Place milk mixture and remaining ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on medium-low speed for 15 minutes. You can add more flour if dough is extremely wet, but dough should be quite sticky and won’t clean the sides of the bowl completely.

Scrape dough into a large, generously greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 

Scoop dough out onto a piece of parchment paper or a greased work surface. Divide dough into 15 to 24 pieces, depending on how large of rolls you prefer. Using buttered hands, shape the pieces into balls by first pinching the edges into the center, then rolling the ball on your work surface to create surface tension. Place in a greased 13×9-inch pan or 10- to 12-inch cast iron skillet. 

Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise until the rolls fill the pan, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Half an hour before the rolls are done proofing, preheat oven to 375° F. Bake risen rolls for 25–30 minutes, or until golden and an instant read thermometer registers 200° F when inserted into the center of one of the rolls.

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a cooling rack to cool further. Serve warm or at room temperature (with butter, of course!).

Notes:
• If you use instant yeast instead of active dry, there’s no need to activate it first. Simply put all of the ingredients in the bowl and knead.
• These rolls work with a smaller amount of canned pumpkin as well. If you only have an extra cup hanging around from another baking project, you can use that and increase the milk to 1 cup.
• Because the dough is quite sticky, it’s best to knead it using a machine. If you do decide to knead by hand, add more flour and use wet or greased hands.
• You can either divide the dough into 15 pieces and bake in a 13×9-inch pan (arrange them 3 across and 5 down), or divide them into smaller pieces and bake them in two smaller pans or skillets.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5–7 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 90 minutes.

Punch down dough, and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 2 pieces and form a ball. Roll each ball into a 15-inch circle. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Roll up each wedge from wide end and place point side down on parchment-lined baking sheet. Curve ends down to form crescent. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Bake at 400ºF for 8–10 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from pans to wire racks.

Makes 16 rolls.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5–7 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn onto lightly floured surface. Divide into 20 pieces. Place in greased 13×9 baking pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350ºF for 30–35 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter.

In a mixing bowl, whisk flour and salt. Add yeast mixture and oil to dry ingredients and beat until a soft dough is formed.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Let rest 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 10 to 12 pieces, shape into balls, and place in a greased 8×8 dish or 8-inch round pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30–45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375ºF and brush the tops with additional oil (optional). Bake for 20–22 minutes, then broil on high for 2 minutes or until golden brown.

Beat in eggs, oil, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, salt, remaining 4 cups warm water, and 6 cups flour. Switch to the dough hook attachment, and mix in remaining 6 cups flour. Up to 1 cup less or more flour may be needed to make a dough that is soft but not too sticky. Let rise 45 minutes.

Punch dough down, then let rise 45 minutes again. Prepare 3 baking sheets with parchment paper or pans enough to hold 3 dozen rolls.

Punch dough down, and divide into 4 balls. Roll out each portion into a 12-inch circle. Spread 2 tablespoons softened butter over each, leaving the center free of butter so the dough will stick and hold the roll shut. Cut each circle into 8 wedges and roll up to the center individually.

Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup flour in a light layer on your work surface. Roll each butterhorn in flour, or dip the tops so they are dusted with flour. Place on pans and let rise 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake rolls 20–25 minutes or until golden brown.

While sponge mixture is rising, scald milk in a saucepan over medium heat (until tiny bubbles just begin to form on the outside rim). Remove from heat and add shortening and remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Stir until shortening melts. Let cool to room temperature.

Once sponge has risen, stir milk mixture into the sponge. Stir in remaining flour and salt until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 8–10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.

Place in a greased bowl and brush dough with oil or shortening. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 24 pieces (yes, this takes a little mathematical planning—you can do it!). Shape each piece into a ball. Place all the dough balls in a greased 9×13 metal cake pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about another hour.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Bake rolls for 20–25 minutes, until they are golden brown on top and sound hollow when you tap on the top.

Brush the tops of rolls with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven. Serve warm.

Note: If the rolls are getting too brown on top but don’t seem done, you can cover them with aluminum foil and continue baking until they are cooked through.

