Hester Dodd's Rolls

Straight from a Texas estate sale comes this wonderful c. 1935 recipe for dinner rolls.  It's one of dozens of promising recipes in a seven-inch thick binder I recently purchased on eBay.

These rolls are so easy to prepare that it makes one wonder why homemade yeast rolls are a rarity these days.  At one time in this country, hot-from-the-oven rolls appeared almost every night on the dinner table. The actual work time is minimal -- maybe ten minutes. It's the two risings that are the time suck here.

Prepare the dough and if you (like me) realize that the event you're bringing them to is happening a day later than you thought, simply put the risen dough in the refrigerator overnight.

The next morning, set it on the counter and after it reaches room temperature, form the rolls and let them rise.

Put the pans in the oven and bake for about ten minutes. Et voila, homemade hot rolls.

Original recipe below, and below that is the method I used.

I used one packet of dry yeast (instead of a yeast cake) and melted butter (instead of shortening).
After the dough rises, punch down and refrigerate. In the morning, let the dough warm to room temperature (or thereabouts), punch it down and form the rolls.  Be sure to grease the pan.  Let them rise about an hour or so and bake.  (Alternately, if you want to make the rolls that day, form them and give them a second rise and bake.)  Yeast doughs are very forgiving.  There is even a genre of refrigerator rolls, where the dough is prepared and kept in the refrigerator until rolls are called for -- one just pinches off the amount needed and prepared. Here's a link to refrigerator rolls that I made a few years ago.