Mimi's Rolls (Erica Style)

Back in the 1970’s my Great Aunt Jan was raising 6 kids in the Houston suburbs, when one of them burst into the house one afternoon raving about these sweet yeast rolls that their friend’s mom Mimi had made for dinner,. They begged her to get the recipe, which she did, and from then on Mimi’s Rolls were THEE yeast roll at important family dinners — ESPECIALLY Thanksgiving.

And on Thanksgiving she always made two batches — normal dinner sized rolls, and then a batch of huge double sized rolls for making the Perfect Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich. She was a genius.

After Aunt Jan died, I tried replicating Mimi’s Rolls from the sparse instructions on a 3x5 card, and tweaked them just a bit. This is my version.

• 2 C lukewarm water

• 2 pkg active dry yeast

• 2T sugar

Mix ingredients above and let sit for 5-10 minutes to bloom the yeast.

• 1/4 C lard (or bacon grease)

• 1 egg, slightly beaten

• 6 C AP flour (plus more for dusting)

• 4 t. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt

Mix flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add lard and mix until mostly incorporated. About 30-60 seconds.

Add egg to the other wet ingredients. Stream the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients slowly with the mixer running on medium. Let the mixer run until a smooth ball forms, about 3-5 minutes.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead 3-5 times.

Place into a greased bowl, cover with cling wrap, let rise until doubled (about 90 minutes)

If eating as rolls, either cut out or shape into 20 rolls. Place on a greased sheet pan, and let rise, covered with a tea towel, for 30 minutes.

If eating as loaves, shape into two loaves and place each, seam side down, into a greased loaf pan, covered with a tea towel, for 30 minutes.

Bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes for rolls.

For loaves, bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes before attempting to remove from the pan.

Enjoy!