Old Fashioned Potato Rolls!

I called my brother today to wish him a happy birthday.....59 big ones! He owns his own business, so he labels this day "Founder's Day" on his calendar and celebrates it as a holiday (Don't you love this idea?)  I hated to think I was interrupting his celebration, but he assured me I had only interrupted his cleaning of their cats' litter boxes and other routine tasks (Nancy, his wife, was travelling , so Carl was holding down the fort until her return) . Our conversation turned to the "routine" things in life and we began to reflect on the blessing of finding happiness in simple things. He stated that didn't resent spending his "big day" in this rather un-celebratory fashion. On the contrary, he was reveling that he could find contentment and pleasure in his "every day" life. After a half-hour conversation, we ended by agreeing that each of our lives are fairly simple, incredibly blessed and that we couldn't be too much happier.  

With that old-fashioned sentiment, I send along an old-fashioned recipe. These potato rolls were birthed from a "waste not - want not" old-time philosophy.....that even that simple half-cup of leftover "mashed tateys" in the frig are a blessing that should not be wasted. This recipe puts those "tateys" to GREAT use......these rolls are light, fluffy and tremendous!! 

Old-Fashioned Potato Rolls!

1 Tbsp/packet Red Star Platinum Yeast

¼ Cup warm water

1 Cup milk, HOT

½ Cup leftover mashed potatoes

¼ Cup shortening

¼ Cup sugar

1 ½ tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

4 Cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in the water in the EZ DOH bucket. In a separate bowl, pour the milk and add the shortening, potatoes,  sugar and the salt. Stir until the shortening is almost melted. Pour mixture into EZ DOH bucket along with the egg. Add the flour and EZ DOH-it until all ingredients are incorporated and dough is smooth (you may need to add a little additional flour, but don’t add much – you want to keep the dough light!) . Remove dough from the bucket, spray the bucket with cooking spray, “smooth” the dough by giving a couple of quick kneads on the counter and return it to the bucket. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Remove dough from bucket and divide into 12-24 equal pieces (I needed smaller rolls – this recipe made 24 perfect slider-sized buns!). Shape into rolls. Place in a 9x13” baking pan. Cover lightly and let rise until the rolls have risen and the pan looks “full”.  Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes, until golden.  Brush the tops with butter. ENJOY! 

Adapted from an All-recipes recipe

Old Fashioned Potato Rolls!