Mama's Yeast Rolls

March 30, 2011

I spend a lot of time talking to folks about food and many are surprised to know that like a good cast iron skillet I am a fairly seasoned Southern cook.  One of the things I love about regional foods, whether it is Southern or Chinese or Indian, is that the same dishes circulate through a region for ever and ever, amen.  A good example of this is some of Paula Deen's recipes.  When I first discovered Paula Deen and began reading her cookbooks I was shocked to see that many (and I mean many) could have been taken right out of my Mother's kitchen.  All of the great food I had been raised on had apparently been handed down through generations of cooks - Mothers, Grandmothers and even from slaves.  And, not only had it been handed down but it was a circular handing down that spanned an entire region - in this case the South.

The recipe I'm sharing today is another example of that.  These are the yeast rolls that often graced the dinner table on Sunday afternoons in my childhood home.  Those are dinners that I remember fondly.  The youngest of four children, I had nieces and nephews by the time I entered Kindergarten.  So family dinners included my siblings, their spouses, their children, friends who had stayed over Saturday night and often extended family members as not only did my Mother serve a wonderful table but my parents had the wisdom to install a pool for their large family.

We had all but forgotten those yeast rolls as the last years of my Mother's life found her unable to navigate the kitchen in which she created many meals.  Then, my oldest sister gave us all the family cookbook that her Mother-In-Law had created with her own siblings.  Lo and Behold!  There was an identical yeast roll recipe.  The same no rise yeast roll recipe that makes your mouth water and want to Praise Jesus on Sunday afternoons was there in print.  Now, here it is for you.

1 pack dry yeast

2 cups warm water

4 cups flour (I use pamela's baking mix)

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup melted butter

Mix all ingredients.  Spoon into greased muffin tins.  Bake on 425 for 25 minutes.  Watch them starting at 15 minutes to ensure they do not brown too much.