Dinner Rolls or Bread Bowls (Karen South)

 $2.06 ($0.04 per roll or $0.23 per bowl)
Compare: Market Pantry at Target's Petite Kaiser Rolls cost $2.56/12 ($0.21 per roll)

85 minutes. Yields 4 dozen dinner rolls or 9 bread bowls.

½ c warm water
2 Tbsp yeast
2 c scalded milk
½ c sugar
½ c shortening
2 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
7 c flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Set aside. Combine next 4 ingredients with 3 c flour. Beat until smooth. Beat in eggs and dissolved yeast. Add additional flour to make a soft dough. Knead well. Let rise until double (30-45 min). Shape rolls on lightly oiled surface. Pull top of dough around to bottom and pinch to make pretty tops. Let rolls rise for 45 min. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes, cover with aluminum foil, and bake 5 more minutes (to keep tops from over-browning). Lightly brush tops of rolls with water after baking (to keep crust soft).

Everyone loves these!

*Gommy makes mini rolls and calls them “Beeps.”
*To make bread bowls, measure about 3-4 rolls-worth of bread dough (8 oz) and make a "tall" sphere (rather than flat). Make a small roll using any excess dough. Follow the same baking directions above. After dough cools, cut a circular lid out of the top.

For Thanksgiving, place rolls on a large baking sheet in the shape of a turkey.