Lion House Rolls

A love affair? Maybe, but I guess I justify it since it only happens once a year. And, like me, you won’t believe you made these pudgy little suckers, nor will your guests. Yes, I know, bread is not exactly nourishing, but smothered with ghee or creamy butter, it sure is a perfect indulgence once and a while (i.e. once a year at Thanksgiving).  Lion House rolls are heaven. This is not my recipe but I’ve adopted it, made them the last three years and I must say, if every family chef made these buttery babies, we’d never have to rely on Pillsberry for pokable perfection ever again.

If you’re a visual learner, watch this Lion House video and get to swingin’ your dough!

Lion House Rolls

2 cups warm water, 2/3 cup nonfat dry milk, 2 tbsp dry yeast*, 1/4 cup white, granulated sugar, 2 tsp salt, 1/3 cup organic butter, plus 1/4 cup for brushing 1 egg, 5 to 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, organic butter for topping

*2 tablespoons are equivalent to 2 packages of dry yeast.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the water and the dry milk, stirring until everything is dissolved. Add the yeast to the mixture while milk mixture is still warm. Proof the yeast (let it dissolve and start to react before adding anything else) for a couple of minutes then add the sugar, salt, butter, egg and only 2 cups of the flour.

Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet and shaggy; turn to medium speed and mix for 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and add 2 more cups of flour (total of 4 cups added at this point). Mix on low speed until the ingredients are wet, then turn mixer on medium speed and mix for 2 minutes.

At this point, the dough will be stiff.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and knead in the remaining flour by hand.

Add approximately 1/2- 1 cup of flour and knead. The dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff. Note: It’s not necessary to use the all of the 5 1/2 cups of flour.

Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl. Coat the sides of the bowl with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.  Turn the dough over, keeping it in the bowl, so it is covered with the oil. Coating the dough with oil ensures moisture won’t escape. Cover the bowl with a small towel and allow it to rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size.

Dust a cutting board or the counter with flour to prevent sticking, and roll out the dough (see the video above). Roll into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick and brush with about 1/4 cup of melted butter.

You want to cut the rectangle into smaller rectangles that are 2″ by 4″.  If you make and “L” with your thumb and pointer finger, as it shows in the video, that will yield the right width and height to cut the rectangles.

Roll or flip them (like in the video) and place them on greased baking pans with the end of the roll resting on the pan. Cover with a towel so they don’t dry out as they rise. Let them rise until they double in size; this usually takes about an hour to an hour and a half (in a warm kitchen).

When they’ve risen, bake at 375 degree Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they’re golden brown. Serve immediately. Leftovers (although there probably won’t be any) can be frozen- they make a great base for bread pudding!

Happy Thanksgiving.