I doubt that she remembers that, but I do.
I’ve taught his great grandchildren. We helped them celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary Their great grandson plays ball and is in the same school class as my grandson….and the connection continues.
I always admired and appreciated the way that both of them were genuinely interested in others. Even though Mr and Mrs. Reed have passed on, our lives still connect in so many ways with theirs. One of the those ways is through this roll recipe which we call Mystery Rolls (our daughter’s interpretation for “Mr. Reed” rolls).
Right after we met the Reeds, they invited us over one Saturday night for hot rolls and strawberry jam. It was Mr. Reed’s habit to make rolls every Saturday evening. These were his contribution to the family Sunday dinner the next day. Oh my goodness, how good they were. Pauline serves these each year when she hosts a luncheon and invites the entire town – or so it seems. Nobody turns down that invitation! (I’ll share her coconut pie recipe one of these days.) . (Miss Pauline’s Coconut Pie)
I never make these that I don’t remember all of those connections. We cherish those memories. And now, I’m teaching our granddaughter to make them. I think Mr. Reed would be delighted, don’t you?
I promise that you won’t be disappointed in these rolls. They are absolutely terrific.
If you would like to read a small bit about Mr. Reed’s life, you can link here at Rootsweb. The narrative falls far short of the man he was.
Update Note: Mr. Reed’s daughter and my friend, Pauline, now lives in NYC most of the time where she volunteers with The Bowery Mission. Check out just a little bit about her mission there: https://youtu.be/ImlKJj1DrVU.
Notes
These are absolutely fantastic with strawberry freezer jam and butter. Actually, they are awesome eaten straight out of the pan!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup margarine (I use unsalted butter.)
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 package yeast, dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water (add a bit of the sugar to feed the yeast)
Instructions
- Cream margarine and sugar; add boiling water and allow to cool slightly
- Beat egg into yeast and water.
- Add to the creamed margarine (which is cool enough not to kill the yeast); add the salt and add the flour one cup at a time, stirring well after each addition.
- Mix well, but do not over mix. The dough will be very soft and sticky. Do not add extra flour.
- Place in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled.
- Turn the dough onto a well-floured cloth and mash or roll out to between 1/4 and 1/2-inch thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter (without twisting). Oil both sides of the individual pieces and fold into pocketbooks.
- Place closely together in a well-oiled pan with just enough room to rise. Allow to rise until doubled (45 minutes to 1 hour). Cover the pans with a clean cloth while rising.
- Bake at 400 to 425 degrees for approximately 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
- This recipe will yield approximately 2 dozen rolls.
- You may warm them in a 200 degree oven for a few minutes
- They freeze well if you want to make them ahead. Mine never seem to make it to the freezer before they are gone.
This sounds very similar to a recipe my aunt gave me that goes way back in our family; however, I have to let my dough rise once, punch it down, refrigerate it and then roll them out. Looks like this would cut down on the prep time.
Wonderful story and recipe.
I HEART this story:)!! Maybe I’ll get brave enough to make these rolls!!
I’d love to get your thoughts on Holiday food in the coming weeks. Will b having both Thanksgiving and Christmas at my house.
Love
Amanda
I love the stories of how recipes get their names. My roll recipe is from my Grandmother and in our family cook book is titled “My Grandma’s Rolls”. I copied the page at a friends request and her kids make it now and are convinced it’s THEIR Grandma’s rolls. I’ll have to try these some time.
I’ve never made rolls before but these look great. I might make these for Thanksgiving! How would they be with chili I wonder?
Enjoyed this post!
I was blessed to have learned Mr. Reed’s recipe from the master himself. When I was a teenaged young man, Mr. Reed drove to my house in his little 5 speed truck to pick me up (pretty early in the morning, I might add). He drove the two of us to his back to his house where he and Mrs. Boyce treated me me to a whole day of learning how to make the famous John Reed Rolls. I did lots of kneading that day, and also got to enjoy plenty of time on the iconic swing while our dough was rising. I am forever grateful for the way this awesome couple invested in my life like they did for so many.
Much of the success of this recipe is in the technique. Once you master it, you will get perfect rolls every time! They are so delicious and we always eat way too many of them. So delishess!!
One hint: The Reed’s, especially Mrs. Boyce, always insisted that you use Fleishmann’s margarine.
Sorry for the typos, Debbie! I was trying to say so delish! ☺️#WhereIsTheEditButton haha
Well. unlike Mr. Reed, I use butter. I think he would approve. Was he not just the most amazing person?
Thanks Brad:0 You knead? He didn’t teach me to knead. Oh well. Success comes either way, I suppose:)
He thought me to knead lightly with a spoon before the first rise, and knead lightly by spoon or hand before rolling out th rolls. It’s sticky dough, especially at first, so don’t use your hands 🙂