Name: School Lunchroom Cafeteria Rolls
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 2 h 10 min
Total time: 2 h 25 min
Yield: 24
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Wheat flour 10 cups; Active dry yeast 0.75 oz; Shortening 1/4 cup; Butter 1/4 cup; Water 3 cups; Sugar 3/4 cup; Milk 1/4 cup; Eggs 2; Salt 1 tbsp

Cuisine:

American Recipes

School Lunchroom Cafeteria Rolls recipe

My School Lunchroom Cafeteria Rolls are a great place to start if you want to get into bread baking. It took me a really long time to try making my own bread. The whole yeast…rising…kneading…thing had me spooked! But then I tried it and realized that a) it’s actually pretty easy, and even enjoyable! And b) it’s so worth it to have freshly baked bread straight from the oven.

I started making these soft old-fashioned yeast rolls soon after. We eat buns all the time at home so it’s amazing to have them freshly baked. And they’re exactly like the old school cafeteria-style buns I remember from my school days.

Serve straight from the oven slathered in butter – nothing better!

To make School Lunchroom Cafeteria Rolls (School Cafeteria Buns), you will need the following ingredients:

Ingridiens for School Lunchroom Cafeteria Rolls

So, how to make School Lunchroom Cafeteria Rolls?

Steps to make School Lunchroom Cafeteria Rolls

1
Combine the water and sugar
1

Combine the warm water and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a bowl.
2
Add the yeast
10

Add the yeast and leave the mixture to sit for 10 minutes, until foaming.
3
Add the milk and eggs
2

Stir the milk, eggs, and salt into the yeast mixture.
4
Combine the flour, sugar, and shortening
5

Sift the flour and remaining sugar into another bowl. Use your fingers to crumble the shortening into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
5
Mix the dough
10

A little at a time, add the flour to the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon, until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball.
6
Leave to rise
45

Lay a hot wet towel over the bowl and leave to rise in a warm place for around 45 minutes, until doubled in size.
7
Add the butter
5

Once the dough has risen, pour the butter over the top and use your hands to knead it in the bowl for a couple of minutes.
8
Roll out the dough
10

Leave the dough to rest for 3-4 minutes. Dust a work surface with flour, Divide the dough into two parts, then roll each out to about an inch thick.
9
Slice the dough
5

Cut the dough into 2-inch squares
10
Shape the buns
5

Roll the squares into balls. Place the balls, evenly spaced, on a greased baking tray.
11
Leave to rise
30

Leave the dough to rise again, until the balls have doubled in size.
12
Bake the buns
12

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake the buns for about 12 minutes, until golden brown on the top.

Warm, soft and yeasty, these School Cafeteria Buns are exactly like the ones from your childhood! If you have a go at baking these, I’d love to hear how you find my method. Let me know in the comments below!

About the author

Dasha Vakulova

Dasha is an enthusiastic and cheerful mom. She knows as well as any parent that children can be really picky when it comes to food. And she’s had plenty of experience trying to cook meals that are both tasty and nutritious, and able to satisfy the tastes of a fussy kid right away! To save you some precious time, Dasha is going to share with you all the tricks she learned the hard way, so you don’t have to! She has a wealth of recipes for quick and easy meals for kids and families on a budget.