Lori Dillon's Roll Recipe

I got this roll from my neighbor and friend Lori 11 or more years ago and it is the go-to recipe for me.

3 1/2 - 3 3/4 cups of flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening (I use Butter Crisco)
1 tsp salt
1 pk of yeast or 2 1/4 tsp
1/2 cup very warm water
1/2 cup very warm milk
1 egg
softned butter to brush on the rolls

Mix the yeast in 1/2 cup war water with 1 tsp sugar.  Set aside to react.  Mix 2 cups of the flour, the sugar, shortning, salt, egg and milk.  Mix until smooth.  Add yeast mixture.  Mix in just enough flour to make it easy to handle. It will still be sticky.  Knead on a floured board about 2 minutes.  Return to greased bowl, cover with cloth, and allow to rise-about one hour.  Punch down and turn onto well floured surface.  Roll and cut into desired shahpe. Place roll on pan and brush with butter.  Cover again and let rise for 30 minutes.  Heat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 12-18 minutes.