From Dawn ‘till Dusk and Sour Cream Yeast Rolls

What the heck! When it rains, it pours! The weather has not worked with us and it has been extremely wet and cool this spring. Usually, the crop (both corn and beans) is planted before the end of May. Not this year.

Image of wet corn field

So, we dodge raindrops and when it’s dry enough, we plant from dawn to dusk. It goes with the adage; “Make hay while the sun shines.” But in this case, you plant as long into dusk as you can see! You have to have light to see to plant straight rows. Yes, there are those who plant into the night, but that makes for kattywompus rows, much to the chagrin of any farmer.

Farming is a profession subject to weather. You know “that line” in the Serenity Prayer? We practice that prayer everyday. Every. Day.

“God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed…”

From Dawn ’till Dusk

Until we get a weather-changing machine, we will be working long hours when forced by the weather or watch it rain while standing in the machine shed, hoping and praying for it to stop anytime soon.

So, after the crop is put in, we will begin to fuss if it’s too wet or too dry, too hot or too cold. It’s rarely just right!

If we can’t get a weather-changing machine, how about a stop-fussing machine?

Oh, there is one…

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Reinhold Niebuhr

Be Blessed!

Sour Cream Yeast Rolls

Sour Cream Yeast Rolls Recipe
You can make these rolls any shape you want. I use the “cinnamon roll” shape. It’s faster than being fancy. These Sour Cream Yeast Rolls are lighter and have less sugar than a regular cinnamon roll.

Today’s recipe is Sour Cream Yeast Rolls. It is unlike most roll recipes you will try. This is an old recipe I got from my mom. She’s old, so who knows how old it is! Mom is a master bread baker. If you don’t know why, refer to Needing Kneading. My sister is better than her! She is married to a food scientist/chef. Along the way she’s taken master bread baking classes with him. I will feature recipes from her and tips about bread baking in other posts.

This recipe is more of sweet roll. It’s super fast to make. You don’t need much for tools to make this, just a heavy saucepan, a wooden spoon, a cookie sheet and a dish towel. You can make it the night before and have it out for a breakfast item or a snack after school. It’s a great replacement for those toaster pastries I denied my children that you see lining the shelves at grocery stores. If you have a hard time with carbs like I do, you’ll have to walk the dog an extra mile after you eat one. Or act like a kid and run around the playground with your children after they eat this snack.

Sour Cream Yeast Rolls

Tools You’ll Need:

  • Heavy saucepan
  • Wooden spoon
  • Dish towels
  • Cutting/wedging board (You can use your counter if you don’t have one.)

Ingredients:

  • 1 C sour cream
  • 2 T butter
  • 3 T sugar
  • ½ t baking soda
  • 1 t salt
  • 1 large unbeaten egg
  • 1 package dry yeast
  • ¼ C warm water
  • 3 C flour

Bring the sour cream to a boil over medium high heat, then add butter, sugar, baking soda and salt. Cool to lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add yeast/water, egg, and flour to the sour cream mixture in the saucepan.

Turn this out on a lightly floured board. Knead a few seconds to form a smooth ball.

Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let stand for five minutes to lighten the dough up.

Roll the dough out into a rectangle.

Cinnamon/Brown Sugar Mixture:

  • 2 T butter, melted
  • ½ C brown sugar
  • 1 t cinnamon

Mix the butter/sugar mixture together and spread on the bread dough rectangle. Roll up and cut into 12 pieces. Place onto a greased cookie sheet. Let rise 15 minutes. Bake 10-15 minutes at 375 degrees. You can frost if you’d like, but honestly, they are just fine without the added work.

Illustrated Sour Cream Yeast Roll Recipe

Love to hear what you think!