Author Notes: This is from one of my favorite Southern Cookbooks, Marion Brown’s Southern Cookbook, first published in 1951. It has been reissed by the UNC Press. My parents had a copy held together by rubberbands, with a scorch mark on the cover because someone put it down on a hot electric eye. It is described as being “old, old.” It was submitted to the cookbook by Mrs. Clary Holt of Burlington, NC —Nora
Makes: 7 to 8 dozen
Ingredients
-
2
tablespoons sugar
-
4
tablespoons shortening
-
1
packet dry yeast
-
Warm water
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2
cups buttermilk
-
4-6
cups flour
-
1
teaspoon soda
-
1
teaspoon baking powder
-
1
teaspoon salt
Directions
- Cream sugar and shortening.
- Dissolve the yeast in an equal amount of warm water, in a one cup measure. Add buttermilk to fill the cup. Set aside.
- Sift four cups of flour with the rest of the dry ingredients.
- Alternate adding flour, buttermilk and yeast mixture, and the second cup of buttermilk and shortening.
- Work in enough flour to make a soft dough.
- Put dough in a bowl and place in refrigerator. The longer the dough is kept there, the better, and the unusual feature of it is that it will rise quickly (in about 1 hour) once it has been thoroughly chilled.
- My note: give the dough at least 24 hours in the refrigerator. It will develop a delightful tang. It can be shaped in any way you like, and makes wonderful cinnamon rolls.
- Bake at 400 degrees (in a preheated oven) for 15-20 minutes.