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, you will need the following ingredients:
Combine the warm water and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a bowl.
Add the yeast and leave the mixture to sit for 10 minutes, until foaming.
Stir the milk, eggs, and salt into the yeast mixture.
Sift the flour and remaining sugar into another bowl. Use your fingers to crumble the shortening into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
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.
Lay a hot wet towel over the bowl and leave to rise in a warm place for around 45 minutes, until doubled in size.
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.
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.
Cut the dough into 2-inch squares
Roll the squares into balls. Place the balls, evenly spaced, on a greased baking tray.
Leave the dough to rise again, until the balls have doubled in size.
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!
