Lorilyn's Dinner Roll Dough

Total Time: 1 hr 12 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 12 mins

Ingredients

• 1 (1/4 ounce) packet active dry yeast (2-1/4 teaspoons)
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs

Recipe

• 1 in heavy duty mixer bowl (fitted with dough hook attachment), stir together yeast & 2 cups of flour.
• 2 in small saucepan over med-high heat, combine salt, sugar, milk & shortening.
• 3 stir with wooden spoon until shortening is nearly melted & just has a couple tiny, pea-sized lumps floating around (approx 120 degrees on candy thermometer).
• 4 pour hot mixture into mixer bowl with yeast & flour, add both eggs & begin mixing on low to medium speed til mixture is all wet.
• 5 begin slowly adding spoonfuls of flour & mixing until dough forms into ball around the dough hook & bottom of mixer bowl is no longer sticky with wet dough. ball of dough will be slightly smooth & spring back when touched with fingertip.
• 6 remove dough from hook & bowl & form into ball with hands. spray inside of bowl with non-stick cooking spray & then drop dough ball into bowl with the smooth side down. then turn ball over so the seam side is now down. (this greases top & bottom of ball).
• 7 cover mixer bowl with it's lid,a towel or foil & place in warm area to rise for about an hour. dough will be about double the starting size in an hour.
• 8 when risen, use fist to "punch" dough down in center. then remove from bowl & divide into two balls. place both on lightly floured surface & cover loosely with foil. let rest 10 minutes.
• 9 roll out one ball at a time into large circle about 1/2 inch or less in thickness.
• 10 use pizza cutter to slice dough like a pizza into about 12 or so triangles. roll each triangle up starting at large end & ending with the "tail" end. place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet with tail on bottom.
• 11 cover & let rise for another 15-20 minutes.
• 12 bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes (depending on oven being used & personal preference. i only bake ours 9-10 minutes because we like them light in color & a litte squishy in the middle).
• 13 one ball makes about a dozen or more rolls & therefore i will quite often make one batch for dinner & freeze one of the balls. to freeze for later, instead of rolling out the dough ball wrap it in foil & then place in sealed ziplock freezer baggie. freeze immediately. to use, thaw in fridge for approximately 8 hours or 3-5 hours on counter. when pliable, roll out & cut into wedges to roll & bake.