Yeasted Cinnamon Rolls

I had made one of my goals in this post to make 12 yeasted items this year. And wouldn't you know it, I'm so getting right on those goals. Here's my first tick-mark on my goal list: yeasted cinnamon rolls.


Now, I must admit, I've made these before. But I never did stipulate that they had to be new recipes. A yeasted item is a yeasted item. Besides, I thought it would be wisest for my sanity to start with something easy when I am trying to tackle something I most definitely stink at.


This time was a little different, though, because this time I used instant yeast. I've never worked with instant yeast before, but I've read a little bit about it. Now bear with me, I'm going from memory here. Instant yeast is supposed to be a good thing because you don't have to wait for it to bubble up and get ready, it's ready instantly. Amazing, right? But the trick is that you have to mix the instant yeast with the flour first because...I'm not really sure, but I know you're supposed to do it. (Maybe someone can jog my memory.) Then you can mix things normally.

So, I woke up early one morning, because I wanted to surprise Jacob with the cinnamon rolls. I mixed them up, but the dough was looking a little grainier than I thought it should. But I didn't want to overmix them. Then when I went down later with Jacob (I got a little impatient waiting for him to wake up...such a bad wife), I asked him if he thought the dough looked right. Then he reminded me I needed to knead it for few minutes until smooth. Wow...what a dummy am I. I applied the muffin/quick bread method to yeasted bread. It's okay to mix yeasted bread. So I quickly kneaded it, and what I difference that made. I actually incorporated the yeast. Then it was time to rise.

It was cool that day, so I used a warmed up oven. It always works great to get a good rise. After that, it was time to spread on the cinnamon sugar mixture. Leave it to me to choose a recipe that calls for several tablespoons of ground cinnamon when all I have is cinnamon sticks. So I had to grind my own. I started with a box grater, but tired of that really quickly. So I decided to put the sticks in the spice grinder that we have. It worked okay, but the resulting cinnamon was more coarse than store-bought kind. But I was making lemonade out of lemons...er ground cinnamon out of cinnamon sticks. :)

Then it was my favorite part, rolling up the rolls. I love trying to make the most rings possible per roll, rolling it as tightly as I possibly can. And then when you cut it and see those beautiful rings...perfection.

Next you wait for it to rise a second time, and then it's baking time. The baking time is nice because it's so short compared to the two rising time. And you just can't beat the fresh baked cinnamon roll smell. You pull it out of the oven, slather on some cream cheese icing, and try to wait until it's cool enough to eat. Yum, yum, yum.

So all in all, things worked out okay (okay...delicous!), even after all my mishaps. Maybe I can do this yeasted thing. Let's see how I do next time. :)


Clone of a Cinnabon
adapted from Allrecipes

• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup margarine, melted
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
•  
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
•  
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 
  

1. Mix together flour and instant yeast, let rest for one minute.
2. Mix in the rest of the dry ingredients, and then add the wet. Knead until you have a smooth dough.
3. Place dough in a covered bowl in a warm area to rise.
4. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
5. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
6. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.