November 28, 2017

Beloved ~

        The Briggs-Mescher Thanksgiving of 2017 was delightful in almost every way.  The newest addition was a six-week-old golden retriever named Watson, whose feet hardly hit the floor the whole four days as we took turns letting him nap in our laps.  We had lots of FaceTime with our son Ben who is studying in Taiwan this year, and we can’t wait to see him in just nineteen more days!

        Of course there was so much food.  Pre Thanksgiving we had chicken pot pie soup, crockpot beef and noodles, fried mushrooms, pumpkin chocolate muffins, and amazing breakfasts.  One day my husband grilled apple sausages* outside!  We had the usual Thanks Day Feast with pie, pie and more pie - but sadly, no rolls.  Or, more precisely - the worst rolls since the first Thanksgiving Day ever.  
        Until last week I’d have said this yeast roll recipe was foolproof.  The man who gave it to me has since passed away, but when I called to ask him for it twenty-plus years ago, he said, “Annette, are you wanting to make these today?”  I said, “Yes.”  He said, “Then hang on a bit and I’ll be there.  I need to show you how to make this dough.  It’s all sight and feel and smell, which you can’t get if I just tell you what to write down.”  So he drove in from Brown County and stood next to me so I would know exactly how heavy the scant cup of sugar ought to feel in my hand and how wet the dough is supposed to be when it’s ready to go in the fridge. 
        I’ve made them every year at Thanksgiving and sometimes Christmas.  Sometimes in between.  One year I burned my hand badly taking them out of the oven, and my daughter’s then-boyfriend called his doctor dad, who called in a prescription for Silvadene, which I still have in my cabinet today.  But never, ever, ever until this year did the dough refuse to rise.  I took it out of the fridge Thanksgiving morning and it lay there stiff and white as a corpse.  My second batch, from the BH&G Classic Cookbook, rose in the bowl but not on the baking pans, so the rolls were like little bricks which people pretended to like before tossing them into the chicken scrap bucket.  My husband said, “There ought to be something we can do with that dough.”  “Mortar,” I said.  “I’m going to try,” he said.  So he pulled off bits and rolled them into strips and fried them in oil, some with garlic salt or chili seasoning or cinnamon sugar.  Naan!  We spread butter and jam and goat cheese like a samples table at Sam’s Club.  It was amazing!  We ate our fill and added the rest of the corpse to the chicken scrap bucket.  I’m renaming the recipe “Bill’s Yeast or Carl’s Naan Thanksgiving Bread.”  The recipe is below.  If you want me to come show you, I feel duty bound (and glad!) to do so.
        As the holiday season swings into full gear, I pray you will find the peace and calm that our faith gives in a world begging us to overwork and overspend.  That we are present to one another and generous with those who need our help is itself a celebration of Immanuel, God with us.   


~ peace & prayers,
pastor annette

* Apple Sausage - We have discovered the meat market called Wagon Wheel on South Walnut and think it altogether a fine place to do business.  Their apple sausage links are delicious!

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Bill Littlefield’s Amazing Yeast Rolls ~  Annette H. Briggs

• 2 Tbsp active dry yeast
• 2 ½ cups warm water (110-115 degrees, hotter than this will kill the yeast)
• ¼ cup shortening
• 1 stick butter (not margarine!)
• almost 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 8 cups unbleached all purpose flour

Gently mix together the yeast, sugar and water.  Leave alone until active.  Active means it is bubbling and you can smell yeast working.  It will look foamy.  Bread recipes call this mix the “proof.”

Melt together the butter and shortening.  Cool to 115 degrees and then add to proof.  

Stir in eggs and salt.

Add 3 cups of flour and stir until smooth.  Add remaining flour 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly.

Cover loosely and refrigerate overnight, up to three days.  The dough will double in the bowl.

Punch down and divide into fourths.  Sprinkle countertop with flour and roll each fourth into a circle.  Cut into wedges like a pizza.  Starting with outer edge, roll each wedge into a crescent.

Spray cookie sheets with oil, and space rolls to allow doubled size when risen.  Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rise 3-4 hours.

Bake rolls 8-11 minutes at 400.  Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.

They freeze well too.

Note:  In the event that bread does not rise in the bowl - pinch off bits the size of large strawberries and roll into strips on floured board while oil heats in cast iron skillet.  Season strips lightly with seasonings of choice such as garlic salt, chili powder, cinnamon sugar.  When oil is hot, lay strip in oil for 1-2 minutes and flip, fry another 1-2 minutes and remove.  Naan!  Butter, jam, goat cheese, ham, any topping you want.

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