Homemade Mennonite Yeast Rolls Recipe (2024)

February 14, 2017 · In: recipes

I started my very first job when I was a teenager in high school. It wasn’t some elaborate thing that I wanted (and I definitely didn’t know how to cook mennonite yeast rolls).I had big plans in my head of what I wanted to be, and baking wasn’t it. But never-the-less, it was an income for me to spend frivolously. And later in life I’d come to find that I would enjoy it more than I realized. My very first job was working in a little Mennonite specialty store and bakery in my hometown — it was called The Farmer’s Wife.

I could sit here and tell you that everything I learned when it comes to cooking came from my mom and grandma, but I’d be lying. You see, most of what I learned came directly from that little country store and the wonderful women that worked within it. But this particular recipe came from a beautiful Mennonite woman who I cherish deeply. She loves her family more than you could imagine. She truly is a Proverbs 31 woman, and she is inspiring even when she doesn’t realize it.

My need for a good mennonite yeast roll recipe came about eight years ago when my husband, aka Mountain Man, asked if I could make homemade rolls for dinner one evening. It also makes an incredible Mennonite Cinnamon Roll Recipe.

I tried, and I failed…drastically. Mountain Man isn’t one to hide his true feelings when it comes to things, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. This time, it was a bad thing, as his response went something like, “why can’t you make rolls like those Mennonite women do.”You have got to be kidding me….

So I humbly asked a friend for her favorite mennonite yeast roll recipe (after all, she was mennonite!), and she gracefully mailed it to me on a sheet of paper through snail mail. Snail mail….how official it was back then. It was nice getting something in the mail rather than having to print it off on the computer or stare at the iPad while making the recipe.

I made the recipe, and it was awful. I made it again, and again, the same outcome. By the tenth try they finally started to resemble normal yeast rolls. And what I quickly realized is that it wasn’t the recipe that made them good, it was the technique. I often watch food network, where they talk about people’s techniques in the kitchen. For years I scoffed because I truly didn’t think it made a difference….boy, was I wrong.

So with that said, below you will find the recipe, slightly tweaked, for these sinfully tasty yeast rolls. The recipe is extremely easy, however, I tried to convey the technique as much as possible in the recipe so that you can hopefully avoid having to make these ten times before you get them right!

Homemade Mennonite Yeast Rolls

1/2 cup warm water 2 Tbs ofyeast

• Stir together in small bowl and let sit while mixing the rest of the ingredients.

1/2 cup butter
2 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
6-7 cups all purpose flour

1. Heat in a saucepan heat all remaining ingredients (except flour) until butter is melted and sugar and salt are dissolved. Let rest until lukewarm.I actually just let it set for about 5 mins and then go ahead and use it.
2. In a stand mixer, combine butter/milk mixture andyeastmixture.
3. Add 6 cups of all purpose flour slowly. Your dough should be a little sticky, but still firm. You can also knead by hand. If dough is still too sticky, then add up to another cup of flour in half cup increments (up to 7 cups total). Knead until smooth and elastic, but still sticky.
4. Put dough in a greased bowl and lightly grease top of dough. Let rise for about 45 mins or until doubled.I like to use a heating pad to speed up the process, or I put the bowl on top of a towel over the burner that I was using to melt the butter mixture. Makes it rise quicker.
5. Punch down dough, grease three 9″ round pans (you won’t fill the third one completely). Grease your hands with oil if necessary for the next step. Pull off large walnut size balls and knead until smooth.Basically, if you’ve ever made loaf bread, this is the point where you knead androllit to fit the loaf pan. I just knead it and tuck the ends up into the bottom center to make a smooth top.
6. Put 8 to 12 rolls per pan — I prefer 8-9 for largerrolls. If you want smallerrolls, you can adjust size etc.
7. Let rise for about 15 mins. Bake at 350 for 18 mins.

You’re done!

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• Homemade Chicken Pot Pie with Rustic Crust

Watch me make them here