Spudnuts

Growing up my mom always made donuts on Halloween.  It was something that I always looked forward to every year.  They are so yummy.  Now I make them with my little family.  We made them tonight and took them around to a few neighbors.

1 c. shortening
1 TBS yeast
1/2 c warm water
1 c. sugar
4 c. milk
5 eggs
2 c. mashed potatoes (I use instant)
1 TBS salt
1tsp lemon extract
1 tsp vanilla
 12-15 c. flour

Glaze

2 lb pwd sugar
 1 tsp vanilla
 1 tsp lemon extract

Scald milk with shortening (slowly heat until bubbles form).  Add salt, sugar, and enough flour to make batter (like cake batter).  Add potatoes, beaten eggs, dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. water and add to mixture.  Add both vanilla and lemon flavorings.  Add enough flour to make soft dough (should be a little sticky), let rise twice until doubled in bulk (I usually let it rise an hour).  Roll out dough, cut into doughnut shapes.

In big pot melt Crisco on medium.  Drop doughnuts in and cook until light brown.  Drain on paper towels and glaze.

Buttermilk Pioneer Doughnuts

We simply call these doughnuts "Christmas Doughnuts" at our house.  My mom made these every Christmas while I was growing up and we always ate them along with sausage and eggs on Christmas morning.  My Mom's mom also made them while my mom was growing up, so you see, these doughnuts are tradition.  Maybe that is why we make them...and the fact that we LOVE them.  They aren't like any other doughnuts that you have eaten.  They are very dense and full of nutmeggy goodness.  You don't frost or glaze them.  They are just good as is.  It never fails that my kids have friends over and my boys will ask for a doughnut.  Of course the friend is always excited to have a doughnut too, but we always have to explain these doughnuts before anyone eats them.  We are a little protective of them and can't handle people being disappointed because they aren't getting a doughnut that they are expecting.  It is a sweet dough doughnut and apparently the pioneers made them.  Some of my siblings don't have families that love them but mine absolutely goes bananas for them.  The recipe makes a lot and we freeze them and eat them all through November and December (we usually eat our last bag on Christmas), but this year I made them on Christmas Eve and we had them all eaten by the end of the boys' school break.  This doughnut above was the very last one (and then I ate it :)


Another thing to note is how precious these are.  I have to admit when McKay fed his to Sasha one day I nearly cried.  I am a bit selfish with these as well.  They aren't the easiest to make, so when they are gone, we know that they are gone for another year (seriously I grumble through the whole process of making them because the dough is DENSE). 


I have thought of sharing this recipe in the past, but it is not for the faint of heart, so I always end up bagging the idea.  This year I have had quite a few requests for the recipe so I thought I would post it, but be warned.  It is a crazy dough recipe.  Also be warned, this recipe isn't exact...do your best :)  Okay now that I have scared 99.9% of you off from ever making these I will share the recipe...If there is a 0.1% out there that does make them, I would love to hear about it!


5 cups of sugar
4 TBS of shortening
4 eggs
lots and lots of flour (like at least 10 cups...)
4 tsp soda
1 1/3 tsp salt
2 tsp nutmeg
1 quart of buttermilk
1 can of Crisco (for frying the doughnuts, and yes you will need it all...these aren't low fat either.  There goes that 0.1 %)

Cream together (I use a Bosch to make these because the dough is so dense and when it starts having trouble, I finish up by hand...) sugar and shortening.  Add eggs and mix.

Sift together (you can either use a sifter or do as I do and just wisk them together)  5 cups of flour, soda, salt and nutmeg and then add it to the egg mixture.

Now start adding your flour.  You add until the dough is no longer sticky.  Not sticky at all...and that is a lot of flour.  So just keep adding and adding and you will get there soon :)

Once your dough is the desired consistency roll it out to about 1 inch thick (these doughnuts puff up when being cooked so you don't want them too thick at all.)  Cut out with a doughnut cutter.

Put all of your can of Shortening in a stock pot and heat it on medium.  I usually wait about 10 minutes and then put one of the doughnut holes in to see if it cooks.  You DO NOT want these to cook too fast or they will be doughy in the middle.  You want them to gradually turn golden brown (the color of the above doughnut).

When the top is golden brown, turn them so the other side can get brown.

I cut up a paper grocery bag (the way my mom always did it :) to lay these on so it will absorb the left over oil.  You could also lay paper towels across it.

