Good lard, this recipe looks good
Photo courtesy cheeseslave/Flickr.
Is there anything more comforting than the smell of baking bread? Anything more delicious than hot yeast rolls spread with melted butter? Well, probably. But these are still a few of my favorite things.
Unfortunately, I’m a dunce when it comes to baking bread. That is the one big culinary category that I have yet to tackle in my life. But two recent occurrences have given me the idea that it’s time to try. First, my lovely neighbor Carol brought me some yeast because she got an absurdly good deal on a bunch of it. Second, someone emailed me the recipe for schoolhouse yeast rolls.
This recipe was originally used at the old Clifton Forge Middle School. That old school was still in use when I attended middle school, and it was a high school when my grandfather attended it. It’s long been closed as a school, but this recipe was apparently still floating around.
I don’t remember the rolls there, specifically, but my general impression of schoolhouse rolls is that they are delicious. My fondest memory of yeast rolls is the ones my grandma used to make for Thanksgiving and Christmas. She called them Alabama biscuits, but since the two small balls of dough in each muffin tin rose and puffed together in a certain way, we children called them “butt rolls.”
Even that nickname could not diminish our craving for and fondness of Grandma’s rolls.
I’m going to share the schoolhouse roll recipe. It does not say how many rolls it makes, but with eight cups of flour involved I’m guessing it’s a lot. Can any bakers eyeball this recipe and tell me about how many it might make?
I would also welcome any tips on making yeast rolls so I’m armed with some information before I dive in.
Clifton Forge Middle School Rolls
2 cups boiling water
4 Tbsp. lard
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 yeast cakes
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
8 cups flour
Pour 2 cups of boiling water over lard, sugar, and salt. Let cool to lukewarm. Break in eggs. Dissolve the yeast in warm water and add sugar. Combine the two above mixtures with the flour to make a soft dough. Let rise and work down 2 or 3 times. Then make into rolls or turnovers.
March 8, 2013 - 12:26 PM
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In a cabinet at my mom’s house is an old cookbook that Glenvar high School put out one year. It has a recipe for the cafeteria yeast rolls. My daughter loved them. Like you, my favorite rolls were the ones my grandma made. So light and delicious.
I attended Clifton Forge schools from first grade (they decided I didn’t need kindergarten, since I could already read and had a mustache) until the Consolidation after my sophomore year. These rolls were served at every level, and they were one of my fondest memories of school days.
I’d let the dough rise twice in the bowl, then portion it out into muffin pans and let that rise in a proof box (a cardboard box inserted into a garbage bag does nicely, just make sure the box is high enough that the bag doesn’t touch the dough) before baking.
Lindsey: Should make 45-60 rolls, depending how they are scaled out; should make around 50/1 ounce rolls. By this recipe, these rolls are trans-fat free which seems to be a big concern these days. Is nice to see a recipe which is “old school” and back to basics. My best tip is: make sure the water is not to hot before you add the yeast, but not to cold either. The water should be the about the temperature that you would give a bottle to a baby. Let the eggs come to room temperature before mixing and that will help the process along.
Thank you for the great info, Chef Jeff! Do you think they would come out OK if I halved the recipe? I definitely do not need 45 yeast rolls sitting around. Haha!
Lindsey, if you are kneading by hand push the dough with the heel of your hand away from you using the force from your shoulder (it helps if the table is lower than your kitchen counter), alternating arms in a rhythmic manner. Push, fold, push again, fold, etc. If you just squeeze the dough with your forearms you won’t get a good stretch and the dough won’t be elastic and the resultant bread won’t be chewy. Knead once before letting it rise the first time and that’s it. Between rises, gently press out the air, fold it over, and let it rise again. Let it rest 10 min or so after pressing it down the last time and before forming the loaf or rolls.
Lindsey — volume wise, could you make the whole recipe and just freeze half the rolls? I tend not to tinker with amounts in baking just because I’m afraid something will get wonky. So, I tend to just make the whole batch and freeze part of what I make.
