Grandma's Rolls and Other Recipe Info

Here is the original recipe, my revisions throughout and after. This is also great for scones and cinnamon rolls.

One Hour Rolls
1 c. hot water
6 Tbsp. shortening
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. lukewarm water
1 egg, beaten
3 1/2 c. flour

Combine the hot water, salt, shortening, and sugar. Cool slightly (I start with very warm water but not hot so I don't have to cool). Soften yeast in lukewarm water, add yeast to shortening mixture. Add egg. Add 1/2 of the flour and beat well. Add enough of the remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Knead on floured board (counter, etc.). Roll out and shape into rolls, bread, scones, etc. Place on greased pan, brush with melted butter. Allow to rise until doubled in size. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes.

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The original recipe calls for 2 Tbsp. yeast, but when I made itthe other day I only used 2 tsp. of yeast and it turned out a lot better. Since I was making scones with it and used the extra for rolls, the dough had time to rise while I was cooking the scones and eating, so maybe the extra rise beyond what it says here had something to do with it too. I've learned that patience is a very good thing when dealing with bread.

The biggest help I had in my 'training' so far was reading about the 12 steps of bread in Peter Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice." He has 3 basic white bread recipes in that book and I was very happy with the first (haven't made it to the other two yet).

If you want to see someone that REALLY LOVES bread, check out this TED.com video of Peter Reinhart talking about it.

The recipe I used for wheat bread was from "The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book," highly recommended by the breadly talented Cindi. If you look a few posts down in her blog, you'll see she is also very cakely talented.