Mother Jewell's Rolls (with a few tweaks from Emily)

If you grew up in the Lee and Jewell household, there were no better days than bread making days! Remember the smell? If you are in the second generation, you may have had grandmas rolls, bread or bread sticks, but most likely tasted them at the hand of just a few: Nels Draper, Mary Purser or Emily Smith. Here I have published the recipe for the masses. My only tweaks away from Mother Jewell's original recipe: tad bit more salt and little more mixing. I also used rapid-rise yeast--which does cost more than regular old yeast. But you can use it.

Good luck! Make memories! I've also found I'm very well received at family gatherings when I bring a batch of rolls with me.

In your mixer of choice… (I prefer KitchenAid)

2 Cups Warm Water

1 Tablespoon RapidRise Yeast

1 Tablespoon Sugar

3 Teaspoons Salt

Mix with hook on speed 1 for approximately 2 minutes. Let sit until yeast starts to get foamy - about 2 to 3 minutes, then gradually add…

5 Cups Flour (more or less)

You will need to make your best judgment on the amount of flour. Less is more in this case. The dough may be a bit sticky, but the end product will be better than if the dough is too stiff.

Mix the dough for approximately 5 minutes on speed 1 or 2. Dough should mostly be hugging the dough hook and come away from the sides of the bowl. Remove the dough hook, scrape dough to center of the bowl cover with warm moist dishtowel, and let sit until double in size.

Pre-heat oven to 420.

Prepare area to shape rolls. Drizzle approximately 2 Tablespoons oil onto counter top, spread evenly then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Remove dough from bowl. You may want to put a little oil on your hands to prevent sticking. Mold dough in oval shape and arrange over sesame seeds. Dough will be elastic. I have a plastic dough cutter to cut the dough into approximately ½ inch wide, 4-inch long strips. I then wrap around my fingers and try to make something that resembles the shape of a roll. Sesame seeds should appear on top – sometimes they all end up inside… in this case, sprinkle a little extra pile on the counter so you can dip the tops before you put onto the baking sheet. You may want to consult Mother Jewell on this method!

Let them rise for 8-10 minutes, or until they appear the desired size you want. Bake 10 minutes, then turn pan and bake another 8-10 minutes. Should start to get a delicious brown color. Once they are the desired color, remove from oven and brush with butter.

So Delicious!

Makes aprox 30 rolls