Cinnamon Rolls

I’ve decided to become a bread baker. Make no mistake: I’m not abandoning the cookies, bars, cakes, and pies that have made this blog what it is today. But earlier this year I took a bread class at Enrico Biscotti, and it changed my life. For months I’ve wanted to work on bread, and so, with fall upon us, it is Bread Season in my kitchen.

I’ve not worked with yeast very much, so I wanted to start with something basic: a classic cinnamon roll. This recipe comes from my trusty Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, and although it was a bit time-consuming, it was absolutely worth it. For this first try, I worked with active dry yeast, but I also bought instant yeast and hope to someday work with fresh yeast. Baby steps, you know.

Note: I used bread flour in this recipe, but you could easily use regular, all-purpose flour. I also used the dough hook of my mixer to knead the dough, but you could knead by hand if you prefer.

Ingredients

For the dough

• 4 to 4 1/3 cups flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs

For the filling

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon

For the icing

• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• About 4 teaspoons water

Preparation

Place 2 cups flour and yeast into the bowl of a mixer and stir together. Fit the dough hook onto your mixer.

In a medium saucepan, combine milk, sugar, salt, and butter, heating to 120 degrees (the butter will almost melt completely). Pour milk mixture into flour/yeast mixture and beat for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl, then beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Scrape the bowl again, then beat in 2 remaining cups of flour.

Beat on low speed for 3-5 minutes, until dough becomes smooth and elastic – it will gather itself all around the dough hook, and that’s fine. Alternatively, you can knead the dough by hand for the same amount of time.

Turn dough onto a very lightly floured surface and knead it for 20-30 seconds by hand, then shape it into a ball.

Place dough in a large, greased bowl; turn the dough once to grease it. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Gently deflate your dough by pressing it to release some of the air (I’ve recently learned that punching it down will disturb the yeast too much, so gently pressing it is better); turn onto a very lightly floured surface and divide in half, then allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

While the dough is resting, in a small bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar; set aside.

Roll dough into a 12 x 8 rectangle; brush with melted butter, leaving about 1 inch at the far side of your dough for a seam. Spread half the cinnamon sugar mixture onto the dough, then roll up like a jelly roll. Repeat with second portion.

Slice logs of dough into equal slices; mine yielded 10 slices per log. Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans and place rolls into the pans; cover and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.*

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake rolls for 25-30 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Cool in pans for about 5 minutes.

While rolls are cooling, make icing; combine powdered sugar and vanilla in a small bowl, then add water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, stirring between each addition to reach a thick drizzling consistency (like thick honey). Remove rolls from pans and place on a wire rack with waxed paper beneath; drizzle with icing.

Serve warm, or store in an airtight container once rolls are completely cool.

Makes 20.

*I used the “make-ahead” method instead, allowing my rolls to chill in the fridge overnight until I was ready to bake them. Rolls can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking; to bake them, remove them from the fridge and let them stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, then bake as directed.