Restaurant Bread Recipe

White Bread Or Dinner Rolls

Favorite Restaurant Bread Recipe

Let them eat cake?

Probably not after tasting Grandma's Bread Recipe that has now become a favorite restaurant recipe!

For many, many years making this bread recipe and enjoying the results this was a loved part of family get-togethers at Grandma Lorraine's home.

As a child she learned the recipe and method from her mother. They never measured ingredients; just poured and spooned things together.

Grandma prepared this fabulous recipe as her “famous” dinner rolls until arthritis made it too difficult and painful.

When Grandma and Grandpa were visiting in our home one day, I asked Grandma Lorraine to teach me how to make her rolls. This is how my lesson went.

She poured the milk into the pan and before we heated it, I measured it and wrote it down. She put the water into a bowl, and before adding the yeast, I measured it and wrote it down. You get the idea; I measured and wrote down every ingredient she used.

Then she taught me how to knead the dough, and how to tell when it was ready to bake.

That was a fantastic baking lesson, and a precious time with Grandma Lorraine.

I have been making “Grandma’s recipe” for over 30 years.

We baked these rolls at the restaurant (with rave reviews) until we could no longer make enough to keep up with business. For a time an employee would come to work at night after the restaurant was closed to make these rolls, but alas, employees who could work those hours became impossible to find.

Be daring and try Grandma’s recipe for rolls or bread.

I promise you, your family and friends will be astonished when they taste your bread! Is there anything better than homemade bread? I don’t think so.

Ingredients:

1 package of yeast (1/4 ounce)
1/4 cup of warm water (about 110 degrees)
2 cups hot milk (or 1 can evaporated milk + 1/4 cup of water - heated)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 2/3 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 - 5 cups unbleached flour

Bread Recipe Instructions:

In a sauce pan heat the milk over medium-low heat until hot (120-130 degrees but do not boil)
Remove from heat and add butter, salt and sugar and stir to dissolve and cool to lukewarm In a small bowl dissolve the yeast in warm water (110 degrees F) until bubbly (about 10 minutes)
In a large mixing bowl combine the lukewarm milk and yeast mixture with 2 cups of flour and stir well
Stir in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, stir well after each addition until the dough begins to leave the sides of the bowl (If this happens before all the flour is added, do not add the remaining flour.(Flours vary in how they behave so add only until it has pulled together in the bowl.)
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough feels smooth, soft and velvety (8-10 minutes). If dough is sticky, lightly sprinkle flour over it and then knead it a little more.

To knead the dough, place the heels of your hands on the front of the dough and push away, rolling or folding the top of the dough back toward you. No need to be "heavy" or "rough" while kneading.

Place the dough in a buttered bowl, turn over and cover with a damp cloth or clean kitchen towel and place the bowl in a warm, draft free spot and let the dough rise until it doubles in size
Punch it down and put it back in the buttered bowl and turn it over and cover it again
Let the dough rise until it is almost double in size

You can bake the bread without letting it raise a second time but it will not have as fine a texture.

Punch the dough down and divide it in half
Roll each half out with a rolling pin and shape into loaves by rolling the dough starting at the narrow end, sealing seams by pinching
Place in buttered loaf pans and butter the tops with melted butter
Cover very loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm area until double in size (about 30 minutes)
Place a small pan of hot water on the bottom oven rack and preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Uncover the loaves and bake until tops are golden (25-35 minutes)
Remove from oven and again brush the tops with melted butter
Cool before slicing (if you can stand to wait that long!)

To test a loaf of bread for doneness, tap the loaf out of the pan and tap on the bottom of the loaf. If it sounds hollow, it is done. If it doesn't sound hollow, place it back in the pan and pop it in the oven for a few minutes longer and test it again.

Oh! I almost forget to tell you. This same bread recipe can be used to bake dinner rolls instead of the loaves of bread.

For Dinner Rolls...

After punching the dough down the second time, cut or pinch off dough and form into rolls by rolling each of those pieces of dough between your hands until round
Place on greased sheet pans (15-20 per pan) and brush the tops with melted butter
Let rise again until almost double in size
Have the oven pre-heated to 400 degrees F and bake for about 8 minutes
Reverse the pans on the oven racks and bake another 7-8 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown and done in the center