The smell of bread baking

I haven't felt like cooking lately, and my husband has kindly been keeping me fed for the last several months. We had some visitors on Saturday and he put together a lunch menu, for which I was asked to make homemade rolls. He says he's a yeast-killer.

I could survive on bread alone. Growing up, my mom would make a double-batch of these rolls and I would usually try to eat at least a half-dozen while they were still hot from the oven.  

EASY ROLLS

2 cups lukewarm water (110-115 degrees)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 pkg. yeast

1 egg

6 1/2 - 7 cups flour

Mix together the water, sugar, melted butter, and salt. Add 2 packages of yeast, stir until it's dissolved, and then let it sit a minute. Add 1 egg.  With an electric hand-mixer, beat in 3 cups flour until smooth, then work in 3 1/2-4 cups more flour with your hands. Knead it until smooth - not sticky, but not too dry.

Put in large covered bowl and let rise until double in size (about 2 hours).  Punch the dough down and shape into buns.  I usually get 16 from this recipe. Place them in a jelly-roll pan (the cookie sheets with sides) so that when they double in size they will be touching. This way they help each other up while rising. If you put them too far apart, they will still be fine, but won't be as tall. Cover these (I use a clean tea towel) and let rise another hour.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. You want them to be golden brown on the tops and bottoms. I usually use two different pans so that I can cook one fully, and then I cook the other one so that they're almost fully cooked but not browned (8-10 minutes). That way I can have fresh rolls the next day by just popping them back in the oven to heat them through and brown. 

For the sandwiches, we just put some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a crockpot with a couple onion chunks and cloves of garlic. Once cooked, remove the onion and garlic, shred the chicken, and add barbeque sauce. I put a little cheddar cheese on mine.  :)