Mom's Air Buns (Rolls)

Sweet Baboo's Note:

This recipe for light, soft, buns did NOT come from my Mom, but it is so good that I dedicate it to all Moms who bake bread..or anyone who bakes bread for that matter! I will give the original recipe, but I admit that I now use the ABM to knead the dough, and will give instructions for this variation at the end. Preparation time is the length of time for the "dough" cycle on my bread machine. For anyone wishing to make 100% whole wheat buns,(a variation of this recipe, and equally delicious IMHO), I have submitted it as Mom's 100% Whole Wheat Air Buns (Rolls) for Abm with minor alterations. More tweaking...I now like Mom's 100% Whole Grain Air Buns, recipe #186744 even better for a healthier version.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 2 hrs
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 16 buns

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 tablespoon yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup lard (I use shortening)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 cups white bread flour
• 3 cups more white bread flour

Directions:

1. Mix the 1/2 cup warm water, yeast, and 1 tsp sugar, and allow to proof.
2. Melt the lard, and mix in sugar, salt, vinegar, and warm water. When body warm, add the proofed yeast, and beat in 1 1/2 cups flour. Let rest for 15 minutes.
3. Knead in approximately 3 cups more flour.
4. Let dough rise till double (approximately 2 hours).
5. Deflate dough, and form into buns, any size, (I make 16 large) or loaves. Rise till double (takes approximately one hour, but depends on size/shape chosen).
6. Bake buns at 350°F for approximately 20 minutes.
7. For ABM, in my machine, on the "dough" cycle, I use 2 teaspoons of bread machine yeast, and I reduce the water to about 1 1/2 cups, the flour to 4 cups, adding a tad more water or flour as it kneads to get a smooth,soft ball of dough. I leave the other ingredients as posted.

Reviews

[Sydney Mike]

Really, really enjoyed these buns, especially when right out of the oven! Made the whole batch & shared about 1/3 of 'em with a neighbor couple, & now I've been asked to make 'em again this next week! A great recipe! Thanks for sharing it! [Tagged & made in Please Review My Recipe]

[Chef #1545958]

Made this today. This is a really airy and soft buns, I have to admit. But despite of that, why my dough was sooo gooey, so sticky. I even cannot knead it or shape it. I add 0.5c more but I will not adding more and more fluor as it will make the buns heavier. Maybe next time I will reduce water to 1c only. And I use lemon juice instead of vinegar. In my opinion, vinegar was too strong, so I can taste it in the buns. But still, I can taste really slight tang, by using the lemon. Overall, nice idea to use vinegar as a booster.

[Pink_Diamond]

Great recipe, nice light fluffy buns. I first proofed the yeast, then I poured the wet ingredients along with the yeast in the stand mixer bowl with 1 cup flour and added the rest of the flour gradually. I let it go for about 7 minutes using the dough hook, then followed the directions starting at number 4. Very happy with the end results.