Lunch Lady Rolls are a throwback to the days when school cafeterias served big, fluffy rolls. It's been years since I've had a school lunch so I couldn't tell you how they taste now, but I have good memories of the rolls (along with the rectangular pizza and a weird popsicle called Fruity Frost that tasted better than other popsicles).
When I first tried these, I wasn't sure the description reading "just like the ones served at the cafeteria" would be accurate, but it really was. Lunch Lady Rolls are the lightest, tightest crumbed, delicate rolls to come out of my kitchen -- and they don't call for any special tricks like adding potato flakes or beer.
This version of the recipe is adapted from one called Cafeteria Rolls. The school cafeterias version makes triple the amount of rolls, so if you need 36 rolls you might want to use that recipe. For us, the scaled down version works perfectly all the time.
There is one catch to this smaller batch Lunch Lady Rolls recipe and that's the egg. The original recipe calls for 2 eggs and since I was making ⅓, I had to do the silly maneuver of cracking the egg, spooning out about a tablespoon and using the remainder. Whatever. It works! If you buy small eggs you can skip that, but who buys small eggs?
For the flour, I weighed out 15 oz of King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose.
Recipe
Lunch Lady Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water 110-120 degrees
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 packet active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
- 3-⅓ cups all-purpose flour (420 grams)
- 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon shortening (around 15-16 grams)
- 1 large egg, divided use. You'll see.
- 4 teaspoons milk
- 1 teaspoon salt, scant
- 4 teaspoons butter, melted (18 grams)
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together the warm water and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the top, and let it stand for about 10 minutes, until the yeast is foamy.
- Combine just 3 cups of the flour and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cut in the shortening with a fork, your fingers or use the paddle attachment so make kind of a crumbly mixture where the shortening coats flour particles.
- Crack the egg into a small bowl or custard cup then measure out about 1 tablespoon (about a third of it, just eyeball) and add it to the bowl with the flour. Save the rest of the egg for something else such as the egg wash. Add the milk to the mixing bowl with the flour, then add the salt and the yeast water. Stir well by hand or put the bowl on the stand and mix with the paddle attachment.
- Switch to the dough hook and knead until dough appears smooth and elastic and is pulling away from the bowl. Now it's time to assess whether or not you nee dmore flour. You probably will. Add that reserved ⅓ cup gradually, kneading as you add it, until the dough is as described above (smooth, elastic and pulling away from bowl while clinging to hook).
- Scrape dough into the center of the bowl. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a warm towel and set it aside to rise for 1 hour.
- When the dough has risen, pour the melted butter over it, return to stand mixer and knead with the dough hook for about 3 more minutes. (See Note). Dough should be smooth, elastic, slick, but not shaggy.
- Flour a large surface lightly. Let the dough rest for a few minutes, then roll or pat it out to a little less than 1 inch thick. Using a chef's knife, cut the dough into 2 inch squares. Tuck the corners of the squares under to make smooth rounds and set them in the pan (I used two 9 inch round pans with about 6 balls of dough in each. Space about 1 inch apart.
- Set pans aside for another 40 minutes rise. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. If you like, brush the rolls with some extra melted butter. Bake the rolls for about 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. I brushed them with a little more butter before serving.
Anna says
I am going to try your technique. Thanks for sharing!
Michelle Stone says
I've made these 3 times now I add a little extra crisco and do not roll them in balls I put it in a square baking pan pushing it flat then cut into strips the are exactly like schools. The extra butter some add us hey to the soft top.
Shelly says
I made these yesterday. They did indeed bring me back to my high school days! Wonderful with pasta!
stephanie says
I have to try them, just because of the name itself! we are getting snowed in here in Michigan, this might be a good roll for tomorrow with a big pot of soup or chili. THanks!!
Kris P says
Can't wait to try these. Thanks for bringing back good memories of elementary school lunch. The rolls were the best.
Barbara says
Those look wonderful, Anna! I have one standard roll recipe...but don't make them often now that the kids are grown and gone.
When I was in boarding school, meals were pretty well balanced, but we all went for the fattening stuff! And in college, donuts and pizza. So bad for us! (but I lived to tell the tale!)
Betty @ scrambled hen fruit says
My middle school cafeteria made the BEST rolls- they even made their own hamburger and hotdog buns. I'll have to try these to see if they compare- they look wonderful!
Erin M says
I love the beautiful golden brown sheen you got on top of your rolls. I think I'll make a batch this week. It seems like they'd make a good sandwich with the leftover ham I've got from Sunday dinner. Thanks again!
Katrina says
Love those old memory type foods. I have a recipe for rolls that my mom actually got from a school lunch lady. It's called 30 minute rolls and works great for cinnamon rolls, too.
For measuring part of an egg, I like weighing a whole egg (out of the shell) in grams and then just dividing it by three, rather than trying to get all the egg goo into measuring spoons. Each egg isn't always exactly the same in grams, but close enough.
Fat Fudge says
You got rolls?! In our cafeteria, you got a piece of white bread spread with whipped margarine.
vanillasugarblog says
gosh i remember these as a kid eating them stuffed with really tasty coleslaw and baked beans. so good.!
Stacie @ Imperfectly Healthy says
Oh how I miss the rolls from my old school's cafeteria - they really were the best! I think I'm going to have to make these sometime soon!
Sue says
Yum! I just love a warm roll with a touch of butter. I'll have to compare this recipe to the one I used for Christmas dinner rolls. I've tried a number of recipes that use potato flakes, and I don't like them. I'm glad you found one that you like that doesn't use them.
Jennifer says
Those look really good. I've been working this year on my yeast skills, too. I've never been really good with anything that requires kneading or rolling out. I figure the raw ingredients for yeasted breads are usually so cheap though (flour, water, yeast, salt..) that I can experiment and really only lose some time if things don't turn out well.
Anna says
Caroline, Todd and I went to the Texas Roadhouse the other day. The one in our area is partially owned by Willie Nelson. Anyway, we loved their rolls. I think theirs have a little bit more butter flavor than these -- and it's that slightly artificial yet good tasting butter. You could get these to taste that way by using butter flavored shortening, I suppose. The texture was the same.
Caroline says
These look similar in texture and appearance to the rolls served at Texas Roadhouse. Those things are amazing, and served with a whipped cinnamon butter that makes me go weak in the knees. I've already bookmarked this recipe for a snowy day!