Aunt Marge's Rolls

 

As we get close to Christmas, Hanukkah, and the end of year holidays, I thought it was high time to dig back into my family’s recipes to share a treat that is perfect on any holiday table… none other than “Aunt Marge’s rolls!”

My Great Aunt Marge was my paternal grandmother’s (MaMa!!) younger sister (pictured here) who lived on a farm near Staunton Virginia most of her adult life and who was an incredible cook.  MaMa used to pose the question of who the better cook was, she or Marge, and I learned early in life not to “take the bait” and find a way to steer clear of that perilous question.  Aunt Marge was quite a character, outspoken and full of life and would share a delicious dinner when we would come visit her and Uncle Adley at the farm when we were kids.  While all the dishes were incredible, her rolls were exceptional, and my brother and I have worked to recreate the recipe ...the best we know how.  What follows is a recent “translation” that comes close to original, though Aunt Marge would have used probably used lard (most likely “leaf lard”) and would have omitted the dill during our summer visits.  The picture below is the batch I made last week following the recipe below. 

 I wish you all peace, love and understanding as you take some time off for the holidays…. in these times filled with conflict, division, and uncertainty here at home and all over the world, my hope is that you all can take some time over the holidays with your family and friends , share a meal and some stories... and don't forget to enjoy the rolls!!

                                              

Aunt Marge Rolls

 

 

Using my brother Mark’s “recipe” as a foundation, here is my version

 

The way I start is to put 1 cup of All Purpose flour in a bowl with 1/4-1/2 cup Whole Wheat flour

A little less than 1/4 cup sugar

1 heaping tablespoon (or 1 packet) Instant or Rapid Rise yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped dill

Mix dry ingredients with an electric hand mixer

 

When the dry ingredients are mixed, add 1/4 cup “Crisco” oil (you could melt solid Crisco) 

1 cup hot water, ½ cup buttermilk and make a "batter" with the hand mixer.

During the mixing process, add 1 egg and up to 1 more cup of All Purpose flour. 

 

Using a hand mixer, I stop adding additional flour when it starts to bog down.

With a wooden spoon I continue to add regular flour until the dough is dry enough to knead.  There is no exact amount, as it will depend on exactly how much water you use, the size of the eggs and the relative humidity.

Once the hand mixer “bogs down”, keep adding flour and mix with a wooden spoon It will probably take at least 1- 1& 1/2 cups AP flour more (3&1/2 - 4 cups flour total +/-)

 

Turn out onto a floured bread board or your countertop and knead until the dough is quite resistive.

Place dough into a large, oiled bowl and spray a little oil on top.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until it has doubled in size.  This should take 1 hour, depending on room temp.  (I place mine in an oven with the oven light on)

Take dough out onto your floured board and cut into the number of pieces you want for the rolls.  This sized batch of dough makes 16-18 of the "Aunt Marge" rolls. Cover with a light towel.

Let the rolls rise until at least doubled in size-an hour or more this time.  More rising is better.

Bake at 400F for about 16 minutes (less if you do individual “chef's hat” rolls in muffin tins) or until the tops are nice and brown.