Grandma Elias' bun recipe

I don't know if the VMA (Valley Mennonite Academy, one of the private Christian schools in the Winkler area) does a recipe book every year or if they just have the one, but the copy I have (March, 1995) is great! I got it as a wedding gift from my Taunte Anne Friesen (and Joanne and Laura). It was my first favorite recipe book, my standard and go-to for anything I wanted to make; and for good reason, half the recipes in the book are submitted by my relatives! There's a bun recipe that I tried February 4, 2006 that was my Taunte Anne's recipe. I talked to my Grandma today and when I asked her for her bun recipe, she told me it's the same one my aunt uses. So here it is!

4 1/2 cups warm water

3/4 cup melted lard

1 egg, beaten

3 Tbsp sugar (Grandma said she does 2 Tbsp, but Taunte Anne's buns are always better so maybe she should try 3 Tbsp too)

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp instant yeast

5 cups of flour

6 1/2 to 7 cups flour

Beat the first 7 ingredients with a whisk until smooth. Put the dough hook onto the machine. Add 6 1/2 to 7 cups more flour; knead until smooth and elastic. Let rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour. Put on pans; let rise for about 1 hour. Bake at 400 degrees for about 17 to 18 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen buns.

Notes:

I also had a conversation with her about lard. I asked if she always used lard. (short answer = yes) She said she sometimes used chicken fat that was rendered after chicken slaughtering. I've never heard of people keeping it and using it in baking or cooking! She said my great-grandma used to like that very much, and used it instead of butter. Isn't that interesting?!

She said she would store the pail of lard in the freezer and just keep a smaller portion in the fridge for easier access.

Used 8 cups white flour, 4 cups whole wheat.

Made 2 full pans of buns with 2 dozen on each pan, plus a large handful of dough leftover which I made into bite-sized pieces, deep-fried them, and rolled them in (2Tbsp) sifted icing sugar and (1 tsp) sifted cinnamon.

Put the buns in the oven to rise and set a small pot of boiling water in the bottom of the oven to aid in the rising. Worked well!

Baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. (My oven would probably have been closer to 400 degrees because it's hotter than what the dial is set at.)

The buns are a great texture, even though I haven't eaten one yet.