Recipe: Mom's Favorite Potato Rolls

Mom's Favorite Potato Rolls
recipelink.com Chat Room Recipe Swap - 2001-09-09
Posted to rec.food.recipes by SleepyL

1 pkg. dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (potato water is best)
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup shortening (or margarine), melted
2 eggs
1 cup lukewarm mashed potatoes
7-7 1/2 cups flour

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of the warm water, add a pinch of sugar and let it proof.

In a large bowl, stir together the rest of the warm water, the sugar, salt, shortening, eggs, potatoes and 4 cups of the flour. Stir in the proofed yeast mixture. Beat dough until smooth. Stir in enough of the rest of the flour to make the dough easy to handle (dough should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl). Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and velvety. This will take 7 or 10 minutes. This dough will feel satiny.

Wash your mixing bowl in hot water, dry and then grease generously with margarine. Grease the top of the dough with margarine and then place it in the greased bowl, leaving the margarine covered side of the dough up. Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. (Dough can be kept up to 5 days).

When ready to bake, take out of refrigerator. Punch down and shape. (You can let the dough warm up for several hours, if you like - just punch down again before shaping and know that the last rising, after shaping, will take a bit less time.)

For plain rolls, tear pieces of dough off and form into balls about 1-1 1/2-inches across. Place balls in baking pan which has been sprayed with cooking spray. This recipe will make about 3 1/2-4 dozen rolls (which will fill 2 (9x13-inch) pans). Let rise until doubled (about 1-1 1/2 hours). Bake at 400 degrees for 15-25 minutes, until deep golden brown.

If you feel so inclined, brush tops with a wash made of 1 egg and 1 Tbsp. water. Beat together well, until frothy.

To make 5 1/2- 6 dozen rolls:

2 pkg. yeast
2 1/4 cups warm water
1 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup shortening (or margarine), melted
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups lukewarm mashed potatoes
10 1/2-11 1/4 cups flour

Follow directions for single batch, except when first mixing in flour, use 6 cups instead of 4. Be sure you have a big bowl.