Modern, easier version of her recipe
3 cups warm water
½ cup honey
½ cup vegetable oil or melted shortening
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of instant yeast
1 tablespoon dough conditioner
¼ cup vital wheat gluten
8–9 cups of whole-wheat flour (Freshly ground white wheat is best. If you don’t have access to white wheat, you can substitute half of the wheat flour with white flour.)
Place all ingredients into a bread mixer and knead on medium speed for 8 minutes. Initially add only 8 cups of flour and gradually add the remaining cup as needed. Stop the bread maker from time to time during the first two minutes of kneading to make sure the dough is not too sticky. If it sticks to your fingers when you pull them away, add more flour.
Roll the kneaded bread out onto a flat, greased surface, forming a rectangle. Spread with the following ingredients:
6 tablespoons of softened butter
¾ cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1 ½ cups chopped walnuts
Form the dough into a log, rolling up the wide direction of the rectangle to make a long, skinny log rather than a short, fat one. Cut the dough into 36 even slices using a piece of string or unflavored dental floss. Place in a greased baking dish and let rise for one hour, or until double the original size. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until the edges barely begin to turn brown.
When the rolls have cooled, spread with sour cream frosting.
Sour Cream Frosting
¾ cup soft butter
¾ cup sour cream
6 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
⅛–¼ teaspoon salt (to taste)
Mix together until smooth.
Makes 3 dozen cinnamon rolls. You may choose to divide the dough into thirds and make 1 dozen rolls and two loaves of bread, or 2 dozen rolls and 1 loaf of bread. Divide the butter, sugar, cinnamon, nuts, and frosting accordingly.
For Lavender’s old-fashioned version, make the following changes:
In place of instant yeast, put the water and honey in the bowl first, add regular yeast, and let it become frothy before adding the next five ingredients. In place of the tablespoon of dough conditioner, use a tablespoon of powdered whey. In place of the vital wheat gluten, omit 4 cups of the wheat flour. Add 4 cups of white flour and mix with a beater or whisk until smooth. Then slowly add the remaining 4 to 5 cups of the wheat flour until workable. Knead by hand for 8 minutes on a flat surface. Let the dough rest and rise until almost double. Roll out and finish according to the recipe above.