Then you are done.  We really do love them. Then end.

Cheesy Garlic Bread

Here is a delicious cheesy breadsticks recipe that I made! Super simple!

Basic Pizza Dough Recipe from THIS gal (she is so great at explaining!)

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey {or sugar}
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
3 cups bread flour {give or take 1/2 cup…depending on the heat & humidity}

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, preferably that of a stand mixer, stir yeast and honey into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is alive and kicking. Pour in salt, oil and half the flour and mix.

Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn’t stick to your hands

Lightly grease the bowl & the dough so it doesn’t dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours. That’s it!

Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks yield: 1- 12 inch pie

Ingredients:
1/2 recipe Fail-Proof Pizza Dough
2 tablespoons softened salted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese {use the real stuff!}
1/4 pound grated mozzarella cheese{salt & pepper, if desired}


Directions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone inside. Mix butter and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.Spread pizza dough out into a 12-inch circle on parchment paper. {This makes it easier to transfer to the pizza stone.}Spread the butter and garlic mixture over dough and top with Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.

Recipe and below image from HERE

Banana Bread

My boys and I made butter a few weeks ago using heavy cream and mason jars. It was a fun to see the cream turn to butter. I made some yummy banana bread to go with the homemade butter and have had a request for the recipe. This bread is from this cookboook.

3 ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, well beaten
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup walnuts

Mash bananas and set aside. In a large bowl cream sugar and butter together. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas. In separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to first mixture and stir together. Stir in nuts. Place in two greased, 9x5 inch loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 275 degrees and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Makes two loaves.

Corn Bread

Our family celebrated Pioneer Day last Sunday with some good ole Pioneer cuisine. Corn bread was a must on the menu and the kids actually really loved it, which I was skeptical about. This corn bread is so good and perfect with a bowl of chili to accompany it. Found in this cookbook.

1/2 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk

Cream butter, sugar and eggs. In a separate bowl blend cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine creamed mixture, dry mixture and milk. Blend. Bake in a greased 8x8 inch pan at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

MKC French Bread Rolls/Hamburger Buns

We seldom have anything for dinner that requires a bun. Mostly because I am not awesome at planning meals in advance (I am going to change that). I just never have them on hand so when my little Lincoln asked for Sloppy Joes, I almost said no and then I realized that MKC (the lady that writes this blog is one of my heros), has posted hamburger buns before. I have made hamburger buns before, but I just knew her recipe would be something amazing. Well, it was and I have made them 3 times since this picture was taken. Recipe found here. I have to be honest, after these come out of the oven, I always have one with butter (when nobody is looking or EVERYONE will want one :) I used this Sloppy Joe recipe.

*Makes about one dozen rolls

1 1/2 cups warm water
3/4 tablespoon instant yeast (or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour, give or take a few tablespoons

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl by hand, combine the warm water, yeast, sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups of the flour (if you are using active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, let the yeast proof in the warm water and sugar for about 3-5 minutes until it is foamy and bubbly before adding the oil, salt and flour). Begin mixing and continue to add the rest of the flour gradually until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Judge the dough not by the amount of flour called for in the recipe but in how the dough feels (see a tutorial on working with yeast here). The dough should be soft and smooth but still slightly tacky to the touch.

Knead the dough in the stand mixer or by hand until it is very smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer or 8-10 minutes by hand. Lightly spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it has doubled (this usually takes about an hour).

Lightly punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly greased countertop. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and form the dough into round balls. Place the rolls on a lightly greased or silpat-lined baking sheet about an inch or two apart. Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap taking care not to pin the plastic wrap under the baking sheet or else the rolls will flatten while rising. Let the plastic wrap gently hang over the sides of the pan to fully cover the rolls but not press them down. Let the rolls rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through.

*Freezable Option: You can make a double or triple batch of these rolls. Once they are baked and cooled, place them in a zipper-lock freezer bag and put them in the freezer. You can either take them out a few hours before you need them or take them out frozen and microwave them for about 2-3 minutes on 70% power

Banana Muffins

I love a quick muffin to dress up a pretty lame dinner (yep we have 'em...more than I would like to admit). These muffins were a total hit. I had some very ripe bananas I needed to use, but I didn't want to have to wait for an hour for banana bread so these were the perfect solution. They are from this cookbook.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup bananas
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 recipe Streusel Topping (optional)

1. Grease twelve 2 1/2 inch muffin cups (do not use paper baking cups for this recipe) set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar baking powder and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

3. In another bowl combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture and bananas to the flour mixture. Stir until moistened (batter should be lumpy).

