Grandma's Homemade Dinner Rolls

1. Stir the yeast, sugar, and warm water in a glass measuring cup or small bowl. Set aside in a warm place to rise. It will bubble and rise up.
2. While waiting for the yeast mixture to rise, cream (or mix) the sugar and unsalted butter in a large mixing bowl.*
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
4. Add the yeast mixture to the butter mixture, along with an additional 1 1/2 cups warm water.
5. Sift the flour and salt together in a large bowl.
6. Gradually, add the flour in, and mix well. For this step, I like to use the dough hook on my stand mixer.
7. Turn the dough into a large greased bowl or stockpot, and let it rise to the top or almost to the top (it can take 2 to 3 hours). Keep the bowl or pan covered.
8. Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface. Coat generously with flour by turning and shaping. No kneading is necessary, though I still like to knead it a bit just for fun.
9. To make rolls, roll the dough out to about a 1 to 2 inch thickness. Then cut round rolls with a cup, glass, or biscuit cutter.
10. Place the rolls in greased baking pans, and let them rise (this will probably take another 2 to 3 hours).
11. Once the rolls have risen well, bake them for about 20 minutes (maybe a little longer) at 350. Halfway through baking, you may need to cover the rolls with aluminum foil, so they don't brown too much before they bake through.
12. When they're done baking, remove the rolls from the oven and allow to cool. Of course, I usually can't resist enjoying a hot roll with warm melty butter. They're so delicious!

Notes: *Grandma used shortening in her rolls; I prefer to use butter instead.