Icebox Rolls - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup sugar (optional)
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons poppy seeds (optional)
7 cups all-purpose flour, divided

Preparation

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water.
Sprinkle yeast into water.
Allow to stand until yeast is dissolved and begins to bubble (or proof).
Add oil, poppy seeds (if using) and 3 1/2 cups of the flour.
Stir with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are well mixed.
At this point, the mixture will be the consistency of a mash.
Continue to add flour in batches until mixture becomes too stiff to easily stir.
Turn out mixture onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, adding more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking to surface or hands.
When dough is \"ready\", it should be smooth, supple and stretchy.
Grease a medium bowl.
Form dough into a ball.
Place in greased bowl, turning to coat ball on all sides.
Cover bowl with a clean dish towel and put in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
I like to place my bowl in the oven with just the light on.
When doubled, punch dough down and slap it around to get out all the air bubbles.
At this point, dough can be refrigerated for future use or divided and formed into the desired shape (ie. dinner rolls, cloverleaf rolls, hamburger buns, etc.).
Once formed, place on ungreased cookie sheet, cover again and allow dough to rise until doubled again which will take about 1/2 hour (longer if dough was refrigerated).
Preheat oven to 350\u00b0F.
Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. The larger the roll, the longer it will take to bake it.