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If there is one thing that defines my childhood memories of the big Easter spread at my Maw Maw’s house, it’s her cloverleaf yeast rolls. I remember the fun of making them with her and the pure delight of eating them. It wasn’t just the yummy, yeasty taste I adored; the three-part roll was the excuse I needed to “play” with my food without being scolded.
Today I am sharing the original Fannie Farmer recipe my grandmother used. The only change I am making is to use fast-acting yeast instead of regular yeast. I find it more forgiving than regular yeast and easier to use. You may, of course, use regular yeast, but your rising times will need to increase.
As written in the Fanny Farmer cookbook, this is “the basic recipe from which you can make many different types of rolls and buns according to the way they are shaped and seasoned.” If you prefer, you can make singles, Parker House rolls, bread sticks or bowknots. But, for me, it has to be cloverleaf rolls. Nothing else quite does it at Easter. I hope you enjoy!
Cloverleaf Hot Rolls
Based on Hot Rolls recipe from “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, 11th edition” (Little, Brown and Co., 1965)
Start to finish: About 3 1/2 hours, mostly unattended rise time
Yield: Makes 18 rolls
1 package (1/4 ounce) fast-acting yeast
1 cup lukewarm whole milk
2 tablespoons soft butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour
In a small bowl, place the yeast in the milk. Let stand 5 minutes.
Then mix in the soft butter, sugar and salt. If using an electric mixer with dough attachment, place the mixture in the work bowl. With the motor running, slowly add the flour a bit at a time until all the flour is added and the dough is just mixed.
Then time the mixing for 2 minutes.
(If mixing by hand, mix for 5 minutes after incorporation.)
Turn the dough into a buttered bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean linen dish towel and set in a draft-free, warm (not hot) place. Let rise until doubling in bulk, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a floured workspace, punch it down and knead a few times.
Butter a large muffin tin (18 cups). Pinch the dough off in quarter-size pieces and roll into a small ball.
Place three balls in each cup of the muffin tin, until all the dough is used. Once again, cover with a clean linen dish towel and set in a draft-free, warm (not hot) place to rise for another hour or until doubling in bulk.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake the rolls for 12 to 18 minutes, until dark golden-brown.
Remove from the oven, brush the tops with melted butter and serve immediately with additional butter and honey, if desired.
Approximate values per roll: 83 calories, 2 grams fat (1 grams saturated), 5 milligrams cholesterol, 3 grams protein, 14 grams carbohydrates, no dietary fiber, 135 milligrams sodium.
Cook’s Note: You may use regular yeast, but you will need to increase the rising time in both steps.
Watch dough and allow it to rise until doubling in bulk both times.
You may substitute all-purpose flour, but the bread flour produces a finer grain for the yeast roll, making them fluffier and lighter.