Soft and Sweet Cinnamon Rolls
By Simple Comforts: Reprinted with permission of Andrews McMeel Publishing
Soft and Sweet Cinnamon Rolls
By Simple Comforts: Reprinted with permission of Andrews McMeel Publishing
Yield/Serves:
Makes 10 rolls
- Dough:
- 1¼ cups warm milk (no hotter than 120°F)
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast, or 2¼ teaspoons quick-rise yeast
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 3¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
- Egg wash:
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon water
- Filling:
- 1½ cups lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar, or a little more if needed
- 1½ tablespoons water
To make dough, pour ¼ cup warm milk in a small bowl. Add yeast and granulated sugar and stir to dissolve. Set bowl aside for 8 to 10 minutes, until the mixture looks foamy. If the yeast isn’t foamy after 15 minutes, start with a new package.
Put flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Make well in center and pour yeasted milk into well. Then add remaining 1 cup warm milk and melted butter. Stir together until you get big, shaggy clumps of dough that start to stick together.
Sprinkle a little flour on work surface. Dump dough clumps out of bowl onto work surface. Dip hands in flour and start kneading. Keep kneading until you get a smooth, springy dough. It usually takes 8 to 10 minutes. To know if you have kneaded enough, press your hand into the dough and remove it quickly. Your handprint should bounce back and disappear quickly.
Rub inside of large bowl with thin layer of vegetable oil or coat with pan spray. Shape dough into a ball and put it in the bowl. Lightly rub or spray the top of dough with a little oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Set the bowl aside and let the dough rise for 45 to 60 minutes, until it is twice as big.
While bread dough finishes rising, make the filling. Put brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl and whisk until well blended. Crack egg into a small bowl and beat with fork until blended.
To roll out dough, sprinkle 3 tablespoons flour on work surface. Turn the risen dough out onto the floured surface and shape into a rough rectangle. Sprinkle another tablespoon of flour on top. Starting from edge closest to you, roll gently but firmly to edge opposite you and then back again twice. Turn dough a quarter turn, and roll up and back again twice. Repeat until you have a 15 by 12-inch rectangle.
Brush any excess flour from dough with large brush. Position rectangle so you are facing long side. Mix egg yolk with water and then, using a small pastry brush, brush a thin coating of the egg mixture all over the top of the dough.
Use your fingers to scrape filling onto dough and spread it evenly over surface, leaving a 1-inch border uncovered along the long side opposite you. Starting at long side closest to you, roll up dough into a log. When you reach opposite side, roll dough on top of uncovered border. Roll log backward, so seam is on top, and pinch along seam to seal it.
Lightly butter 10 by 2-inch cake pan or spray with pan spray. Using a serrated knife, cut log crosswise into 10 rolls, each about 1½ inches wide. Arrange rolls in prepared cake pan evenly.
Cover pan with plastic wrap and set in a warm place. Let rolls rise for about 1 hour, or until they are nearly twice as big and almost fill the pan. After rolls have risen for about 30 minutes, position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F.
Bake rolls for 30 to 35 minutes, until they are golden and the sugar is bubbling around the edges. Using oven mitts, transfer pan to a cooling rack. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
To make icing, put 1 cup powdered sugar in a small bowl. Add water and whisk until completely smooth. Drizzle the icing over cinnamon rolls and eat while warm.
Put flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Make well in center and pour yeasted milk into well. Then add remaining 1 cup warm milk and melted butter. Stir together until you get big, shaggy clumps of dough that start to stick together.
Sprinkle a little flour on work surface. Dump dough clumps out of bowl onto work surface. Dip hands in flour and start kneading. Keep kneading until you get a smooth, springy dough. It usually takes 8 to 10 minutes. To know if you have kneaded enough, press your hand into the dough and remove it quickly. Your handprint should bounce back and disappear quickly.
Rub inside of large bowl with thin layer of vegetable oil or coat with pan spray. Shape dough into a ball and put it in the bowl. Lightly rub or spray the top of dough with a little oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Set the bowl aside and let the dough rise for 45 to 60 minutes, until it is twice as big.
While bread dough finishes rising, make the filling. Put brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl and whisk until well blended. Crack egg into a small bowl and beat with fork until blended.
To roll out dough, sprinkle 3 tablespoons flour on work surface. Turn the risen dough out onto the floured surface and shape into a rough rectangle. Sprinkle another tablespoon of flour on top. Starting from edge closest to you, roll gently but firmly to edge opposite you and then back again twice. Turn dough a quarter turn, and roll up and back again twice. Repeat until you have a 15 by 12-inch rectangle.
Brush any excess flour from dough with large brush. Position rectangle so you are facing long side. Mix egg yolk with water and then, using a small pastry brush, brush a thin coating of the egg mixture all over the top of the dough.
Use your fingers to scrape filling onto dough and spread it evenly over surface, leaving a 1-inch border uncovered along the long side opposite you. Starting at long side closest to you, roll up dough into a log. When you reach opposite side, roll dough on top of uncovered border. Roll log backward, so seam is on top, and pinch along seam to seal it.
Lightly butter 10 by 2-inch cake pan or spray with pan spray. Using a serrated knife, cut log crosswise into 10 rolls, each about 1½ inches wide. Arrange rolls in prepared cake pan evenly.
Cover pan with plastic wrap and set in a warm place. Let rolls rise for about 1 hour, or until they are nearly twice as big and almost fill the pan. After rolls have risen for about 30 minutes, position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F.
Bake rolls for 30 to 35 minutes, until they are golden and the sugar is bubbling around the edges. Using oven mitts, transfer pan to a cooling rack. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
To make icing, put 1 cup powdered sugar in a small bowl. Add water and whisk until completely smooth. Drizzle the icing over cinnamon rolls and eat while warm.