Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Cinnamon Rolls - BBA Challenge #8


Here we are at week 8 of the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge. We are baking our way through Peter Reinhart's book "Bread Baker's Apprentice" in the order recipes appear in the book.

I have been looking forward to this week. So much so, that I even turned my brioche in week 4 into cinnamon buns. I wonder what other doughs I can turn into cinnamon rolls? :-)

I must say, the lemon zest in this recipe made the most wonderful smelling dough ever!

I rolled the dough out into a 12 x 14 square. (that left corner was being a pain)

I spread egg whites over the dough to hold the cinnamon sugar instead of butter. (a tip I learned from Rose Beranbaum) I also used my own cinnamon sugar recipe instead of Reinharts (3/4 c dark brown sugar, 1/4 white sugar, 2 t Vietnamese Cassia Cinnamon, and a pinch of salt)


To avoid distortion, I used a piece of white thread to cut the slices. (slide the thread under the dough, pick up the right thread with your right hand, the left with the left, going over the top of the dough, move the right thread to your left hand and the left to your right hand. Now, at the same time, pull the thread in your right hand to the right and the thread in your left hand to the left)

Violia! A perfect slice

Place the slice piece on a Silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet.


I covered them and placed them in the refrigerator until 2AM

I popped them into the oven at 5:30 sharp, baked for 25 minutes then cooled them on a rack for 10 minutes.

I iced them using a poured fondant, snapped a few pictures, then handed them to my husband to take to his 6:15 Bible study. Ummmm. These smell awesome.
I relaxed, thinking I had safely escorted all the calories out of the house but not so. Rick stopped by on his way to work with a left over roll. (he knows they are my absolute favorite. Wasn't that sweet of him to go out of his way?)


Sigh.... I pour myself a cup of coffee, sat in my favorite chair and savoured each calorie. Thanks Honey!


You can find the recipe here (I had to add an additional 6 TBS of bread flour)

Here's a video of using dental floss to cut the rolls:



22 comments:

  1. They look SO very good.
    YOU did great. I always forget the string/thread trick.
    Great photos and nice baking along with you,
    Susie

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the thread trick - I use unflavored dental floss. It really preserves the "roundness" of the slices.

    How nice of your hubby to save a roll for you :). That was very thoughtful!!

    You wondered what other bread recipes would work well for cinn rolls... my favorite is a generic oatmeal roll recipe I found online. It bakes up super soft.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Susies1955. Everyone is going to miss you in August but I know you're going to have a blast! (Obviously, I'm missing you already if I'm complaining about it now.) ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks ButterYum. :-)
    Oatmeal roll? Oh my, that sounds awesome... My favorite cake is oatmeal cake, so I'm sure the oatmeal roll will be super amazing... I'll send you an email requesting the recipe or URL. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yours look fabulous! I always end up getting "teeth" marks in my dough from the serrated knife, so I'll definitely be using the thread this time :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks Jen! I love how easy it is to cut the dough with a string / floss... and you don't dirty your knife. A win/win. :-) I can't wait to see your cinnamon rolls.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have seen that trick to use thread/floss but forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder. I better be careful not to use the mint floss though. Wow, getting up at 2 am to take them out of the fridge - that's dedication. They look beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks Cindy!
    LOL. I can imagine mint & cinnamon would be a bad mix. Thanks for the laugh.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Awesome! These look SO gorgeous! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I used the dental floss trick too. But that was after I mutilated the first couple with a knife..lol

    Lovely looking buns you've got there Tammy!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks Sara!

    Thanks Mags... it's been awhile since I've heard those words. LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow! Those look perfect! And thanks for the tips re: the egg white vs. butter and the thread cutting. Good to remember!

    Rebecca

    ReplyDelete
  13. Absolutely loved the video! Wish I had watched it before making mine. Not only I did use a knife :-(
    but definitely cut mine too thin....

    next time, next time!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Now I'm really looking forward to the cinnamon rolls. I'm doing them this week in honor of my daughter visiting. I think we'll all really like them. And thanks for the thread trick...it's a keeper!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beautiful job! I especially like the photos that show how cleanly string cuts the rolls- no squashed, smeared ovals. And loved picturing you enjoying one roll that your husband dropped off- doubly sweet.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sallbr... yours still looked great to me!

    strangerkiss... what a lucky daughter! She'll feel really honored with these. :-)

    Thanks Julie! I sure did enjoy that roll. :-D

    ReplyDelete
  17. These look delicious! I can't wait to make them. I've been making cinnamon buns forever and I've never heard of the string trick. Thanks for the tip!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks Cathy! Enjoy your cinnamon rolls. Call me if you need help eating them. :-) I love cinnamon rolls.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love the top photo, it's making me want to bake these again.:)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks Oggi! It wouldn't take much for me to make them again also. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  21. The missing piece for me was the recipe. Thank you so much for posting a link to it.
    I can try it all except for the corn syrup. I don't live in corn syrup country. I'll figure something out though.
    Thanks again and take care!

    ReplyDelete
  22. these sounds wonderful, but am unable to print the recipe. will see if i can get it to work, and i just love your blog. i am new to all of this and hopefully will learn myself how to post pictures.

    ReplyDelete