The Floured Apron

I hadn’t planned on doing the Master Baker challenge. I’ve been doing so much baking as it is, I just didn’t need another excuse. But as we started getting closer to the deadline and I started reading about cinnamon treats on other blogs, I got a strange craving for cinnamon rolls. To make matters more tempting, Molly of Orangette had a lovely recipe for cinnamon rolls in her Bon Appetit column this month. So I caved and got to work on the cinnamon rolls when I woke up this morning. The recipe I used was Molly’s with some adaptations, and it was just a perfect use of cinnamon.

My first change to the recipe was to knead the dough in the stand mixer. I didn’t do the dishes before bed last night, so I decided the kitchen would be better off if I took care of dishes while the mixer took care of kneading. This dough is fantastic. First of all, it was super easy to work with, and second of all it made the most delicious soft, light cinnamon rolls. I also added a little nutmeg to the filling, because I just think that cinnamon and nutmeg work so well together. The recipe makes about 18 rolls, which is way more than is safe to have in the house, so once I had rolled the dough up I cut it in half and stored one half in the freezer.

The cinnamon rolls this recipe produced were excellent. The filling wasn’t too ooey-gooey, and the cinnamon was the dominant flavor. The dough was the perfect consistency and these tasted great. Although the rolls themselves were just what I wanted, the glaze was a bit much for me. It’s the glaze that takes this from a yummy breakfast treat to an all out calorie-fest. And they really don’t need it at all, they’re great on their own. I think next time I’ll try a lighter cinnamon glaze (a cup of glazing sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon cinnamon) and see what I think about that.

Update: I used the cinnamon glaze to top the half of the recipe that I froze, and it was perfect! Exactly what these needed!

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

Adapted from Molly’s column for Bon Appetit, March 2008

Yield: 18 rolls

Ingredients

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and maintain the temperature for 10 minutes before turning the oven off again.

Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Switch over to the dough hook. Add 2 1/2 cups flour. Mix on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball.

Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then a kitchen towel. Put the bowl in the oven and let the dough rise until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl.

Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15×11-inch rectangle. Drizzle the butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over butter. Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

Butter two 9-inch square glass baking dishes. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.