Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls

Homemade bread is absolutely wonderful. My grandma used to make bread all the time, but finding the recipes she used hasn't been easy. I remember her making dinner rolls and these may be them. Or at least one of the recipes!

I'm learning that bread isn't as difficult to bake as it seems. The bread baking process tends to be intimidating, at least to me, so I'm hesitant to try new bread recipes. I have used yeast enough now to understand the process a little better, but I'm still not a pro. There is a variation of this recipe to make cinnamon rolls. And, since practice makes perfect, I think I should attempt that at some point.

Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls (Printer-friendly PDF Recipe)

3 to 3 1/2 C unsifted flour

1 package dry active yeast

1 1/4 C milk

1/4 C sugar

1/4 C shortening

1 t salt

1 egg

Place 3 cups of flour in the mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Set aside.

In a small sauce pan, heat the milk, sugar, shortening, and salt to somewhere between 120 degrees and 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pour the heated milk mixture into the yeasted flour along with the egg. Beat this together on a low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl and then beat on a high speed for 3 minutes.

If you are using a fancy mixer, attach the dough hook. Otherwise, proceed by hand.

Add and mix in enough flour to make a soft dough. Add a bit less than 3 cups to start with and slowly add more. Knead the dough until well combined.

Place the dough into an oiled bowl. Flip it over to coat the entire dough blob with oil. Cover and let rise until it doubles in size. This will take at least an hour.

Punch the dough down and toss it onto a lightly floured surface. Let it rest for 10 minutes.

Break the dough up into small balls of dough and place three of these into each cup of a greased muffin pan. (This recipe should make approximately 24 dinner rolls.) After all of the muffin pans have a trio of dough blobs in them, cover the pans and let the dough rise for 30 to 45 minutes. They should double in size during this time.

Bake the rolls in an oven preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 or so minutes. The rolls will light brown when done.

Remove the rolls from the oven and then from the muffin pans. Serve. Eat with butter if desired.

Enjoy!