Buttery Flake Rolls Matthew Kraeling — on the F+B Team at Archer’s Kitchen + Bar

“Growing up in Utah, I always looked forward to going to my grandmother’s house for the holidays. I can still imagine the amazing smells that would come out of her kitchen.

“I was particularly fond of one recipe: her buttery flake rolls. The recipe comes from Garland, Utah, from my grandfather’s mother. It’s been a staple at our family gatherings and still is to this day. This multigenerational roll is soft, flaky, buttery and a little bit sweet. I’ve wanted to make these for years, and I can’t think of anything I would rather make for Archer. You’d become addicted if you tried them!

“In prepping to share this recipe, I spent a lot of time on the phone with my grandmother and cousin — this recipe has a lot of nuances. My cousin had to watch my grandma carefully to get it just right. Blanca, my assistant at Archer’s Kitchen + Bar, and I followed her recipe together. It felt good to bond with her and bring a family tradition of mine all the way to Boston.”

RECIPE NOTE: While the recipe says it takes 25 minutes to make these rolls, the dough must sit out overnight before baking into their buttery, flaky goodness — so plan ahead.

• 2 yeast packets
• 1 cup almost-hot water
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup shortening
• 3 eggs
• 4½ cups flour
• 2 teaspoons salt

1. Empty the yeast packets into a large bowl. Add the almost-hot water. Stir with a fork to dissolve the yeast.

2. Pro Grandma Trick No. 1: Do not mix all of the ingredients with the yeast just yet — place half of the bowl on a cutting board to create a shallow-end, deep-end effect. Then pour the ½ cup of sugar on the shallow end of the bowl. Place the ½ cup of shortening in the shallow end, as well.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the three eggs and add to the mix. Add the 4½ cups of flour.

4. Pro Grandma Trick No. 2: Add the salt last — the acidity of the salt can kill the yeast.

5. Knead away. Don't cheat by using a mixer; my grandmother would consider you lazy!

6. Make the dough into a ball and coat the ball with shortening. Cover with a towel (like Grandma does) or plastic wrap and let it sit overnight. (Doing so makes the sticky dough not sticky the next day.)

7. The next day, flatten the dough out, roll it into itself and cut it into pieces. Allow it to sit with a towel over it for three hours and the dough will rise (if you did it right).

8. NOTE: Blanca took this recipe to a new level and added cinnamon and sugar.

9. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.