• The evening before:

  Mix together 2 cups warm water, 2 cups flour and 1 cup sourdough starter. Cover and let stand in a warm, draft-free place.
• In the morning:

  Separate the eggs and beat the whites into a soft peak.

  Stir the egg yolks, oil and milk together and mix into the starter mixture. Fold in the egg white.

  Mix together the salt, baking soda and sugar.

  Right before cooking, stir the dry ingredients into the batter.

• Separate the egg whites and yolks. (You will not be needing the whites for this recipe.)
• Bring a double boiler half-full of water to a light simmer. (If you don't have a double boiler, you can fill a medium saucepan half-full of water and place a 2-cup glass measuring cup in the center of the pan.
• Melt the butter in the measuring cup.
• Remove the measuring cup from the saucepan and add the lemon juice to cool the butter somewhat.
• Whisking the egg yolks constantly (to prevent them from curdling), very slowly drizzle the butter/lemon mixture into the yolks.
• When the mixture is fully combined, pour it back into the measuring cup and return to the saucepan.
• Cook over medium/low heat (water bath should be at a low simmer) for a few minutes or so – until the sauce thickens. Stir frequently with a whisk.

• Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a cookie sheet with foil and grease the foil.
• Cut the bacon so the strips are a third of the original length.
• Wrap each smokie with a piece of bacon and place on the pan.
• Sprinkle the brown sugar (or maple syrup) over the wrapped smokies.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Dough:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the warm milk, 2 Tbsp of the white sugar, and the yeast together then let rest until foamy. *You don't have to use a mixer, but it makes it a lot easier to knead the dough the right amount.
• Add the rest of the sugar (which should be 1/2 cup) and the softened butter until it's slightly broken up.
• Add the eggs and salt and beat on medium speed until combined. (Don't be alarmed if the butter doesn't mix in completely.)
• With the mixer on low, add the flour one cup at a time, making sure it's completely incorporated before adding the next cup. When all the flour's been added, continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl – about 3 minutes. The dough will be soft.
• Beat on low for another 3 minutes.
• Lightly grease a large bowl and place the ball of dough in it. Cover and set in a warm place until doubled – 1 1/2-2 hours.

Rolling the Dough:

• While the dough is rising the first time, make the caramel sauce if you are making caramel pecan rolls. Grease a 9×13 pan then pour the sauce into it and sprinkle the pecans on top. Set aside.
• When the dough has risen, punch it down to release the air then place it on a lightly greased surface and roll into a 12×18-inch rectangle. *If the dough keeps shrinking as you roll it out, stop, cover it tightly, and let it rest for 10 minutes to relax the gluten.*
• Spread the softened butter over the dough, all the way to the edges. Evenly cover the dough with the brown sugar then sprinkle cinnamon over that.
• Tightly roll the dough up to make a 12" log and cut into 12 1-inch rolls. *It works well to use a length of dental floss for this – slide it under the dough to the spot you want to cut, then begin to tie the floss around the dough and it will cut cleanly through.*
• Arrange in the prepared pan, cover tightly, and allow to rise again until doubled – about 1 hour.

Baking the Rolls:

• Preheat the oven to 350. *Make sure to remove the rolls if you put them in the oven to rise.*
• Bake for about 25-28 minutes or until they are lightly browned on top. *After 15 minutes, tent a piece of foil over the top of the pan to prevent the tops from browning too quickly and baking unevenly.
• Remove pan from the oven, center a 9×13 platter (or a baking sheet with sides works too) upside down over the pan. Then, holding the sheet and pan tightly together, quickly flip the pan over so the cinnamon rolls drop onto the platter and the sauce drips down over the rolls. Remove the pan and allow the rolls to cool slightly before serving.

For Monkey Bread:

• When the dough has risen the first time, combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon in a bowl.
• Once the dough has doubled in size, roll into 1" balls (you can roll the dough out and cut into 1" squares, then roll them into balls if you want).
• Roll the balls in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and arrange the balls and 1 cup of pecans in a greased bundt pan.
• Allow to rise until doubled again.
• While the dough is rising in the pan, make the caramel sauce and allow it to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 350.
• When the dough is risen, pour the cooled caramel sauce over the dough balls and bake.*Place on a cookie sheet to catch drips if it bubbles over.**If it starts to get too brown before it's completely baked, cover loosely with foil.
• Normal rolls bake for 30-35 minutes, but this could take up to 50 minutes because it is so thick.

• Combine 1/2 cup water and oats in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until soft. Remove from the pan and cool until it won't kill the yeast.
• Meanwhile, combine 4 cups of warm water, yeast, and sugar. Allow to sit until bubbly.
• When the oats are cool, add them, the oil, and salt to the yeast mixture.
• Add about 9 cups of flour and begin kneading. Add more flour as needed.
• Knead for about 5 minutes or until the dough springs back when poked. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and allow to rest in a warm place until doubled (45-60 minutes).
• When risen, remove from bowl and form into loaves. Place in greased loaf pans and allow to rest until doubled again. (The dough will stay indented when you poke it this time.)
• Preheat the oven to 350° then bake 30-45 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and the pans and place on a cooling rack. Brush with butter while warm.

• Preheat the oven to 450°.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through the ingredients in opposite directions), until the mixture looks like fine crumbs.
• Stir in the milk until the dough leaves the side of the bowl (the dough will be soft and sticky).
• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead lightly 10 times.
• Roll or pat to 3/4-inch thick. Cut with a floured 2 1/2-inch round cutter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 1-inch apart for crusty sides, or touching for soft sides (I prefer crusty sides).
• After cutting as many biscuits as possible, lightly press – don't knead – the scraps of dough together to make 1-2 more biscuits.
• Bake 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

• Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease 1 bread pan or 1 muffin tin.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients except for the nuts.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
• Add the flour mixture and the nuts to the wet mixture and mix together with a few light strokes just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

  *Do not overmix – the batter should not be smooth.
• Pour the batter into the prepared bread pan or fill the muffin cups 2/3 full.
• Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean – about 18 minutes for muffins and 50-60 mintues for bread.
• Remove the pan from the oven and allow the muffins to cool for 2-3 minutes before removing from the pan and the bread to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tins or papers and set aside.
• In a large bowl, pour the boiling water over 2 cups of All Bran. Let sit until the water is absorbed then mix in the melted butter.
• In another bowl, mix the remaining All Bran with the sugar, eggs, and buttermilk.
• In a third bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Stir all of the ingredients together.
• Fill the muffin tins 2/3 full of batter and bake for about 20 minutes.