4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups/muffin tin, filling each two-thirds full. If desired, sprinkle Streusel Topping (recipe below) over muffin batter in cups (I recommend this as it makes the muffins SO MUCH BETTER!) Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups or on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups.

Streusel Topping:
Combine 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon.  Cut in 2 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sir in 2 tablespoons chopped nuts if desired. 

MCK"s Delicious French Bread

So really I am such a wimp when it comes to cooking. I think I like to post recipes on this blog because I can see that I did make a few things and it gives me the courage to try more things. I grew up in a home where my mother made amazing bread and rolls. I have always made those wonderful homey recipes and haven't really felt a need to venture much beyond those great stand by recipes. Well, I really love french bread. But I really hate when it is stale and cold from the store (and it gets that way FAST). Have you ever had it when it is nice and hot, right out of the oven? Oh my goodness there aren't many things I like more than that (that don't have sugar in them anyway...) I attempted to make french bread a few years ago and it was good, not great and the instructions were horrible so I ended up improvising and never made it again. Well, my favorite food blog had a recipe on it for french bread that I just had to try and it turned out A.MA.ZING! My boys gobbled it up like nobody's business and my husband and I also ate a ton. It was so good that the next day we all fought over the second loaf, now that is good stuff. Here is her recipe, but if I were you, I would go see all of the good stuff there.

2 ¼ c. warm water
2 T. sugar
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp oil
5 ½ -6 cups flour-stirred before measured

Dissolve sugar and yeast in the warm water. Let this proof—or sit for a few minutes until it bubbles. Then add salt, oil and 3 cups of flour and beat well. Add in 2 1/2 -3 more cups of flour. The dough should clean off the sides of the bowl and not be too stick – but be careful not to add too much flour. Knead for a few minutes.

Leave the dough in the mixer to rest for 10 minutes and then stir it down (turn on your mixer for 10 seconds) and then allow to rest another 10 minutes. Repeat for a total of 5 times. Then turn dough onto a floured surface and divide into two equal parts. Roll each part into a 9×13 rectangle. Roll dough up, starting from long edge of loaf to seal. Arrange seam side down on large baking sheet that’s been sprinkled with corn meal, allowing room for both loaves. Repeat with second part of dough. With a sharp knife, cut 3 gashes at an angle on the top of each. Cover lightly; allow to rise 30 minutes. Brush entire surface with egg wash (one egg beaten slightly with 1 Tbsp of water). If desired, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

We love this so much that I made AT LEAST once a week, sometimes twice. It is so good!

Irish Soda Bread

This doesn't look that appetizing, but let me tell you, it is SO GOOD. It is moist and delicious. It is always the thing that everyone devours in our St. Patrick's Day feast. Recipe found in this cookbook.

2 cups flour
2 TBS sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs butter
1/2 cups raisins (optional, but oh so good)
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbs butter, melted
flour to dust

Ina large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Add raisins, if desired. Add buttermilk. Mix with a fork until moistened.

Knead gently about 1 minute. Shape into a ball. Place dough on a greased cookie sheet or pie plate and flatten into a 7 inch circle. Dough will be about 1 1/2 inches thick. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool. Brush top with melted butter. Dust with flour. Makes one loaf.

Rolls

One of the first things that I learned how to make was rolls. Rolls are relatively easy and take very few ingredients, but they do take some patience. You need to give yourself time for them to raise. I just made these for dinner tonight and they smell heavenly.

1 c. milk
3 TBS sugar
5 TBS oil
1/2 c. water
1 pkg yeast (I do 2 TBS)
2 tsp salt
2 c. flour

Combine milk, sugar, and oil and heat until lukewarm (if this is hot it will kill your yeast. Lukewarm means not too hot or too cold. I do it for 30 seconds on the microwave, stir it around and maybe another 10 seconds). Dissolve yeast in water and mix thoroughly-add to milk mixture. Let rest for about 5-10 minutes until the mixture gets foamy on top. Stir in 1 c. of flour, add salt and then the rest of the flour.

