Mammaw Faye's Best Rolls

In total honesty, when I was mixing this dough, I cried. My sweet grandmother (who my youngest is named after) passed away this past year. Before she died, when each of your granddaughters got married (there were 3 of us), she handed us the best wedding gift. I was born in 1989, and in September of 1990, she started writing down recipes that she loved, that my dad loved, that I loved, that the grandchildren loved — in her own beautiful handwriting. On the back of some of them, she’d write little notes, like, “Caroline, this was your favorite dessert that I made this summer in 1998.” Or, “This was your dad’s favorite meal when he was little.” After she passed, my dad and his siblings found countless journals of thanksgiving, notebooks full of prayers for the kids and grandkids (and great grands), hand written notes for us all to find on furniture (yes, furniture!), a notebook full of everything she gifted to every single child, grandchild, and great grandchild. Her thoughtfulness was quite astounding.

She was an avid baker — always had a cake or dessert on the counter (and her freezer was always full of ice cream, and she had OPINIONS about the best kinds). One of the recipes she was known for was her yeast rolls. Buttery soft & a staple at every family function — my cousin Devon and I used to squirt ranch in the middle of them (I laugh at this now, but at the time we thought it was amazing).

All that to say, I knew I wanted to make her recipe, but with my sourdough starter. Sometimes, here, it’s hard to get yeast that actually works or isn’t expired. So, when it turned out so good and so nostalgic for what I remembered, I was so excited. And it was an honor to channel her and remember the many ways she served her family, not just with food, but in life, in her attitude, in her hidden prayers, and in the joy and laughter that so marked her life and outlook. So, if you decide to make this recipe, please please please let me know. It would mean so much!

(the exact recipe has been changed to accommodate sourdough, and the fact that maida — our all purpose flour — is more like cake flour and has less structure which is why I included a cup of whole wheat flour).

Mammaw Faye’s Best Rolls

2 cups Maida (all purpose flour)

1 cup Atta (whole wheat flour)

100 grams active sourdough starter

1 1/4 cups buttermilk at room temperature (i did 1 1/4 cups milk plus 1 tablespoon of vinegar, let sit for 5 minutes)

3 tablespoons room temperature butter

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar

HONEY CINNAMON BUTTER

1/2 cup salted butter

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine your dry ingredients plus butter and stir, incorporating the butter until it’s mealy and cut through the flour mixture.
In a small bowl, mix together the buttermilk and sourdough starter. Pour into the flour mixture and mix together until a dough forms. Let rest for an hour.
Perform 3 stretch and folds, 30 minutes apart each. Let rest for 2 hours or until doubled by 50%.
Once it’s doubled by 50%, turn the dough out and separate into 12 equal sized pieces (around 70 grams each). Line a glass 9x13 pan with butter or ghee.
Once you have the dough divided, shape the pieces into balls by pinching the dough to a point, placing the seam side down on the glass pan. Cover with a damp towel for 4 hours or until the balls have risen by 75%.
Preheat your OTG to 190 degrees Celsius on convection with both the top and bottom element on. Once preheated, bake the rolls with just the bottom element on for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn the top element on and finish baking until golden brown.
While the rolls are baking, mix together the ingredients for the honey cinnamon butter.
When the rolls are finished baking, let them rest for 2-3 minutes and serve warm with the honey cinnamon butter!

Check out more of Mammaw Faye’s recipes, like her Meatloaf Recipe!

NOTES:

**my kitchen is around 80 degrees, so you may need to adjust your rest times if your kitchen/house is cooler.

**baking in America, bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes, disregarding the notes about convection and top and bottom elements.

Example schedule:

7 am: feed starter

10 am: mix dough

11 am: first stretch and fold

11:30 am: second stretch and fold

12:00 pm: final stretch and fold, let rest for 2 hours

2 pm: shape into 12 balls

6 pm: bake