Skip to main content

Granny Ada's Rolls

Image
By

 Granny Ada's Rolls


Granny Ada worked a tobacco farm with her husband in East Texas in the 1900s. She fed her husband and the farm hands three times a day, and filled tables with food when family visited. She made these rolls at least once a day. When asked by her granddaughter to provide a recipe, she wrote what's on these index cards. 

I tried to recreate them for a family Easter brunch, with mixed success. The dough wasn't as tender as I'd have liked. Perhaps I should have used more butter! I did notice after baking that I only used half of what was called for. Next time I'm also going to make a single batch, not the gigantic 1.4kg of flour I made for the big brunch (it was more than needed - I froze 1/4 of the dough and we brough home extra rolls). 


Ada's Rolls 


2 cups lukewarm water

1/2 c sugar

1.5 tsp salt

1/2 cup shortening

2 packages yeast

5-6 c flour (rise 1.5 hours each time)

Add enough flour to make medium batter. Beat well with mixer, after adding yeast to a little flour before adding to liquids. After beating, continue adding flour until can be handled. Let rise until double in size, then make into rolls. Let rise and bake. 




Hot Rolls

Mix l tsp sugar with 1/2 c water. Add 2 packages yeast and let stand for 10 mins. Warm 1 cup milk. Add l/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, and 4 Tbsp butter. Mix well, then add yeast, then 3-4 cups flour (enough to make a thin batter). Beat well with a mixer. Then add enough flour to make a really stiff dough. Knead well. Cover and let stand until double in size. Then knead down and roll out into rolls. Place in greased pan. Rise again. Bake at 350



MY ATTEMPT ON 3/29 (for Easter Sunday lunch)

I've updated these: using quick, bread-machine yeast which doesn't have to be dissolved in water ahead of time, using a microwave, using bread flour which I believe wasn't widely available in the mid-1900s and all-purpose.  I also baked mine at 400. I wasn't getting enough action at 350 - it looked 1ike they were just drying out. I used sour milk cause I had a bunch lying around. So there are lots of ways I could try to make these more traditional. 

Put 1.5 c sour milk and 4 tbsp salted butter (original recipe calls for 8 Tbsp) in Pyrex container.

Microwave for 2 mins til 120-130F (both were cold from fridge).

Pour liquids into bowl for stand mixer. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 cup sugar.

Use whisk attachment and mix for a bit.

Add 4 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast and keep mixing. 

Add 3 cup bread flour and mix on high for a bit.

Switch to dough hook

Add 2.5 cup all purpose flour, gradually

Stir on 2 until firm

Knead on counter a bit.

Oil, cover, and let rise for about an hour, til double in size. Punch down, form into balls, and place close together on a oiled, high-sided pan. Let rise again, until puffy. Bake at 400 for 20-25 mins. 


2nd attempt

(125g flour = 1 cup - this is a 4x recipe for a crowd)

Mix 1000ml milk and water and 1 stick salted butter (original called for twice this)

Microwave for 3-4 minsunti 120-130F

Pour into stand-up mixer bowl. Add 9 Tbsp yeast and 1 cup sugar.

Mix with whisk attachment.

Add 1400g flour and 1 tsp salt gradually, switching to dough hook when it gets stiff

Rise in fridge overnight.

In morning, warm up dough on counter.


Notes:

-They were nice but not every batch rose spectacularly and they weren't super tender. 

-Need more salt (even with salted butter). 

-Don't rise overnight to see if they're fluffier.

-Try AP flour, or mix of bread and AP. 

-More butter (famous last words)







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Katie Morag's porridgies

By
This is a recipe from the Katie Morag books - I recently read all of them to my 3-year-old. This is a great recipe to make with kids as it's easy and not too messy, and no eggs so they can taste it all. These are really yummy and more-ish - they are essentially flapjacks or chewy oatmeal squares. In the back of my mind I want to try to make a slightly healthier version... when I get the time. 100g / 4oz butter 75g / 3oz soft brown sugar 30ml / 2 tablespoons golden syrup (or light corn syrup) 200g / 8oz rolled oats (porridge oats) pinch of salt Melt butter in a large pan over a low heat. Add sugar and syrup and salt. Mix well. Stir in rolled oats. Mix very well. Spread mixture evenly in tray with palette knife. Bake at 160C fan for 25-35 minutes, until golden brown. Take out of oven. Let cool. Cut into squares and store in airtight container.
Post a Comment
Read more

Quick ass quiche

By
This is not the richest, most custard-y quiche you will ever eat. For that, you need cream (not milk), more egg yolk and less egg white, and probably more cheese. But we like this - still creamy and smooth but not so heavy you feel like you've eaten a ton o' bricks. Also we hate to waste egg whites and never have cream in the house (we use whole milk). This features a "cheater's crust", as SWC calls it. It's just bread. You can of course make a real pie crust and that would be yummy too. I'm sure that will happen in our home... one of these days... (Plus: here's the veggie version .) 1 leek, cut into thin rounds 4 rashers back bacon 5 eggs 1 1/2 cups milk 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp basil Ground black pepper 4 ounces goats cheese About 3 cups dryish bread, chopped up in quarter-inch cubes (this is for a 9-inch pie plate. If you're using another size dish, make sure the bread covers the bottom and provides a nice thick layer.) Preheat oven to 160C (fan ove...
2 comments
Read more

Pasta carbonara plus veg

By
My husband (aka SWC, aka my co-cooker and co-blogger) adores noodles. When asked once which single cuisine he could eat for the rest of his life, he said, "Chinese or Italian." I said: "You just like noodles!" He agreed. This (and probably most of the pasta I'll write about) is his creation. It's based on Marcella Hazan's pasta carbonara recipe (we love her cookbook), plus some veg we had lying around from our weekly box. It turned out quite tasty. It was also great the next day, heated up in a skillet with a bit of extra oil. Yum. 3 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 head of garlic, pressed 1/2 lb back bacon, cut into thin strips 1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced 1/4 cup white wine one bunch scallions 4 sundried tomatoes, sliced thin 2 eggs 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped fresh black pepper 1 lb spaghetti Saute garlic in olive oil for a couple minutes. Add bacon. Cook until it's crispy. Add wine. Deglaze pan. Add mushrooms. Saute until t...
2 comments
Read more