2 c. milk
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cake yeast
1/4 c. lukewarm water
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 tsp. baking powder
5 to 6 c. flour (total)

Heat milk, shortening and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Cool to lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in warm water and add to milk mixture. In a large bowl, beat in enough flour to make a thick batter. Cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 2 hours.

Fold in the remaining ingredients, along with enough flour to make a dough that isn't sticky. Grease a very large, clean bowl. Place the dough in the greased bowl. Grease the top surface of the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (or up to 3 days) before making out rolls. Roll chilled dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into circles, using a large biscuit or cookie cutter.

For Parker House Rolls, brush each circle with melted butter. Fold in half and place close together in rows in a baking pan. (The size of the pan will be determined by the number of rolls you make. A 9-inch square pan will hold 16 to 20 rolls depending on the size of your cutter.)

For Butter Flake Rolls, brush 3/4 of your circles with melted butter. Stack three buttered circles with the buttered side up. Place an unbuttered circle on each stack. Cut the stacks in half and place cut side up in well-greased muffin pans.

For Sweet Rolls, prepare a 13 x 9-inch pan by coating with melted butter. Sprinkle brown sugar over the melted butter and drizzle very lightly with Karo syrup. Roll dough into a 6-inch wide strip, using about 1/2 the recipe of dough. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with a heavy coating of brown sugar and dust heavily with cinnamon. Drizzle a thin thread of Karo syrup in 3 or 4 lines along the length of the dough. Chopped nuts may be sprinkled over the dough if you want them. (Pecans are best, but walnuts aren't bad, either). Roll the prepared dough into a long "log" and seal the edges by pinching the dough together. Cut the roll into 1-inch sections and place cut-side down in the prepared pan(s) so that there is a small space between sections to allow space for rising. Cover prepared rolls with tea-towel and place in a warm place to rise until double in bulk.

Bake in a 375°F oven until lightly browned. Rolls are done when they sound hollow when tapped.