Adventures with the Kitchenaid - Lionhouse Rolls

So, its no secret that I got spoiled rotten with my Kitchenaid birthday present. And it would probably be no surprise to most that I immediately starting making a list of things I wanted to make in it. After making a batch of cookies, (you know, just to break it in) I decided to get ambitious and do something I've never done before. 

Make rolls. From scratch.

I'm southern born and raised, so I've made biscuits from scratch several times...but rolls are a different ballgame. I found a stellar recipe for Lion House rolls on Pinterest. Ryan LOVES rolls so I was really excited to make them.

Let me start by saying two things: One, I am not going to go through the entire recipe. The Girl Who Ate Everything already did that beautifully. Two, I have a new found respect for my Grandmom who basically made everything from scratch. I fully understand why she would disappear into the kitchen for HOURS before a meal. This is no joke. It took me pretty much all day. 

I started the process around 10:30am. (That is not a typo.) I got out all my ingredients and excitedly got to work.

First, the yeast had to activate in warm water.

Then I mixed together the other ingredients, in the exact order specified.

From there, I oiled the inside of the bowl, just like the directions said, and flipped the dough several times to get it all coated.

Then, I tightly covered the bowl with plastic wrap (and an elastic headband cause the plastic wrap wouldn't stick). The dough needed to proof until it doubled in size. I did some research (and consulted my Kitchen Master Husband) and determined that a temperature of 98* was necessary for proper proofing. Seeing as I live in Texas, it's 98* in the shade by 11am, so I stuck the bowl on my patio table.

I killed time for a couple of hours, eating lunch, doing some cleaning and emptying my DVR. Somewhere around the 1pm hour, the dough looked pretty good, so I brought it inside and started the next step. I couldn't find my rolling pin anywhere, so I just used my hands to knead the dough to the proper thickness.

Then I used a pizza cutter to cut them into the size suggested.

After cutting them, I rolled them into the signature Lion House shape and filled two pans. At this point, they have to proof one more time. The recipe said they would double in size again. So, same song, second verse. I covered them with plastic wrap and stuck both pans back out on my patio table. (I realize how simple it looks, but be warned. It took me a good hour and a half to get from bowl to pan. I'm sure a bulk of that was because I couldn't find my rolling pin, so I was forced to hand knead.)

Now, here is where things started to get a little...questionable. I checked on them every 30 minutes for two hours. These little puppies did not rise. In fact, they didn't change shape in the least. Since Ryan would be home from work soon, I brought them inside and started preheating the oven. I cooked each pan separately until golden brown. They didn't rise much while cooking either but they smelled amazing. 

So, here's the deal. They tasted wonderful. But they were NOT light and fluffy. Quite the opposite. They were very, very dense. This is obviously a case of 'user error' and because they were so tasty, I will absolutely make these again. It was one of those moments when I wished my Grandmom was still alive so I could call her and ask "what did I do wrong". I've reached out asking for tips, but if any of you have tips of your own, please share! And until I take this recipe on again, let me know how they turn out if YOU try it!