French Bread Rolls

This comes from Good Food, Good Fun recipe blog which she got from Kitchen Cafe ~ which is where the beautiful picture is from also! They were very easy to make but I made my dough balls a little big and had rolls the size of hamburger buns!! They were stiil very good and we used them the next night for the pulled pork sandwiches, which you must try by the way!!

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 12-14 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth (or greased saran wrap), and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake for 12-13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Ham and Swiss Rolls

This recipe come from "Becky Higgins...Recipes To Share" {picture from Becky Higgins}. It looked really good and I thought it would make a great meal along with some chips, and the Snicker salad.

24 rolls

mayonnaise

12 thick slices deli ham (black forest)

12 slices Swiss cheese

1/2 c. melted butter

1 1/2 Tbsp. mustard

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Slice rolls in half so they open. Spread mayo on top and bottom of the inside of each roll. Assemble rolls with ½ slice of cheese and ½ slice of ham.

Place all of these in a baking pan or stone. Mix together the melted butter, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and poppy seeds with a whisk. Brush this mixture all over the tops of the rolls and cover with tin foil. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until heated through.

This recipe comes from Jonna at "Get Off Your Butt and Bake", on of my favorite recipe sites. The picture is of my rolls ~ first tie ever baking them...hers over on her blog are beautiful.

The following directions come straight from her blog...

2 packages (1/4 ounce each) Active Dry Yeast
1 cup warm water
1 cup boiling water
1 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
7-1/2 to 8 cups all purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine boiling water, shortening, sugar and salt. Allow to stand 3-4 minutes or until shortening is melted and sugar is dissolved. Add the yeast mixture and eggs; mix well.
Add 2 cups of four; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. When ready to use, roll out and shape dough. Place rolls in pans, or greased cookie sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown. YIELD: 2 -1/2 dozen.

When I make these rolls, I often do it in one day. I skip the refrigerating overnight. Simply add enough extra flour, to make a SOFT.....non-sticky dough. They still are fabulous. Make sure you let the dough raise until generously double. Then place shaped rolls (I make crescent style)....on your greased cookie sheets. Let raise again until double, before baking.