Mom's Yeast Rolls

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

Thanksgiving and Christmas at our house always included hot yeast rolls.When we were young, our Grandma made them and all the cousins fought over them. Recently, the cousins used Facebook  to reminisce with each other about our huge family gatherings at the holidays and we discovered that in the family there are 3 versions of these rolls: one from our Grandmother, one from our Mom and one from one of the aunts. Grandma's was called Frigidaire yeast rolls because they rested in the Frigidaire. That version didn't include the extra eggs, milk and butter that our Mom's version perhaps because Grandma had a restaurant and didn't include the high fat/high $ ingredients.

I made these roll's yesterday and as always, they were a hit.

Sweet Dough Yeast Rolls
Makes about 42

1 1/2 c lukewarm milk
1 c sugar
2 t salt
1/2 c water
2  packages yeast
3 eggs
3/4 c shortening
7-7 1/2 cups flour

Mix milk, sugar and salt in mixing bowl. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water, and let proof for 5 minutes. Add yeast mixture, eggs and softened shortening to milk mixture. Stir in flour in two additions. Knead until smooth.

Form into a ball and put in an oiled bowl, covered, until doubled in size. Punch down, knead a couple of times, and let rest for 15 min. Shape into one-inch round balls (roll balls in melted butter first), two per greased muffin cup. Let rise until double in size, 15-30 minutes. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden, at 425 degrees.

Serbian Family Slava Bread--Kolac

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner


We had a Serbian theme for Christmas Eve. Marty spent four hours making sarmas, stuffed cabbages. My mother-in-law celebrates Orthodox Christmas and one of her traditions is this special yeast bread, called kolach that is often served for the Serbian Slava celebrations. Hidden in it is a coin: he or she who pulls a slice from the loaf and has the coin will have good luck for the next year.

The bread is somewhat sweet and it has sugar, lemon juice, milk, sour cream and butter so it is rich and tasty. Once the dough has risen once and been punched down, the dough is divided into 3 logs and then the logs are braided and placed in an angel food cake pan for the second rising and baking. My bread came out gorgeous and we have been nibbling on it but no one has yet found the coin!

In a small bowl, mix together and let this rise for about 30 minutes.
2 pk yeast
1/2 c warm milk
5 T sugar
5 T flour

In a stand mixer, add and mix:
1 c water
2 t salt
3 egg yolks (save the egg whites to wash the bread)
2 t lemon juice
1 c milk
1/4 c softened butter
1/4 s sour cream

Then add 5-6 c of flour in 1/2 c increments and mix with the dough hook of the stand mixer until the dough just begins to pull away from the side of the bowl. The dough will be sticky.  Place the dough in a large, oiled bowl, covered with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot until double.

Punch down the dough, place on a floured bowl and knead for 2-3 minutes until the dough is smooth. Divide the dough into 3 pieces and roll each into a log about 3" x 10". Braid the logs, place in an oiled angel food cake pan, overlap the ends of the braids and pinch together. Take a coin wrapped in foil and push it down, vertically, between two of the braid pieces. Let the dough rise again until double.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until the top is browning. Brush the top of the loaf with the egg white and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and invert the bread on a cookie sheet placing another cookie sheet on the bottom of the angel food cake pan. Slide the bread out of the pan onto the cookie sheet (the top of the bread will be on the cookie sheet) and flip the cookie sheets so the bread is top side up again. Bake for 10 minutes, brush the sides with a the egg white wash and bake for another 10 minutes or until the sides are golden. Remove from the oven and take the bread out of the bottom section of the angel food cake pan.

Slice and hope you find the coin!  And if you are lucky, you'll have some leftover the next day for French toast.