November 25, 2011: Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

When you need a little something to fuel your Black Friday shopping, try making these homemade cinnamon rolls the night before (or even several days earlier and store them in the freezer until ready to thaw).

My recipe for cinnamon rolls simply uses a basic sweet roll recipe that is spread with lots of butter, cinnamon and sugar.

Cinnamon Rolls

Yeast dough:

½ cup milk

¼ cup sugar

2 t. salt

3 T. butter

3 packages yeast (6 ¾ teaspoons)

1 ½ cups warm water

5 – 6 cups flour

Place milk, sugar, salt and butter in small saucepan. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm.

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed bowl of a stand mixer. Add lukewarm milk mixture and 4 ½ cups flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Mix on Speed 2 for about one minute. Add flour, half cup at a time, and continue to mix until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Knead on Speed 2 about two minutes longer until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 15 minutes.

Filling:

1 stick butter, melted

½ cup sugar

¼ cup cinnamon

Mix together sugar and cinnamon.

Roll dough out on floured surface to large rectangle, about 12 x 24 inches. Brush with melted butter; sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture.

Starting with long side, roll up into a cylinder shape. With a very sharp knife, cut pieces one inch thick. Place on one or two buttered baking sheets with rims. Cover and let rise until doubled, about a half hour.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake cinnamon rolls for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Allow rolls to cool. If you are freezing the rolls, place cooled, unfrosted rolls in airtight containers and store in freezer.

To frost cinnamon rolls, stir together 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and about 3 tablespoons milk or water. Adjust as necessary to make a medium thin frosting that easily drips from a spoon. Drizzle over top of warm rolls.

Makes about 24 rolls.

September 18, 2011: Sourdough Dinner Rolls

This week I’m hosting my women’s Bible study class at my house. We’re going to combine the lesson with a potluck in celebration of a couple of the ladies’ birthdays. As usual, I was asked to provide the bread. But rather than make something I’ve done over and over again, I decided to turn to Rita Davenport’s Sourdough Cookery for a couple new recipes. These sourdough dinner rolls are one of those recipes I tried. This particular one didn’t call for yeast but I’ve found that sourdough starter just performs far better when you add a bit to the recipe.

Sourdough rolls during the second rising, before baking.

Sourdough Dinner Rolls

1 t. yeast

1 T. warm water

1 ½ cups sourdough starter

2 T. sugar

½ t. salt

3 T. butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

2 – 2 ½ cups flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the sourdough starter, sugar, salt and melted butter. Add the beaten egg, then about one and a half cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead until smooth, adding flour as necessary to make a stiff dough.

Place dough in a greased bowl, turn to cover all sides. Cover the bowl with a towel and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about one hour.

Punch down dough and break off pieces to form rolls. Depending on their size you will get anywhere from 18 to 30 rolls. Place them on a greased cookie sheet and cover with a cloth. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Tip: Don’t forget to take your sourdough starter out of the fridge the night before and feed it with at least 2 cups water and 2 cups flour.