I actually don't always add all of the flour. Just until the dough pulls away from the sides and bottom of the mixer/bowel but is still sticky. This is different all of the time. If you add to much flour the rolls will be tough.

Let dough raise 30 minutes to 1 hour. I usually do it longer so the rolls will be fluffy.

Cook in 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Then brag to all of your friends that you made rolls from scratch for dinner. Don't skip this step ;)

Homemade Syrup

I grew up with homemade syrup. I now can't stand store bought syrup. Homemade syrup is so good and it isn't that hard to make. The best thing about it is that it makes a lot so it will last you. This is my SIL's recipe who is a contributor to this blog. I hope she doesn't care that I shared it, I just couldn't stand knowing that all of you out there reading this blog didn't have this recipe!

4 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 TBS corn syrup
2 c. water
1 TBS vanilla
1 tsp maple

Combine everything except vanilla and maple. Bring to a boil and cover, boiling gently for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool a little, add vanilla and maple.

See not hard at all! So much better than anything you can buy!

Ham Broccoli Braid

I love the blog My Kitchen Cafe. The other day they had a BBQ chicken braid featured on there. I have wanted to do one of these forever. I used her roll dough and instructions on how to do the braid and improvised the rest. I wanted to do a ham, cheese and broccoli braid. I loosely followed a recipe I found on allrecipes.com. This recipe uses refrigerated crescent roll dough, but I prefer the homemade stuff.


2 cups of ham chopped
1 cup chopped fresh broccoli
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough

I add a couple of dollops of mayo so it isn't as dry

# Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
# In a large bowl, combine ham, broccoli, onion, parsley, mustard and cheese. Stir well.
# Unroll crescent roll dough, and arrange flat on a medium baking sheet. Pinch together perforations to form a single sheet of dough. Using a knife or scissors, cut 1 inch wide strips in towards the center, starting on the long sides. There should be a solid strip about 3 inches wide down the center, with the cut strips forming a fringe down each side. Spread the filling along the center strip. Fold the side strips over filling, alternating strips from each side. Pinch or twist to seal.
# Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until deep golden brown

Cinnamon Rolls

1 c. mashed potatoes (I use instant)
2/3 c. shortening or margarine
1 c. scalded milk
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbs yeast (mixed with 1 c. warm water)
1 tsp salt
7 c. flour

Mix shortening, potatoes, sugar and milk. After milk has cooled, add in yeast mixture. Beat in eggs, salt and add flour.

Knead for 15 minutes, Let rise 1 to 2 hours. Roll out in large rectangle. Spread butter over the entire surface. Sprinkle on cinnamon/sugar and brown sugar. Roll up dough. Cut into rolls. I use a piece of dental floss because it doesn't smash the rolls. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Frost if desired.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

3 c. powdered sugar
2/3 c. cream cheese softened
2 Tbs. milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Add ingredients together and beat until smooth.

Best Bread Sticks EVER!

So easy, so fast and 100% delicious!

1 1/2 c. warm water
1 TBSP. yeast
3 TBSP. sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 to 4 c. flour
1/2 c. butter
garlic powder
Parmesan cheese

Mix together water, yeast, and sugar. Set aside. Mix yeast and dry ingredients together for 3 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Roll into a large greased cookie sheet (preferably with sides). Top with melted butter, then sprinkle with garlic powder and Parmesan cheese. Cut several times across the pan and once up the middle to make bread sticks. Let rise 20 minutes. Preheat pan to 375 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes. Less brown is better.

Brown Sugar Muffins

1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg
2 c. flour
1 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. milk

Mix together as you would a cake. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes 3 dozen when doubled.

Mom's Honey Wheat Bread Recipe

I have been asked a few times for this recipe. I make wheat bread every Monday. My boys are really picky eaters and I always feel they don't get enough good stuff in their bodies. They love toast, sandwiches and bread and butter. I decided to make my bread from scratch so I was sure they were getting at least one good thing each day. I grind my wheat, which I love because I am actually using my food storage. The thing above is my wheat grinder. It fits right on my Kitchenetics mixer. I love it!

This is the contraption that my Mom and I both use for our bread. It makes it so easy.

