When I got married (the first time) in the summer of 1970, my mother gave me the most treasured gift I’ve ever received, not a punch bowl or place settings, but a stack of handwritten recipe cards. Among them was this one for the perfect dough recipe, which I still use all the time.
All that summer, she sat at her old Smith Corona typewriter, pecking away, creating a stack of 3×5-inch cards filled with her favorite recipes. It was a true labor of love. Each card held the smells, tastes, and stories of my childhood. I still have them. I still use them. They’re stained with decades of flour and fingerprints.
More Than “Slow”
My mom, born in 1921, often called herself “slow.” She’d say, “Your dad and you kids are smart. I’m just slow.” But the truth came out much later. In her 50s, after we moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, she decided to enroll at Western Kentucky University, just to see if she could.
The school did entrance testing, and that’s when they discovered what no one had named before: severe dyslexia. That diagnosis didn’t hold her back. It gave her flight. She earned her degree in Spanish and Latin American Affairs with an almost perfect GPA, only two Bs (in typing and drawing). Typing! So every so-called mistake on those recipe cards? I love them even more for it.
The Story of Gram
My mother didn’t get much mothering as a child. Her parents divorced in the early 1930s, scandalous at the time, and neither really wanted custody of her. She was raised with the echo of being unwanted.
But life has a beautiful way of giving us what we need, even if it comes from an unexpected place. When I was two, we moved from the East Coast to Wisconsin. That’s where we met the woman who became our “Gram.” Her name was Lillian Watkins, a stern and proper German woman in her seventies who had never had children of her own. Soon after we moved in next door, she told my mom that we kids could call her “Gram,” and her husband, “Mr. Gram.”
Lillian taught my mom the recipe we still call Gram’s Buns, a dough so versatile it became our family’s go-to for dinner rolls, hot cross buns, cinnamon rolls, even pizza dough. It’s a recipe wrapped in resilience, neighborly love, and the kind of mothering that sometimes comes from strangers who become family.
Gram’s Buns: The Everything Dough
This recipe does it all. We use it for holidays, for comfort, for quick dinners. It’s simple, reliable, and makes the whole house smell like home.
Ingredients
2 cakes of yeast (or 4 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast)
¼ cup lukewarm water
¾ cup shortening (like Crisco)
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 ½ cups boiling water
2 large eggs, well beaten
7 cups all-purpose flour
Nonstick spray or oil for greasing
Instructions:
Activate the yeast:
Dissolve the yeast in ¼ cup lukewarm water. Let sit until frothy (5–10 minutes).
Make the base mixture:
In a large bowl, combine shortening, sugar, and salt. Pour in boiling water and stir to dissolve. Let cool to lukewarm.
Mix the dough:
Add beaten eggs to the cooled mixture. Stir in flour gradually, then add the yeast mixture. Mix until a soft, sticky dough forms.
First rise:
Grease the top of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (1–2 hours).
Shape & second rise:
If baking immediately: Punch down, shape into rolls or loaves, and let rise again.
If baking later: Refrigerate after first rise. When ready, shape, rise again, and bake.
Baking Variations From My Family Table
Dinner Rolls
Shape into balls and place in a greased 9×13 baking dish. Bake at 350°F for 20–25 minutes, until golden.
Cinnamon Rolls
Roll dough into a rectangle. Spread with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Roll up, slice, and bake at 350°F for 20–25 minutes. Glaze or frost as desired.
Hot Cross Buns
Add nutmeg, citron, and raisins to the dough. Bake in a 9×13 pan. Once cool, pipe buttercream crosses—or in my case, a Star of David (which my brother claimed had more frosting!).
German Stollen
Add ½ cup more sugar, cinnamon, golden raisins, and chopped citron. Shape into two loaves. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 300°F and bake for another 30 minutes or until golden.
Pizza Dough
Use this dough for a thick, fluffy Midwestern-style crust—comforting and perfect for family pizza night.
This one dough has been the foundation of so many memories in my life. When I bake with it, I feel Gram’s presence, my mother’s steady hands, and the comfort of being loved, sometimes by the people you least expected. It’s not just bread, it’s belonging.
About the Author
ZestYears Contributor Alisandra Snyder
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