August 1, 2022

Anyone Can Bake - Recipe 1...

I'm so excited to start a new feature...Anyone Can Bake Cookbook Recipes. I pulled all the ingredients together for the first recipe, so here goes!

I said I had to try this recipe first...Luncheon Rolls. I followed the recipe to the letter, and by checking through other recipes in the book, I found that Royal's "very hot oven" designation is 425ยบ F.


I did (of course) use Royal Baking Powder for the recipe. I chose Mortons™ Coarse Sea Salt and I use King Arthur Special Patent™ bread flour in this instance. In this photograph, I've mixed all the ingredients and formed into a ball to prepare to shape rolls.


I didn't make them very large. I decided to use the "1920s" food portion (based on the difference from my mother-in-law's cookie cutters and my more modern versions). A lunch roll would definitely be smaller than something you might get today from Subway. These are about 5" long.

I sprayed Pam™ spray on the sheet pan and placed the rolls. I covered them with a cotton flour sack towel (my favorite to use in the kitchen!) and let them rest for 20 minutes. I brushed them with milk, per the recipe, but also added my "Everything Topping" mix from King Arthur over the top of each roll. Then, into the oven.


I gave them about twenty minutes before taking them out to brush with butter. Then back in the oven for ten more. My handsome taste tester said they were still a bit doughy, so back in they went for three more minutes. Here they are, fresh from the oven.


So, Handsome and I discussed this recipe after dinner. We decided to use a rating system of 0-10, with ten being the best. He scored these a 7. I scored them a 6.

Here's my our assessment: They tasted like buttermilk biscuits, but more dense and with a crispy outer crust. Perhaps they'd be more like today's lunch rolls if they were a bit larger, but at this size, I'd be more likely to use them as a side, rather than as support for sandwich (lunch meat, etc.), and I would make them again.

If you decide to save the recipe and make some for yourself, please let me know what you think. I'm also going to re-upload the Index page, as I think it turned out blurry in my first post. I'll be making a new page up in the menu bar today so you'll be able to find all the future recipes in one place. I'll let you know ahead of time when I'm planning my next cookbook post. Hope you enjoy!

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review on the rolls.
    I also love the flour sack towels. :)
    Marilyn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Marilyn:
      You're so welcome. I can say they taste just as good reheated, too. Big thumbs up. Flour sack towels are my favorite.
      Thanks for the note!
      xoxo
      Donna

      Delete
  2. Well, I have to admit that not ANYONE can bake because I fall into the dismal-at-it category over bread and pies. Sourdough bread and buns have become the norm in our household, at least since covid hit and getting 'boughten' bread was so difficult. Now we just plain like homemade better and Resident Chef has perfected his technique.
    I'm going to love seeing your experiments and reading about the taste testing scale for each one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi MA:
      Perhaps you'll see a recipe in the coming months that you just HAVE to try. My mum always said pastry was so hard to make well that for decades I never even tried. One day I just jumped in and Voila! Not so bad. I know what you mean about store-bought. It just doesn't come close to the homemade variety. We're spoiled here, too. Thanks for today's comment.
      xoxo
      Donna

      Delete
  3. If the rolls had been larger the baking time would bee even more of an issue I think. Smaller lunch rolls means makes 2 sandwiches... win win

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you're right. They didn't make anything in monster portions back then, so I'll be more likely to follow suit when I try to recreate the recipes now. Twice the treats!
      xoxo
      Donna

      Delete
  4. Thank you for the great job sharing! I enjoyed this new post... I think it must have been fun for you and Handsome to be the connoisseurs evaluating the recipe and outcome! Another nice thing to share together! (-:

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lois:
      Glad you enjoyed the post. I'm glad Handsome wants to help test and critique these creations. Two heads (and mouths) are always better than one...especially if one of them is him. Thanks so much for your note.
      xoxo
      Donna

      Delete

Thank you so much for leaving a comment today. I'm using new settings on my comments so that I'll be able to respond to your messages to me. Be sure to come back to see my replies!

Blessings, Donna