Honey Wheat Bread Recipe
This bread recipe uses wheat and white flour. It's the best recipe I've found for bread that is softer, but uses wheat flour and honey.
First I take a quart jar full of wheat and grind it with my wheat grinder.
After grinding the wheat it only takes 1 1/2 hours to make and bake this bread.
Turn on oven to lowest heat setting - (mine is 170 degrees) and warm the oven.
You will need:
5 cups hot tap water
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons yeast (I use SAF yeast)
Approximately 7-8 cups wheat flour (all the wheat you ground)
" 6+ cups white flour - I don't really measure the white flour
1/4 cup dough enhancer (Macey's)
1/4 cup wheat gluten “
Makes 4 large loaves
Put KNEADING arm on mixer
Put hot tap water into bowl. Add 5 cups flour, oil, and honey. If you measure and add the oil before the honey it won't stick to the cup. Mix briefly until flour is wet. Add yeast and mix briefly again. Mix in the salt and the rest of the wheat flour along with the dough enhancer and gluten. Turn machine on to Speed I (lowest speed) and continue adding white flour a little at a time. Stop adding flour when dough has formed a mass, and is not sticking to the sides or bottom of the bowl.
When dough reaches this stage, you have added enough flour. Put on the lid and knead the dough on Speed II for 9 minutes.
When the dough is ready, take the bowl off, and put a light coating of oil on your hands and on your counter. Remove the dough from the bowl. The oil will allow you to work with the dough without it sticking to your hands or the work surface. Use the oil instead of more flour. The dough will be a little sticky.
After removing the dough from the bowl, pull the Kneading arm out of the dough.
With a bread mixer you don't have to do any kind of hand kneading or let the dough rise in the bowl.
Divide dough into four equal portions, shape loaves and put into greased pans.
Turn off warmed oven and put pans in oven to rise until dough is double in bulk.
(I set my timer for 28 minutes for it to rise.)
After the dough has risen in the pans and the timer has gone off, don't take the pans out of the oven.
Leave the pans in the oven and reset the temperature to 350 degrees.
Set the timer for 35 minutes. You may have to adjust the cooking time depending on how fast your oven cooks, or what size of bread pans you use. My pans are 9 5/8" x 5 1/2".
You can cover the bread with foil if it is getting too brown.
Bread is done when top crust is nicely browned and loaf has a hollow sound when "thumped". The bottom crust should also be a little browned.
Cool loaves on paper towel or dish towel. When completely cooled put in plastic bags.



Dough Enhancer and Wheat Gluten. Both of these we find at Maceys.

This is what the package for SAF yeast looks like. We buy ours in Utah at Maceys.

The finished product. I rub butter on the top of my bread right when it comes out of the oven.

Banana Muffins

Better Homes and Gardens cookbook! So Delish!

1 3/4 c all purpose flour
1/3 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1/2 c milk
3/4 c bananas
1/4 c cooking oil
1/2 c chopped nuts
1 recipe Streusel Topping

1. Grease muffin tins or line with paper bake cups; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

3. In another bowel combine egg, milk and oil. Add egg mixture and bananas to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened.

4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. If desired, sprinkle Steusel topping over muffin batter (which is so good!) in cups. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Let muffins cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from cups.


Streusel Topping: Combine 3 TBS all purpose flour, 3 TBS brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon. Cut in 2 TBS butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 2 TBS chopped nuts.

Hamburger Buns

I am a bread snob (my Mom spoiled me growing up, what can I say?). I make wheat bread every Monday because I don't like store bought bread. I have been looking for a good hamburger bun recipe. I tried one last week that was not very good. I was a little worried about this one, but I was determined to find a good one (sorry for all of the hamburger nights family!) This one was really good!



1 C. milk
1 C. water
2 TBS butter
1 TBS white sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
5 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 egg yolk
1 TBS water

Combine the milk, 1 c. of water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat and let stand until lukewarm. If the mixtue is too hot, it will kill the yeast.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour and yeast. Pour in wet ingredients and stir until the dough starts to pull together. If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook to mix for about 8 minutes. If not, knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat. cover and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and divide into 12 portions. They should be a little larger than a golf ball. Make tight balls out of the dough by pulling the dough tightly around and pinching it at the bottom. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. After the rolls sit for a minute and relax, flatten each ball with the palm of your hand until it is 3 to 4 inches wide. You may want oil your hand first. Set rolls aside until they double in size, about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the egg yolk and 1 TBS of water in a cup or small bowl. Brush onto the tops of the rolls.

Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the rolls from the oven and return them to different shelves so each one spends a little time on the top. Continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until nicely browned on the top and bottom.