Mom's Homemade Rolls

Directions

1. Soften yeast in 1/4 cup warm water in a large mixing bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, milk and butter. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer. Add 1 cup flour and beat on high speed of mixer for 2 minutes. Add in enough additional flour (if needed) to make a soft dough.
2. Turn dough on lightly floured surface and knead 2 to 3 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 30 minutes or until doubled.
3. Punch dough down and divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape into balls. Place in greased 8-inch round pan.
4. Pour a 1-inch depth of boiling water into large pan on bottom rack of cold oven. Set rolls on rack above water. Cover. Close oven door; let rise 30 minutes or until doubled. Uncover rolls; remove pan of water and rolls from oven.
5. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, or until done. Remove from pan. Serve warm.
6. To Freeze (unbaked rolls): Follow recipe as recommended up to and including when rolls are shaped and placed in pan. Tightly wrap rolls and pan with plastic wrap and foil. For best flavor, thaw and bake within one week of freezing.
7. To Thaw: Place pan of rolls covered in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator and continue the thaw and rise process at room temperature. When thawing at room temperature, allow at least 2 hours for rolls to rise after removing from the refrigerator. If rolls are not rising, boil a pot of water, remove from heat, cover the pot with a wire rack and place pan of rolls, covered with a cloth on top of rack. The steam will warm the dough to speed the rising process. Once the rolls have doubled in size, bake according to recipe.