Fan-tans (Dinner Rolls)

Fan-tans, for guests (made 16)

Total time:  4 hours.

Adapted from Buttermilk Rolls in the Joy of Cooking.

Makes 12-24, depending on how you want to rock it.

4 c cheap all purpose flour
3/4 c plain yogurt
3/4 c milk
1/4 c sugar
2 T melted butter
1 T active dry yeast
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda

4-8 T softened, spreadable butter at room temperature

Combine yogurt and milk, mix well. Spoon out 1/3 to 1/2 cup of milk mixture and heat to about 110 F. Stir well and often.

Remove from heat and add yeast, stir well. Let set 3-5 minutes or until frothy.

Stir yeast mix into original yogurt mix. Add baking soda, salt, and sugar, and mix well. Add 2 cups of flour and 2 T melted butter. Stir or mix until incorporated, then add remaining 2 cups of flour.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover (with a towel or greased saran wrap). Let rise until more than doubled in bulk, about 3 hours.

Punch down dough and knead lightly in the bowl. Separate the dough into 2 parts. Roll each part into a square about 1/8 inch think. Let sit 2-3 minutes.

Spread softened butter in a thin layer over both pieces. Cut into strips 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide. Stack them into 6 or 8 layers. Using an extremely sharp knife or kitchen string, cut pieces off the stacks 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Place cut stack pieces into greased muffin tins, with the cut edges facing up. Cover with towel or greased saran wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size again. (Click here for a great example on how to do this, plus another great fan-tan recipe.)

Bake 15-20 minutes, in a preheated 425 F oven, until well browned.

Most often when I make these, I only make 12 rolls, and the rolls look like stay-puffed marshmallows trying to fit into a thimble. They’re pretty epic, and sometimes they stick together completely, and I can just dump the whole pan upside down to get them out.