Dinner Rolls

I have a friend who makes the most fabulous rolls every Sunday. Katie was nice enough to share her recipe for our church's cooking group. Watching her make those rolls was amazing, and she gave me enough tips that I was able to make them Asher-safe (no eggs, soy, milk). I put her tips in bold and mine in the usual italics

2 cups warm milk (45 second in the microwave) I use water
2 T dry yeast (Costco sells huge yeast packages that last for 1 year in the fridge that come out to a fraction of the cost of grocery store yeast packets)
1/3 c sugar

In a large bowl, combine the above ingredients. Let stand for 10 minutes (or until yeast has dissolved and mixture is fluffy).

Add:

1/3 cup shortening (Crisco butter-flavored) (Spectrum palm oil shortening for us)
2 1/2 t salt
1 egg (optional)
5-6 cups flour

Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time until well mixed. Don't need to worry about overmixing; you can tell the dough is done in the mixer when the dough pulls away from the bowl and balls around the dough hook. Let rise in a warm place until triple in size (this normally takes 45 minutes to 1 hour). A good place for this is in a cool oven with a pan of hot water under the racks.

Divide the dough in half. Roll out into desired shapes. Katie makes lovely evenly sized crescent rolls; mine are haphazardly-sized, often slightly deformed crescent shaped things. Let rise in warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Bake rols at 400 degree for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Another friend made a very tasty orange butter to go with these rolls. Thanks, Leonore!

1 lb butter, 4 sticks, softened
1/4 c frozen orange juice concentrate, defrosted
1 1/3 c powdered sugar
2 oranges' zest

Dissolve powdered sugar in orange juice. Add zest and butter.