Great old fashion school lunch lady rolls made stand mixer easy. Everybody will love these tasty rolls. Sometimes the old ways are the best.
We all remember those wonderful yeast lunch lady rolls. I have no idea how every school in America had the same rolls, and they were all made by the lunch ladies themselves. How did they all do the same recipe? There was no internet to help coordinate all those schools. Maybe it was embedded in their genome?
The usual recipe around the internet is School Lunchroom Cafeteria Rolls from Allrecipes.com but not “cooking for two” friendly.
So my promise to you has been to produce smaller recipes that are logical and simplified.
Rating:
A strong five. The extra buttery taste was great and the salt just right.
Notes: There was already butter in the recipe, so the shortening becomes more butter (better taste). The original recipe had two eggs that are not divisible by 3, so the one whole egg stayed. The extra butter adds little extra fluid and so does the whole egg thing so a little more flour to compensate. Lastly, one of the most common comments on the original recipe was too little salt, so I upped the salt and sugar a tad.
This dough would make great buns for sliders, sub sandwiches or even perhaps cinnamon rolls.
Start with one cup of 105-110 degree water. Add one package of rapid rise yeast and one teaspoon sugar. Allow to set for a few minutes until foaming.
To the stand mixer add 3 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well. Add the yeast mixture, two tablespoon milk and one egg.
Melt 1/4 cup butter in a microwave and add that also.
Knead on two for 5 minutes. Form into a ball, cover and allow to rise in warm spot until doubled in size. About 45 minutes.
Place dough on floured surface and hand knead for 2 minutes. Form into a roll and cut into 16 equal pieces. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Prep a baking sheet with a baking pad or parchment paper. Roll into balls and place on the baking tray. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with PAM to prevent sticking and allow to rise again for 40-45 minutes until almost double size.
Bake until golden brown. About 15 minutes.
- 1 cup water warm
- 1 package rapid rise yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 1/2 cup AP flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 egg
- Start with one cup of 105-110 degree water. Add one package of rapid rise yeast and one teaspoon sugar. Allow to set for a few minutes until foaming.
- To the stand mixer add 3 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well.
- Add the yeast mixture, two tablespoons milk and one egg. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a microwave and add that also.
- Knead on two for 5 minutes. Form into a ball, cover and allow to rise in warm spot until doubled in size. About 45 minutes.
- Place dough on floured surface and hand knead for 2 minutes. Form into a roll and cut into 16 equal pieces. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Prep a baking sheet with a baking pad or parchment paper. Roll into balls and place on the baking tray. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with PAM to prevent sticking and allow to rise again for 40-45 minutes until almost double size.
- Bake until golden brown. About 15 minutes.
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All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated. Rating is done by clicking on the stars above.
Last updated
June 8, 2016
Gordon
Absolutely brilliant recipe ,just the right size, works a treat ,well explained thank you, GR from Wales diolch I fair.
DrDan
Hi Gordon,
Welcome to the blog.
I love “old recipes” like this. They just need to be right size with a reasonable amount of work for the results.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Ann Jones
I have never attempted to make rolls but I finally gave this recipe a try…….they were perfect! Thanks
Kristen Mobley
I make these recipe anytime I need rolls for a meal, these are delicious and easy to make! The whole family likes them.
Shirley
I made these yesterday…..they were perfect!
DrDan
Hi Shirley,
One of my favorites.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Kristen Roach
These are amazing! Thank you for cutting the recipe down to a realistic families portion sizing. I’ve made these rolls twice now, the second time I made sure the dough was a bit sticky, it made a huge difference in the final fluffiness. My family ate these quickly, they were a hit! And they do in fact taste like the lunch rolls I used to get at school in the 80’s and 90’s. My kids told me they no longer have rolls served with their school lunches.
Leslie
Loved these, had to make twice 1st time very flat and 2nd time better but still not as fluffy as your pictures. 1st time I have ever tried to make rolls, do have any idea what I could be doing wrong? (followed your recipe exactly)
DrDan
Hi Leslie,
Most likely related to the flour to liquid ratio and the use of flour by volume not weight. We (Americans) tend to do our flour measurement by volume when in reality we should use weight. The correction is that when we are “kneading” the bread in the stand mixer the dough needs to “stick” a bit to the bottom of the bowl. Add another tablespoon of milk if not sticking and a tad more flour it too sticky.
Hope that helps
Dan
Joan Garneau
I am going to try it in my Cusinart. It should work. When I was a new teacher at Saginaw High a thousand years ago, the lunch ladies always had these on the menu, and for the teachers made cinnamon rolls. I loved them! I have been eyeing the lunch ladies rolls recipe for some time and I am so pleased to find your recipe. Now I don’t have to do the work to cut the recipe down. Thank you.
DrDan
Hi Joan,
I’m not sure why so many sites publish a recipe for 48 servings. Even the 16 I make is a lot for a smaller home. We are using them again today for company. I think I will be doing them over and over but using half the dough for cinnamon rolls. They should freeze well.
Thanks for the note and rating. I meant my wife in Saginaw many years ago.
Dan