I have a friend who bakes for farmer’s markets, fund-raising events and for gifts and she makes A LOT of yeast breads and rolls and says freezing them is just fine as long as you use them up within two weeks. So if you make a full recipe of rolls, Lindsey, just freeze the leftovers for Sunday dinner!
Thanks for the advice, Carol!
Freezing is a good idea. I still wouldn’t be able to go through all those rolls in a couple of weeks but that would be great for a larger family.
You should be able to half the recipe with no issues.
I’m going to half the recipe myself for the first go. I’m a bit reticent to use live yeast cakes, though. I’ve not had a good experience with them. But I’ll try it and report back.
Lindsey – 45 warm yeast rolls and a tub of Country Crock on a Sunday afternoon? I’m having trouble thinking of a better way to go out of this world. Could you imagine the obit?
‘We found her lying on the couch with butter smeared across her face and a still warm yeast roll in her hand, while QVC played on the television. Momma said that was the way she always thought Sister would go…’
(just teasing there, hope it was taken as intended)
Seriously, that picture you posted above should be Smellovision.
where can i find live yeast cakes/
Just so it does not go unmentioned – that pun in the headline is EPIC!!! Especially because it hits on multiple levels.
I am awake early (5 am) because last night I read past posts; in particular, this one and the olive bread posts kept me awake thinking (lusting?) about the olive bread. I have got to try it! And I was reminded of my dad’s yeast rolls he used to make. Sooo good! Ok, now I need to try to sleep so I can watch Ree later.
Kathy, I too am craving that olive bread. I think I’m going to make it for a baby shower this spring. Cannot wait.
This is a little off-topic, but I’m hoping you or a reader will know of a restaurant in the Roanoke area that has poutine. I am craving it and I can’t (read as don’t) cook…
Are you kidding me? Cafeteria rolls and the cafeteria’s daily made beef vegetable soup with just a few precious bits of meat and elbow macaroni…I think I just regressed fifty years. I can honestly smell them now. Thanks for that bit of memory. Momma used to have a friend that would make the same rolls every Saturday night, save some dough and then fry bits of it for Sunday breakfast. They really were probably technically just doughnuts, they just didn’t seem like doughnuts, still think of them as Louise’s fried rolls. Louise also chastised my mother for being too lazy to make them for her children, my fault for complaining about not getting them at home. To her credit, momma told the story on herself, unabashedly admitting she was definitely too busy to make homemade rolls as well as being too lazy to do it even if she had time. Louise lived to be 99 years old and made cafeteria rolls until near the end. Momma lived to be 88 years old and never made a homemade roll in her life. I miss them both. Thanks for the memories. Cafeteria ladies rock!!
Isn’t poutine a Canadian dish? I wouldn’t know of any place around here that serves it.
HI, Lindsey….below is a Recipe that has never failed me and, like you, I tend to shy away from the whole baking with yeast thing but this recipe has always turned out great for me:
Same Day Sourdough Bread or Rolls:
Starter:
1 heaping Tbsp. Yeast
3/4 C. Sugar
3 Tbsp. Instant Mashed Potato Flakes
1 C. very Hot Water
Mix all ingredients together and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Set aside for at least 3 Hours.
Bread:
1 Tsp. Salt
1/2 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Oil (Recipe says Corn Oil but I use Vegetable Oil)
6 C. Bread Flour
1 1/2 C. very Hot Water
Add the above ingredients to the starter and mix well either with a mixer or by hand. Set aside and let rise until double in bulk. Punch down and pan out into 3 loaves of bread or several dozen rolls. Let rise again until double and bake a 350 degrees for about 15 or 20 minutes.
This is a version, I guess, of the old keep the Starter in the Fridge and feed it that was all the rage back in the 90′s but it does make very tasty bread.
Susan, those look great! Thank you.
I’m not completely posive on this, but it seems like I had read that one of the food trucks has poutine…maybe Brunos? It just caught my attention because I hadn’t heard anything about poutine since a trip to Montreal over 10 years ago.
I’ve never seen poutine offered around here, Lisa, but I’ll keep my eyes peeled.
Has anyone ever tried corning their own beef?
