Best Country White Bread or Dinner Rolls

This is my official favorite recipe for making bread... I only make the rolls these days, but the bread's really good, too.  This is a breadmaker recipe, and I'm posting it as such.  If you hand-make the dough, it's a different process. :)

Preheat: --, but you'll bake the rolls at 350*
Category: Bread, Rolls, Bread Maker, PICTURES

1 c. Water
1 T. Water
1 large Egg
4 1/2 t. Vegetable oil
3 1/4 c. Flour (bread flour preferred)
1/4 c. Sugar
1 1/2 t. Salt (I add another 1/2 t. for preference)
2 1/4 t. Yeast
--
2 T Butter, melted or softened if making rolls

Bread
1. Put ingredients into breadmaker in order.  Make sure your flour covers all wet ingredients.  Use white bread setting and hit start.

Rolls
1. Put ingredients into breadmaker in order, making sure your flour covers all wet ingredients. Use the dough setting and hit start.

You'll want to check after about 10-15 minutes to make sure your dough is not too dry and not too wet.  This is just right:

2. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan.  I use butter, and since my 9x13 pan broke, I used my 9" round cake pan and that worked beautifully!

When the breadmaker cycle finishes, the dough rises to about this:

3. Grease hands to make 15 balls. I don't have room for 15 balls in my pan, so I make however many balls I like.  Apparently 15 is the magic number for a 9x13 pan! :)

I don't bother with a lot of fluff... Used to it made a big mess adding flour, but after several (several) batches of rolls, all I do is butter my (clean!) countertop and plop down the dough:

4. Cover and rise until double.  My favorite trick is to put the rolls into the oven, and preheat to 170*. When my oven beeps that it's at the right temperature, I shut it off... that helps the rolls rise faster (esp. in winter!). 

5. Bake at 350* for 12-15 minutes.  This is DEFINITELY for those 15 teeny rolls!!!  My larger rolls take more like 30 minutes to bake. I just watch for the tops to be a beautiful deep golden brown color and then take 'em out. 


6.  Remove the rolls from the pan ASAP and brush with butter.  If you put the rolls onto a plate, they will get soggy on the bottom!!  (Ask me how I know this.)  I put mine on a cooling rack and they turn out beautifully.  The brushing with butter keeps the rolls soft, if you didn't already know this. :)

Pampered Chef Loaded Potato Chowder

This is the recipe Lorri made tonight!

Preheat: --
Category: Main dish, Potatoes, Chowder, Soup, Microwave

3 large Baking potatoes
3 1/2 c. Milk (I used skim)
4 oz. Cream cheese, softened
2 T. Butter
2-3 Green onions (I used three)
4 oz. Sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 t. Salt
1/2 t. Ground black pepper

1. Cut potatoes into quarters. Microwave for 10 minutes and check for doneness. Rotate potatoes and microwave for another 10 minutes.

2. While potatoes are microwaving, beat milk and cream cheese together in one bowl; grate the cheese and chop the green onions.

3.  When potatoes are soft, mash, leaving mostly bite-size chunks of potato.  Add the remaining ingredients until thoroughly hot. 

4.  (you realize now, that I'm making up these directions... to get actual directions, buy the cookbook! lol) Serve with optional cooked bacon, sour cream and/or steamed broccoli florets.

I think the sour cream really made this soup great!

Megan's Chocolate Cake (modified)

This is out of my mom's collection of recipes and I made it tonight for the Pampered Chef party! I'm so glad you liked it! :) :)

Preheat: 350*
Category: Cakes, Chocolate, Dessert

3 c. Flour
2 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Cocoa
2 t. Baking soda
1 t. Salt
2/3 c. Oil
1 Egg
1 t. Vanilla
2 c. Water, cold

1. Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.

2.  Mix the oil, egg, vanilla and water in another bowl.

3. Pour the wet into the dry and mix well.

4. Pour everything into a greased and floured 9x13 pan.

5.  Bake at 350* for 45 minutes or until done.

6. Cool before frosting.  I used the Butter Frosting recipe from Better Homes and Gardens.  Obviously, I made the chocolate variation of the frosting! :)

The variation of this cake for the party was to use a stoneware baking dish--Lorri dumped in the batter, dumped the frosting on top, and it made the yummiest cake!