Calling All Colorado Bakers!

I seriously need some help.

In 2006 – I decided that I was going to teach myself how to make great homemade rolls. {My mother in law makes the TASTIEST rolls – honestly, on my dying day, they are what I would request for my last meal – with lots of butter, and her strawberry freezer jam. Amazing.} Every other Sunday that entire year, I tried my hand at her roll recipe. Never once did I even come close to duplicating her scrumptious rolls. They were either flat, or too yeasty (to the point of smelling like beer), or hard as rocks. On my 26th try, I finally gave up.

In 2007 – a sister at church brought the best pull-apart “Monkey Bread” rolls for a potluck. I convinced myself that I could do rolls again – and that maybe, just maybe, I could make this recipe work. To no avail. I probably made her monkey bread 15 times, before I admitted defeat.

I took roll making off of my agenda in 2008. {I discovered Pillsbury “bake from scratch” Hot Roll Mix, and used that for a year. Not too shabby, but not Grammy's rolls, either.}
Today, our sweet Relief Society President asked me to help put together a meal, and asked if I could make a bread, and a dessert. Of course I said yes, and since I didn’t have any Hot Roll Mix on hand, set to work trying a different roll recipe - one from the “Oakwood Ward Cookbook” that was sure to be a tried and true Colorado recipe that would work in this altitude, and in my kitchen. They looked good, they smelled good, they didn’t exactly rise as much as they should have, but I thought with a couple more tries, THIS could be my go to recipe.

After I dropped off my creation, I tasted one of the rolls {don’t ask me why I waited until afterwards} and they weren’t terrible, but they really didn’t taste like anything. With enough butter and jam, they could be dressed up to act like a real roll, but without it – it was kind of like just eating a pile of flour.

So this is where you come in! I need your dinner roll recipes – ones that you have used here in Colorado – that actually turn out – that you love! Another requirement: the dough must respond well to hand kneading. I don’t have a Bosch, or a Kitchen Aid, or really any other mixer than the little hand-held one we got for our wedding years ago – so hand kneading is a must!

Thanks to all! Maybe we should get together for a roll tasting party!
HERE’S TO ROCKIN’ AND ROLLIN’ IN 2009!
{sorry, I know that was soooo cheesy. I just couldn’t resist}