I just acquired a photocopy of my great grandmother’s handwritten recipe for "refrigerator rolls". Haven’t tried to make it yet, but thought someone here might find it cool and maybe want to try a ~50 year old recipe. We moved away from Clovis, NM when I was just 3 and I think the last time I saw her I was 5. But I still remember going back to visit for Christmas, and we’d always have one huge Sunday dinner at her house, and there was always plenty of her rolls. (And they always gave me socks and underwear for Christmas ) Let me know if you try it and it’s edible (and what temp and how long, ha!)
​
​
Last edited by FishTalesNC; December 20, 2020, 12:33 PM.
Reason: Trying to fix attachments
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan- near Clare. (dead center of lower peninsula)
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
When some of us get older we develop a tremor, but not necessarily full blown Parkinson's. As a result, our writing may get a bit shaky and smaller (micrographia). The latter is due to having to steady the hand by anchoring the heel of the hand to the writing surface, rather than letting it flow freely.
22” Blue Weber Kettle with SnS insert
Kamado Joe Jr with Kick Ash Basket
Char-Broil Smartchef Tru Infrared Gasser
Anovo Hot Tub Time Machine with Custom Hot Tub
Huskee Mine too! That was the first thing I thought when I saw it. FishTalesNC I will give it a shot. I have lots of old timey cook books that will help with what the heck sweet milk is and what one yeast cake is.
Last edited by SheilaAnn; December 20, 2020, 04:50 PM.
Sweet milk is plain old whole milk, yeast cake is compressed yeast. Comes in two forms, wet or fresh, and dry. You can sub in regular yeast. I'm sure there is a conversion calculator out there somewhere on one of the baking sites. I know both of these from MY grandmother (Grammy). She called whole milk sweet milk as opposed to buttermilk (she churned her own butter still when I was young) she still bakes with yeast cakes.
22” Blue Weber Kettle with SnS insert
Kamado Joe Jr with Kick Ash Basket
Char-Broil Smartchef Tru Infrared Gasser
Anovo Hot Tub Time Machine with Custom Hot Tub
Ok, so here we go. Here are pics at different stages of the recipe.
scalded milk, sugar and shortening. Cooled to 125*F and then added the proofed yeast.
proofed yeast
mixed dough. Added the flour in the steps as written. This dough was so wet, I had to turn it out and work it a bit. It was very hard to work (not hard as in stiff, but so wet, hard to handle). I baked off the four first.
baked at 350*F for 19.5 minutes. Internal temp at 195*F and I pulled them. Baked in greased CI. They expanded a bit. I think I made them too big.
this is a very dense, sweet biscuit. Is this what you remember FishTalesNC? I see putting butter and honey on it or jam and eat with a cup of tea. I don’t see this sopping up the gravy from a yummy beef stew, though. Please know this is my opinion! These are your memories my friend!
I will put the remaining dough in the fridge and try a few more tomorrow. I did work the dough a bit more to make it smoother. More as I know!
You are the best SheilaAnn - thanks for deciphering that and posting with pics! I do remember them being more dense.... might even remember us putting country gravy on them at breakfast. Been 45+ years, hard to say, but I’m excited to give it a go with your help! 👍ðŸ»
I've typed this up (in MasterCook format), with some editing, for those who might like to copy and paste:
Ingredients
1 quart whole milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
2 yeast cakes
1/4 cup water, lukewarm
1 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
9 cups AP flour, divided; more as needed
Lots of Mamaw's love
Instructions
1. Scald milk with sugar and shortening. Let cool to warm.
2. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup of water. Add to warm milk mixture.
3. Add 8 cups of the flour and mix. Let rise until double in size.
4. Add salt, baking powder, and baking soda to one cup of flour and sift or stir together. Add to dough mixture and mix, adding additional flour as needed to make a soft dough.
5. Bake balls of dough at 350F for 18 to 20 minutes.
6. This dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, allowing you to take out portions as needed.
With regard to Step 4 above and to SheilaAnn 's comment about the dough being wet:
I watched Shirley Corriher's video on the Touch of Grace Biscuits her granny used to make:
The final dough is very wet and lumpy, like cottage cheese. She scoops it out with a #30 scoop and rolls the dough balls in flour before putting them into the pan to bake. That could be an option here.
Last edited by gcdmd; December 23, 2020, 07:56 AM.
Thanks all - this is awesome. I called my dad a bit ago (Mamaw was his grandma), and he also got the photocopied recipe I got, and gave it to my mom, but he said she has zero interest in making them, ha! I just emailed dad the pics of the process and the cleaned up recipe tho - he's going to offer that up and try again and see if mom changes her mind. Like me, he said he remembered these more "with sausage gravy all over them on Sunday morning"... man he got a good laugh out of this, thanks again! Oh... another funny tidbit to all of this, we actually got the photocopy from a cousin I've never actually met who lives in Indonesia. Go figure.
22” Blue Weber Kettle with SnS insert
Kamado Joe Jr with Kick Ash Basket
Char-Broil Smartchef Tru Infrared Gasser
Anovo Hot Tub Time Machine with Custom Hot Tub
Scooped (#10) out four more straight from the fridge, no tempering. Popped in at 350*F for exactly 18 minutes. They are a little lighter and the sweetness has also dissipated a bit. I am tempering out the dough to room temp. It’s about 70*F in the kitchen. I will do four more and report back.
