I am in my writing mode this week. I have full days each day this week to pull a chapter together for my dissertation. My carrot for getting this done by Thursday is a movie night out with some friends.
I am not a morning person in general so it takes me awhile to get going. I catch up on blogs and pinterest and have been doing a baking project each morning, trying some new recipes. I made some blueberry cinnamon buns last summer but thought I would try a traditional recipe this year. This recipe from America's Test Kitchen is very highly reviewed and I found some "tips" on pinterest for even more success with this recipe.
Recipe tips are HERE. Although I think you need to log in to see the actual recipe.
We've always called these cinnamon buns although I notice most of the recipes online refer to them as cinnamon rolls. Maybe that's a Canadian/American thing?
Cinnamon Buns (recipe from America's Test Kitchen)
In a stand mixer with a dough hook attached, stir together 4 cups AP flour, 2 1/4 teaspoons quick rise yeast, 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt.
Melt 6 tablespoons unsalted butter and let cool. In a glass measuring cup, mix 3/4 cup buttermilk to 110 degrees F. I used the microwave. Whisk in 3 large eggs and the melted butter.
With mixer turned to low, pour in liquids and keep mixing until just combined and coming together, about 2 minutes.
Turn mixer up to medium and knead for 10 minutes. Dough should be together in an elastic, smooth ball, not sticking to sides but sticking a bit to the bottom. If it is sticking to the sides, add 1 tablespoon of flour at at time as needed. I made this on a humid day and needed to add 1 tablespoon.
Lightly oil (vegetable oil) a large bowl. Take dough out of mixer and form into a smooth ball and place in bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place until doubled in size. Mine took 2 hours. Love the smell of yeasty dough all full and round!
Melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter. In a small bowl mix 3/4 cup of packed light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of cloves and a pinch of salt. You could add nuts or dried fruit at this point but I chose not too this time.
Lightly flour counter and take dough out of bowl and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll it out to a 12 inch x 16 inch rectangle. Spread the butter over the dough using a pastry brush and leave a one inch non-buttered border on the long side away from you (this will help to seal the seam). Spread the sugar mixture over the butter, right to the edges. At this point, the boys are noticing the smell and wondering what I am up to!
Starting at the long end closest to you, roll up the dough and sugar into a tight roll, making sure ends stay squared. Seal seam and turn the roll so the seam is on the bottom. Roll the log to make sure it is even and stretches out to 18 inches in length.
Grease a 9x13 baking pan. I used glass because that's what I have. Using a serrated knife (which worked great for me but I know some people like to use dental floss!), cut the log in half.
Then cut each half into six equal pieces, placing each piece in the greased pan in a 3x4 array.
Spray a piece of plastic wrap with Pam or other spray and with the greased side down towards the rolls, cover the baking pan and then let sit in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The rolls should be doubled in size and pressing against each other.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F and use rack in middle of oven. Remove plastic wrap and bake rolls until golden and puffed, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven.
Turn rolls over onto cooling rack with parchment paper underneath to catch the gooey drips! Let cool for 5 minutes this way.
Turn right side up and either eat them hot or wait for them to cool down ;) This is where you might add the glaze but I didn't because I figured they were sweet enough.
Note: If you want to make these the night before for baking in the morning, you can make them to the point where you have the rolls sliced and placed in the baking pan and then instead of letting them rise, you put them in the fridge overnight. In the morning, take them out of the fridge and let them sit at room temperature until they have doubled in size and then bake.
The recipe made 12. I ate one right out of the oven and the boys and their friends gobbled up 4 when they got home from swimming. Neil managed to have one too and we sent a couple home with friends. The other three didn't last the night!
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