Fellow baker Hanaâ instigated me to buy yet another baking book - as if my bookshelves were not already buckling down under the weight of my cooking library. She invited me to join her ABC baking challenge, every month trying out a new recipe, currently from Abby Dodge's: "The Weekend Baker".
My husband loves sticky buns and their sugar laden relatives, but, though I like cinnamon, I was never very fond of the overly sweet stuff, he would sometimes buy. Therefore, without Hanaâ's challenge, I would probably never have thought of baking cinnamon rolls.
What I especially like about "The Weekend Baker" and this recipe, are the several "do ahead" options. I prefer working with slow fermentation, and most doughs show their appreciation for the cold treatment with a significant better taste, so, after a 30-minute rise, I put my my dough to sleep in the fridge overnight.
I always try to incorporate some whole grains in my recipes, a substitution of 10% white flour with whole grains doesn't require additional liquid, so I replaced 47 g of all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour.
The recipe was easy to follow, and the next morning the dough had nicely risen in the fridge. I rolled it out cold - it will come to room temperature quickly - and the filling was no problem, either. Next time I probably would add some toasted, chopped nuts, though.
Cutting a roll of dough in even slices with a bench scraper or knife is not that easy, the layers slipping away over the crumbly filling. Using dental floss, as Hanaâ suggested, works much better.
I skipped glazing the rolls, nice as it looks, it adds even more sugar, without contributing to the taste. And even without this decoration - the cinnamon rolls looked beautiful when they came out of the oven and their wonderful aroma filled the whole house, so that I could hardly wait to try one until they had cooled down a bit.
"... now I know their taste - now I'm a believer..." you don't have to be a Monkee to love these treats!
I am converted, and my husband could wallow in them, so good are they!
They, also, freeze well, wrapped in plastic foil and then placed in a ziplock bag. To enjoy them you only have to nuke them for a few seconds, and then re-crisp them at 350ºF/175ºC for a few minutes in the oven.
I can only encourage everybody to purchase Abby Dodge's "The Weekend Baker" - I got it, used, at amazon. But, if you would like to bake the cinnamon rolls, and don't have the book, Abby posted the recipe in Cookstr http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/glazed-cinnamon-rolls-2
And if you would like to join the ABC challenge - Hanaâ will be happy to welcome you (if you are not a jerk!)
Yes, these rolls are indeed delicious! I omit the glaze too as like you, I'm not a fan of overly sweet desserts and bakes. Looking forward to next month's bake!
ReplyDeleteThe last part of your post made me laugh out loud, ha ha. No jerking around here at ABC, mind you! :o) I'm glad you have a new appreciation for sweet rolls and happy your husband liked them that much. They were a big hit at my house too. I used 25% WW flour, added 1-2 Tbsp of extra water, and they were just fine (not dense or heavy). Thanks again for the tip of "early" refrigeration, even though I didn't let it do the short 30 minutes rise first.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteJoyce, I traveled all over Malaysia in 1976, it was a wonderful trip.
Hanaâ, as you saw, it doesn't matter too much whether you refrigerate the dough at once, or let it rise for 1/2 hour first. You can always give it more time to rise when you take it out of the fridge, if it hasn't risen enough overnight.
I like cinnamon rolls without glaze as most is usually too thick & sweet for us. I discovered that sprinkling a little granulated sugar on a roll, followed by a tablespoon or more of cream cheese is a nice
ReplyDeletesweet variation for us.
And many thanks for the suggestion on adding nuts to the rolls!
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