Added a schmear of butter and blackberry jam. Yum!
22” Blue Weber Kettle with SnS insert
Kamado Joe Jr with Kick Ash Basket
Char-Broil Smartchef Tru Infrared Gasser
Anovo Hot Tub Time Machine with Custom Hot Tub
22” Blue Weber Kettle with SnS insert
Kamado Joe Jr with Kick Ash Basket
Char-Broil Smartchef Tru Infrared Gasser
Anovo Hot Tub Time Machine with Custom Hot Tub
UPDATE: I was rifling through the freezer yesterday and came across some of the dough I put up. Slacked it out in the fridge overnight. Turned it out on my board (slightly dusted). The dough was super soft! Cut it into 4 pieces and gave them a quick roll with my hands to form. Baked at 350*F for 18 minutes. Temped at 191*F.
As noted previously, a dense roll. Same sweetness. And using the advice noted from willxfmr there was no shortage of sausage gravy!
Rustic Sourdough Bread* (mix of sources) Makes three 8†loaves of crusty mild tender bread. Start Friday evening to feed sourdough starter, mix dough on Saturday, bake Sunday. Can be done in one day, but flavor is better if mixed and baked on consecutive days.
Ingredients 375 g sourdough starter* 675 g water, 80-88 degrees, warmer causes the bread to rise faster. 250 g whole wheat flour 750 g AP or Bread flour (results are similar) 1-2 Tbs salt (~15-20g) 1-2 tsp instant yeast (optional if your sourdough starter is well developed) Large mixing bowl or 6qt covered tub Kitchen scale
Instructions:
Place bowl/tub on kitchen scale, zero it out (I zero out after each ingredient is added).
Combine sourdough starter and water, mix.
Add flours, mix to a shaggy consistency. Cover and let rest for 15-20 minutes (autolyze process to hydrate flour before adding salt and yeast).
In bowl or bread board, mix yeast and salt a little at a time with a 1-2 minute fold and pinch or knead of the dough. Use damp hands to avoid sticking. Dough coming together. Cover and let rest for 15-20 minutes.
2nd fold or knead for 1 minute, turning as you go. Dough should be silky and tender. Cover and let rest for 15-20 minutes.
If needed, 3rd fold or knead for 1 minute, turning as you go. Dough should now be silky and tender. Cover and let rise until doubled. Several hours based on kitchen temperature.
Gently divide dough into 3.
Gently shape into round loaves. Final shape is done by dragging dough ball on board to tighten the exterior of the ball, so it holds its shape during the cooking process. Place top side of loaf into floured basket or bowl.
Cover loaves with clean lint free towel, cover with plastic and place cozy spot to let rise for 2-4 hours OR in refrigerator overnight to bake next day. Dough is ready for baking with a poke test. Poke with dry or floured finger, make an indentation, if it springs back immediately the loaf needs more time. If it springs back slowly, it’s ready. If it doesn’t spring back, it may be over-proofed and may not rise as tall in the oven. Bake it anyway!
During the last hour of final rise, preheat the oven. Put Dutch Oven(s) with lid into cold oven. Turn oven on to 475 degrees for 40-60 minutes.
Place parchment paper over proofing basket or bowl. Gently turn loaf out trying not to deflate the loaf. Use a sharp knife or razor to make a decorative pattern on the top of loaf. This allows the load to rise further in the baking process and looks beautiful.
Take Dutch Oven out of oven and carefully remove lid. Heavy gloves are a must!
Place parchment with loaf into Dutch oven, cover and place back into oven.
Turn oven down to 425 and back covered for 30 minutes. Bread should be taller, be light brown with attractive splits at this point.
Remove cover and bake for another 10-20 minutes to medium to dark brown. Your preference.
Remove from oven and place loaf onto rack to cool.
If baking another loaf, put Dutch Oven and lid back into oven for 5 minutes at 500. Repeat steps 11-16. I can bake 2 loaves at a time.
Why do I make 3 loaves? One for the next morning, one to freeze and one to share with a friend or nice neighbor!
Notes: *I started with the Rustic Sourdough Bread recipe from King Arthur Bread Company and refined it with many hints from Ken Forkish’s book "Flour Water Salt Yeast", including autolyze, folding, shaping, and baking in a Dutch Oven. Lastly, I recommend a YouTube video from Sarah Owens "How to Make the Best Sourdough Bread." Great explanation of sourdough levin and bread making process.
I know there are a lot of steps, but I found too many recipes assumed a lot of baking technique, causing failure of good recipes.
You can divide this recipe by 2/3 to make 2 loaves if that works better for you. This bread freezes very well. I store the open loaf in a paper bag then a plastic bad to keep crust from getting soggy. Loaf keeps for 5-7 days this way.
*(I made my own in March of 2020, her name is Penelope. She stays in the refrigerator most of the time. I feed her 1-2 times before I make a batch of bread.)
Attached Files
Last edited by flyingpiglet; September 19, 2021, 06:00 PM.
flyingpiglet my starter is named Nancy. Given to me by my friend named Nancy. Who, in turn, received hers from some woman who bakes a lot. Some bakery called La Brea or some such. 🤣 Seriously, respect! I have had Nancy for over 15 years.
Comment