I grew up in the Mormon Church. I was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until I left it in my thirties. One thing we never lacked was activities. Back then, we were more focused on homemaking skills. Things like contests to see who could stuff a pillow in a case the fastest, classes on how to make cream puffs, etc., were standard. And, of course, we had to learn the church's teachings and embrace the value of service.
One way we could gauge how well we were doing was through various challenges, where, if we did well, we would earn little awards to put on a thing called a bandelo. I still have mine, but most of the items fell off because they were only glued on. In the back is the green bandelo I would have had if all my doodads hadn't fallen off.
Anyway, we learned to bake bread. Lordy, did we learn to bake bread! And it was considered a great thing to make good bread, too. Many years later, I would meet another "sister" who loved baking bread, and we would get together every week to bake for our families. It was fun.
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 c. shortening
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 3 tbsp. yeast
- 1 qt. warm water
- 10-12 c. flour
- Mix all ingredients well.
- Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Place on a floured surface and knead well for 7 minutes.
- Shape into rolls or loaves and bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.
If you want to turn them into cinnamon rolls, just use some very soft unsalted butter (1/2 cup should do) and mix it with cinnamon and sugar (around 1 cup total) and smear it on dough rolled out in a rectangular shape.