Dear Mom,
Tonight I am going to bed feeling so drained but so happy. I mentioned before how I was going to attempt to make your rolls. I have never even used yeast before, Mom and I wish I had actually learned from you. But fear not! I texted Melanie and asked her some questions and started early, early this morning when Stella woke me up.
I have to tell you I'm so eternally grateful for Melanie, Mom. She is an angel walking among us. She and I have had conversations about how you likely didn't take Peggy's bluntness the way that I receive Mel's. This is true for probably several reasons. I think I have progressed a little further than you were able, which isn't to say you didn't try. And Melanie was able to progress much further than Peggy did. She is very aware of what she wants to say and always thinks before she speaks and is aware of how her words might make me feel and makes sure to say things that will be helpful. I honestly can't remember if I have told you how immensely she has helped me. I feel like she helped me in my relationship with you before you died and has been such a help to me since you have passed.
Anyway, I sent her some questions because I had started the first batch and I was using your Kitchenaid mixer that Dad and everyone agreed I should take. Karen and Erin both already have one and I don't. I will forever remember that the first thing I ever made using it was your rolls. Grandma's recipe mentions to add flour until the dough feels too stiff to mix. Well the dough was really runny still so I kept adding flour. Then I worried it was too much so I texted Mel and asked if that was a bad idea. She hadn't responded so I threw it out and started over and decided to just follow the recipe exactly.
I was glad I started over because in doing so I realized I had used the wrong amount of butter in the first batch. So I corrected that. I sent pictures and videos to Melanie. She sent me reassurance and told me she would have done the same thing- for my first attempt (well second, but whatever) she would have followed the recipe and then adjusted from there. I let it rise and was supposed to be to the point of rolling it out. Mom, it was like soup. There was no way I was going to be able to take a rolling pin to this. Mel FaceTimed me and agreed this wasn't going to work. So we chatted on FaceTime as I started over.
I started some new yeast and was making the scalded milk as we chatted. Daniel was getting lunch ready and was getting bacon ready to bake and it was kind of busy. Mel had suggested I put the sugar in with the water and yeast for this round because that's what she always does with her yeast and that's what the package suggests to activate the yeast. Well, that's what I ended up doing in my next two rounds as well (more to come on that) but this time I must not have used warm enough water because the yeast never activated. I was completely out of yeast, I had the scalded milk all ready and it was beginning to cool so I could add the eggs. I decided I was going to run and grab more yeast and then come home and make more yeast and try again.
Kristen messaged and needed a ride because she was dropping her car off. Lucky us, we had dropped our car off for a new battery and oil change at the exact place she was dropping her car off. So I left and got gas, picked up Kristen, ran in and grabbed yeast and flour and eggs and then we rushed home. So now Kristen helped me as I made the yeast the way Mel suggested. It activated and I added the eggs to the now just warm scalded milk mixture. Kristen was a super help in deciding how much flour to actually use. We ended up using five and three-quarters cups of flour which is a lot more than grandma's recipe said so I was nervous. I let it sit to rise.
I started rolling this batch about an hour later after we'd eaten lunch as Daniel took Kristen back to pick up both of our cars. Jeremy came over and when the rolls came out of the over he was willing to try them. He was very helpful when I went to roll them. I couldn't remember how much of the rolls you dipped in butter but he reminded me you dipped the whole thing in butter.
Jeremy, Daniel and Casey all tried a roll. Daniel immediately said they were cooked perfectly but said they tasted salty. Casey and Jeremy agreed they were salty but both said they were okay. Daniel said they tasted like biscuits and he couldn't remember what your rolls tasted like but wasn't sure they were okay. My feelings were hurt. I overreacted and because I couldn't taste them myself I felt like he was being mean. He left to run to Lowes and I kind of cried. But after some thought and calming myself down and texting with Melanie, she agreed that maybe I misread Grandma's handwriting and that it was two teaspoons of salt and not two TABLESPOONS of salt which is what I had done.
Daniel suggested I try again. I was tired, Mom. But I wanted to get these right. So, I decided to go with the momentum I had going and have success. I started again. Used the correct amount of salt and made a new batch of dough. I called Dad and invited him over. Everyone played Scipio while I worked at rolling out the dough and made another batch. They came out of the oven and they looked amazing.
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