“You found the only Playboy creator with Mennonite heritage,” Viola told Playboy when we asked for a recipe. “I’m a baking maniac.” 

“It’s as if a dinner roll made you cry and you didn’t know why (like Wicked), but it’s the most delicious thing in the world with a holiday meal to dip in everything. My grandma taught me to bake these when I was a little girl.”

Read on for Viola’s Zwieback recipe.

Zwieback

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons traditional yeast 
• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups warm potato water*
• 4 cups scalded milk
• 14 cups flour (about)

 *I add 1/2 cup instant potato flakes to the water to make ‘potato water’.

1. Pour hot milk and potato water over butter, salt and sugar in large bowl. Let cool 5-10 minutes. 
2. Prepare yeast by dissolving 2 tsp. sugar in 1 cup water and adding yeast. 
3. Add 6 cups flour to the milk/butter mixture and beat well.
4. Continue adding flour and mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Dough will be very soft. 
5. Knead about five minutes more. 
6. Cover and let rise until double in bulk.
7. Form the buns. Bottom bun is about the size of a large walnut…top bun is smaller. Place smaller ball on top of larger one…and push down through centre of both balls with knuckle of index finger to prevent buns from falling over during baking.
8. Let rise until light.
9. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Viola Odette Harlow is on The Playboy Club. Talk to her here.