You’re right, Shelly.
http://eatingappalachia.com/2012/03/07/brunos-gastrotruck-roanoke/
I have, Kristen. I got a great recipe for it years ago from a cooking magazine.
This recipe is similar to the one I have, but it calls for curing it for 3 days, not 5 and you use Morton’s Quick Tender salt.
http://ruhlman.com/2010/03/corned-beef-how-to-cure-your-own/
I use the pickling spice mix from the grocery store as that’s what the recipe I use calls for. Easier than making your own.
Debbie, I spent a while yesterday looking through recipes that called from anywhere from 4-10 days brining the meat. Since I started last night, I guess I’ll be doing it for 7 days. We had a ton of pickling spice stuff around from making pickles, so I boiled them up with salt and sugar and hope for the best.
I did leave out the nitrate component because A) I couldn’t find it anywhere, and B) it’s main purpose seems to be to keep the meat pink. I’m curious to see if it has an impact on the flavor that I’m used to from store corned beef.
Kristen, this is the recipe I use, it’s from Cuisine magazine. The cooking is a little labor intensive, but the finished product is so worth it.The rub you use gives it a spicy kick. You could cook it with out the rub if you want. There are 2 curing methods. I always do the brine curing, never have tried the dry curing, but it’s supposed to make the brisket taste like pastrami. Both methods call for a 4 lb flat cut brisket, with the fat trimmed off.
Dry Curing
1/4 cup Morton Tender Quick salt
2 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Rub on one 4 lb brisket. To be sure the cure soaks into the meat, poke holes in it with a meat fork. Go all the way through. Repeat on the other side. Thoroughly rub the dry cure over both sides of the brisket, really massage it in. Put it in a large, sealable plastic bag and place on a sheet pan. Weight the meat down with a heavy object. The pic in the magazine shows a large cast iron skillet. Refrigerate 48 to 72 hrs, flipping the brisket and reweighting after 24 hrs. The cooking method is the same for both, so I’ll post it after the brine curing instructions.
Brine curing
4 cups water
1 cup Morton Tender Quick
2 Tbsp pickilng spices
5 cloves garlic crushed
Trim the brisket and poke holes as in the dry curing method. In a large bowl, combine the water and Tender Quick and stir to dissolve the salt completely. Pour into a large non-metallic container, (I used a large rectangular Rubbermade container) big enough to hold brisket completely.
Add pickling spices and crushed garlic. Place brisket in brine. Add one or two cups more water if brisket isn’t covered. Put small saucers on top to keep brisket submerged. Cover container with tight fitting lid and refrigerate 24 hrs. Flip brisket, replace saucers and continue brining 24-48 more hours.
Rub for brisket
2 Tbsp brown sugar packed
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground cayenne
Cooking- Preheat oven to 350. Before braising, rinse brisket under cold water to wash off curing salts. Pat dry with paper towels. Place brisket in large roasting pan. Combine all rub ingredients and massage over both sides of brisket, really working it into the meat. Pour 2 cups cold water into the pan, (don’t pour it over the beef or the rub will wash off). Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove meat from pan and discard the liquid. Return meat to pan and add 2 cups fresh water, and cover. Braise another hour. After second hour, drain and replace water as before. Cover and braise for one more hour. After that hour is up, you can brush a glaze onto it if you want. The glaze is 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed. 2 Tbsp soy sauce. 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard. 1/2 tsp each, cayenne pepper, dry mustard and ground ginger. After the 3rd hour of cooking, remove the beef from the oven, raise heat to 450. Pour off liquid, brush on glaze. Return to oven, uncovered and cook for 15 minutes. After removing from oven, let rest 10 minutes before slicing.
Kristen, I haven’t made the corned beef for a few years, but I always got the Morton Tender Quick at Kroger, where the regular salt is. From the magazine-It’s similar to what meat processors use, a mixture of salt, sugar, and a small amount of sodium nitrates. Nitrates aren’t all bad, they help retain the meats pink color, add flavor, and inhibit bacterial growth.
Ive not heard of Tender Quick, Debbie,but I’ll check it out next time at Kroger.