one egg, beaten
Step 3:When milk has cooled to lukewarm . . . Add it to the dissolved yeast. The yeast is ready when it looks like it is divided in half, top half lighter than the bottom half. Stir in one egg, beaten. Add sugar and salt in this step.

Step 4:
Stir in half of the flour . . . 2 cups (already sifted and carefully measured). Beat or mix until smooth.

Step 5:
Add the remainder of the flour . . . 2 cups. You may have to use a little less or a little more flour, in order to make a dough that has a rough dull appearance and will be a bit sticky to handle. Continue to stir until an irregular ball forms and comes away from the bowl, leaving only a small amount sticking to the sides.

Step 6:
The dough looks rough when you turn it out for kneading. The dough is now ready to be turned out on a lightly floured breadboard or cloth(Aunt Donna Lou uses newspaper). Spread your pastry cloth or a coarse clean towel over your breadboard. Put 2 tablespoons flour in the middle of the cloth or board. With your fingertips, spread the flour around in a circle about as big as a round cake pan. Tip your bowl so the dough will fall where you have spread the flour. With your spoon or spatula scrape all the dough from the bowl. Fill the bowl with water. You’ll wash it later! Now you are ready to knead the dough.
Kneading
Turn the dough one quarter way around on the board. Fold, push, and turn the dough working in a rocking motion. At first, kneading may be a little awkward, but once you get used to the 1-2-3 steps kneading becomes easy and you will develop a rhythm. The rough and slightly sticky dough changes to a smooth ball. The ball of dough becomes more elastic and as you knead, you can feel the springiness develop. Generally, a dough is kneaded enough in about 8-10 minutes. Aunt Donna Lou only kneaded for about 2-3 minutes. The time may vary depending on the type of flour used, and the speed and energy with which you knead. The characteristics of the dough tell you when the dough is kneaded enough.
The Kneaded Dough
A well kneaded dough looks full and rounded, smooth, satiny, and tightly stretched. The surface of the dough appears slightly irregular although it has a satiny sheen.
In your hands, the dough feels springy and elastic. Press it firmly with your fingers and you will feel the springiness gently pushing back. When the dough has been kneaded enough, place it in the greased bowl and spread the top with soft shortening.

The Yeast At Work
Rising:
Always grease the surface of the dough or cover the bowl with a clean towel or cloth—or waxed paper. Set the bowl in a warm place, free from draft. For proper fermentation, yeast batters and doughs should be place to rise at a temperature of about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. In the summer, this means you have to be careful about too much heat, and in the winter, find a way to keep the batter or dough warm and cozy. Maintain steady warmth during this rising period.
Doubled in Bulk
When the dough looks double its original size, called “doubled in bulk,” the proper fermentation changes have taken place. The time will vary, but it will take about an hour. To test for double in bulk, press two fingers deeply into the dough. If the holes remain when the fingers are withdrawn, the dough has probably doubled in bulk. Doughs that are bubbly and that collapse are overfermented.
Punch Down
When the dough has doubled in bulk, it is ready for punching down. After you punch it down with your fist, pull the sides into the center and turn the dough out into a lightly floured board, pastry cloth, or table top. This punch down breaks up the big gas spaces into smaller ones, and it brings fresh air and feed to the yeast. The dough is now ready for shaping.

Here Aunt Donna Lou is pinching off the rolls. She sprayed her hands with Pam before doing it.

While we were waiting for this long process Dina made Beer Bread, which is something I will be more likely to make. It is so simple.

3 1/2 self-rising flour

1/2 sugar

1 12 ounce beer

Mix all in a bowl. Use real butter to grease the pan. Cook for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

To make cinnamon rolls you roll out some of the dough.

Melt a stick of butter and pour over the dough. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over the dough and roll it up.

After it is rolled up cut off pieces and put them in the pan.

Let them all rise again.

Cook for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees and this is the amazing result.

Mix together brown sugar and milk to pour on top of the cinnamon rolls

While we were cooking the children were playing. To our surprise they found a pile of mud/dirt to play in. We were not to happy about that, but they loved it!

Looking at pictures and enjoying the rolls.

Grace getting the cleaned and lecture at the same time.

Mission: Lose the Baby Weight!

There was a little set back and it's called Aunt Donna Lou's Rolls!

We have always loved my Aunt Donna Lou's homemade rolls. One year she mailed the recipe to Jenny for her to make, but they ended up like hockey pucks. This year they offered to give us a real tutorial. So we loaded up the 15 passenger van and set off for Dina's, Donna Lou's daughter. The men dropped us off and headed to Dale and Donna Lou's farm to hang out with Dale while the women made rolls. It was such a fun afternoon. We cooked, the children played, looked at Grandma Freeda's old pictures while the yeast rose, and then finally ate rolls and cinnamon rolls for dinner. They were sooooo good. Jenny and I kept looking at each other as they added lard, sticks of real butter, and cups and cups of sugar. We were supposed to be dieting together! You don't go on vacation to save money, and you don't make Aunt Donna Lou's rolls to lose weight. But we only get to eat Aunt Donna Lou's rolls once a year so we had to indulge! Above is the recipe. Jenny is much more of a cook then I am and she has already tried to make them. They were better than hockey pucks, but not quite as good as Donna Lou's. I guess practice makes perfect!