Measure out sugar. Pour yeast and 1 teaspoon of the measured sugar into the 1/2 cup of warm potato water. Whisk to blend the ingredients, then set it aside and allow the mixture to foam. It won’t take long, about 3–5 minutes.

Place 2 cups of the bread flour, salt and remaining granulated sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add warm mashed potatoes, buttermilk, melted butter and yeast mixture. Beat on medium speed of an electric mixer for 2 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup flour, salt, oatmeal and shredded cheese. Beat until combined. Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5–8 minutes.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, then turn to grease the top. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Punch down the dough and divide it into 16 pieces (a digital kitchen scale comes in handy for this to make sure all the rolls are the same size). Shape each piece into a round ball and place in the prepared pans. Cover and let the rolls rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.

When the rolls are almost doubled in size, preheat oven to 350ºF. Uncover rolls and gently brush the tops of each with egg wash.

Bake at 350ºF for 30–35 minutes or until golden brown. Run a butter knife around the edge of the pans to loosen and remove the rolls from the pans to wire racks. Great served warm.

Makes 16 rolls.

Recipe adapted from Bakeaholic Mama.

Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough sit at room temperature for 8–24 hours to rise. I like to store mine in an oven (no heat).

After the dough has risen and has little air pockets, preheat oven to 450ºF (remove dough from oven first if you let it rise in the oven). Place a Dutch oven into the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Do not skip this step.

While Dutch oven preheats, turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. With floured hands, form the dough into a ball. Divide into 6 equal-sized pieces and gently form into round balls. Cover dough loosely and let rest.

After 30 minutes are up, carefully remove Dutch oven. With floured hands, place in dough balls.

Replace cover and bake for 30 minutes covered. Carefully remove the cover and bake for an additional 10–15 minutes, uncovered. I find that mine take about 12 additional minutes, but just keep an eye on them.

Allow rolls to cool slightly and transfer to a cooling rack. Slice in half horizontally to use as a burger or sandwich roll or cut in vertical diagonal slices for crostini. The possibilities are endless!

Add the water and start mixing the dough. Watch it as it mixes. The dough should be ready when it comes together and separates from the side of the bowl. Add more water and/or flour in small amounts, as needed, depending on how the mixture behaves.

Allow to rise until almost doubled (about 1 hour or so). Once it has risen, transfer to a lightly floured surface and shape into a loose rectangle.

Using a cutter, cut the dough into 12 equally-sized pieces. Then roll into balls and put into a greased rectangular baking pan, equally spaced three wide and four deep. Finally, spray lightly with cooking spray and cover loosely with plastic wrap to keep moist. Allow the rolls to grow to almost double in size (about 1½ hours).

Place in a preheated oven at 375°F and bake for 25–30 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown and sound hollow when lightly tapped on top. Remove from oven and brush generously with melted butter. Serve warm.

Place very warm water in a small bowl and sprinkle yeast on top, stirring until yeast dissolves. Leave to foam for 10 minutes.

Heat milk in microwave until hot, then add butter, sugar and salt. Stir until butter melts. Let cool a little and then add the lightly beaten eggs and stir in. Pour into a large mixing bowl with the yeast mixture.

Add flour a little at a time to the milk and yeast mixture and beat with a metal spoon until a soft dough forms. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl and is still be a little sticky, but you should be able to form it into a rough ball with your hands. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour until you are happy with the consistency, being careful not to make it too dry.

Place in a greased mixing bowl with a damp towel over the top and leave to rise until it doubles in size, about 30 minutes. This can differ depending on your room temperature—if it is cold where you are, place the dough in the microwave with a cup of boiling water next to the bowl to help it along.

On a lightly floured surface, cut dough ball in half, then cut each half in half and then into 4 little pieces. Roll pieces into balls with your hands and place in the baking tin. Cover again and let rise till they double in size, about 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200°C (400ºF). Bake for about 20 minutes, until rolls are golden brown. Brush with melted butter and serve.

Notes:
1. For cranberry and cheese rolls, add 1 tablespoon dried cranberries to the dough after you have added the flour and mix through. Grate cheese over the top of the rolls before you bake them.
2. You can also make herbed rolls by adding 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs to the melted butter before you brush over the rolls.