Clover Leaf Hot Rolls from Fannie Farmer
If there is one thing that defines my childhood memories of the big Easter spread at my Maw Maw’s house it is clover-leaf 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 from the eleventh revision printed in 1956. The only change I am making to the recipe is to use fast acting yeast instead of regular yeast. I find it to be more forgiving than regular yeast and therefore 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, Breadsticks or Bowknots. But for me it has to be Clover Leaf Rolls. Nothing else quite does it for Easter dinner. I hope you enjoy!
Clover Leaf Hot Rolls
based on “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, 11th edition” Hot Rolls, (Little Brown, 1956)
Start to finish: about 3 1/2 hours, mostly unattended rise time
Makes 18 rolls
1 cup lukewarm whole milk
1 package (1/4 ounce) fast acting yeast *
2 tablespoons soft butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups breads flour*
1. 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.
2. 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 two (2) minutes. (If mixing by hand, mix after incorporation for 5 minutes.)
3. Turn the dough into a buttered bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean linen dish-towel and place in a draft-free warm (not hot) place. Let rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a floured workspace, punch it down and knead a few times.
4. Butter a large muffin tin (18). Pinch the dough off in quarter-size pieces and roll into a small ball. Place three balls in each section of the muffin tin, until all the dough is used. Once again cover with a clean linen dish-towel and place in a draft-free warm, (not hot) place to rise for another hour or until double in bulk.
5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 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 Serving: 83 calories , 2 g fat (1 g saturated), 5 mg cholesterol, 3 g protein, 14 g carbohydrates, 0 g dietary fiber, 135 mg sodium
*Cooks Note: You may use regular yeast, but will need to increase the rise time in both steps. Watch dough and allow it to rise until double 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.
(Alicia Ross is the co-author of "Desperation Dinners!" (Workman, 1997), "Desperation Entertaining!" (Workman, 2002) and "Cheap. Fast. Good!" (Workman, 2006).
