Basic Bread And Rolls Recipe

Scald milk and pour over sugar, shortening, & salt. Let it cool to
lukewarm while softening yeast in a small bowl with the warm water.
When soft, add the egg and beat together slightly. Pour the
yeast/egg mixture into the milk mixture and stir them together. The
flour may be sifted or poured into the liquid. With a large spoon,
stir until flour/milk is well mixed. You should have a firm, but not
stiff dough. Without removing it from the bowl, cover the dough with
a plate or towel and set aside to rise until double in bulk (about 2
hrs depending on the temperature in the kitchen). Instead of letting
the dough rise at this point you may put it in the refrigerator and
use it later, or the next day. Watch to make sure it doesn’t spill
out of the bowl. If it starts to spill before you’re ready to use
it, punch it back down. Refrigerated dough is easier to handle but
takes longer to rise. BREAD: If you want to make bread, dump the
dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface and with more flour as
needed to keep it from sticking, knead it until springy and easy to
handle. This dough does not require a lot of kneading; only enough to
make it easy to handle. For 2 medium size loaves cut the dough in
half and knead/shape each into loaves and put into greased baking
pans. Allow about 2 hours for the dough to double again. Bake in a
375 degree oven until lightly browned on top (if uncertain whether or
not bread is done, tip out of pan and see if bottom is browned too).
ROLLS: To make rolls, work and knead dough until springy and easily
handled. Roll out with a rolling pin and cut with a biscuit cutter
and fold over and place on a greased cookie sheet (Parkerhouse
rolls), or break dough into small pieces, make into little balls and
place 3 in each section of a greased muffin pan (Cloverleaf rolls).
SWEET ROLLS: For Christmas bread or sweet rolls, roll out dough as
for Parkerhouse rolls, except trying to make an oblong instead of a
round. Spread it with raisins and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
Dot with butter and roll as for a jelly roll. Slice and place on a
greased pan or make into a circle and make slashes through the dough
at intervals. Let rise and bake as for loaves. Top with an icing
made of confectioners’ sugar, melted butter, milk, and vanilla or rum
flavoring and drizzle over the bread or rolls while hot. Decorate
with nuts or fruits. If you want to make a whole wheat bread, use
half white and half whole wheat flour, and use brown sugar instead of
white. The amounts above will yield 1 large or 2 medium loaves of
bread, or 2 dozen large rolls.