bigger, better cinnamon rolls

I’ll keep this post short. I’m just splitting up the last post into two separate ones to organize a little better….
This is for my mom. I love it when she bakes cinnamon rolls in the morning! She asked me to make the frosting. Teehehehehehe

mouth-watering cinnamon rolls

Momma Kim’s Cinnamon Rolls

Yield: 8 cinnamon rolls

For the rolls:
2 packs yeast
250 ml warm water
1 1/2 tablespoon dry milk
1 1/2 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
3 tablespoons butter
4 cups bread flour

For the filling:
5 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 cups pecans/walnuts/peanuts/any nut you want
** The nuts taste better if you pan fry them without oil lightly for a couple minutes. Be careful to constantly stir so you don’t burn them.

Place the yeast and warm water in a mixing bowl and let sit until foamy (5 – 10 minutes).

Add the dry milk, salt, sugar, and eggs and beat on low with a dough hook attachment on the stand mixer until combined. Then, add the bread flour one cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix on medium-high until the dough is soft but sticky and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about one hour).

Once dough has risen, dump it out onto a well-floured surface. Divide into two balls, set one aside. Roll dough out into about a 10-by-14 inch rectangle. Brush the melted butter onto the surface, and then spread a generous amount of the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts out leaving a small border. Roll up starting from the long end. Slice the rolls or scrolls into preferred length, should yield about 8 cinnamon rolls.

Arrange the rolls in the pan, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size (about one hour).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Save the other half of the dough for later or make 16 cinnamon rolls by doubling the filling. Or make savory ham & cheese scrolls!

ooey gooey sweetness

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar. Spread over warm rolls. Refrigerate leftover frosting. Or freeze it and eat it with a spoon later. :)

savory ham & cheese scrolls

Breakfast has to be my absolute favorite meal of the day for several reasons.
1. I don’t have to worry about the calories I consume (as much.)
2. Eating something smothered in syrup or frosting still counts as a meal.
3. If I’ve been dieting properly, I’m usually starving when I wake up in the morning.
4. It keeps me energized all day.
5. I LOVE LOVE LOVE omelettes!

But then there comes the dilemma… Do I want that healthy egg white spinach omelette or pancakes? Do I want huevos rancheros? French toast? Something sweet? Something savory? Something with eggs? Maybe a breakfast burrito or quesadillas?

savory scrolls

Well, if you’re like me, and you can’t choose between eating something savory or sweet for breakfast (I’m not indecisive.. I just WANT IT ALL!) Here’s a small simple solution.
Just make both.

And that might sound like a lot of work, but its really not, the two following recipes are exactly the same except you change up the filling and topping. My mom makes it in the morning, and I love it! I usually go for cinnamon rolls and my sister gets the savory scroll, and I’ll just steal a bite of hers if I’m craving something salty.

They’re also very portable, so a good breakfast-on-the-go (which I LOVE being a college student with no time to eat breakfast ever) or even a snack in your lunch.

Go here for the recipe for the dough for the Cinnamon Rolls.

dual-function dough. love it

The dough recipe for the Ham, Corn & Cheese rolls is EXACTLY THE SAME as the cinnamon rolls! Isn’t that great? The only thing different is the filling. And no frosting of course. Remember half the dough you set aside? You use that for the ham scrolls! Or if you just want one, double the filling or halve the dough recipe.

mid-rise

waiting for their second rising.

Ham, Corn, & Cheese Scrolls

Filling:
2 tablespoons mayo
1/2 can canned or fresh corn, washed and drained
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon dill, oregano, whatever herbs you want
2 fistfuls (is this a measurment?) diced fresh mozarella
2 fistfuls ham, diced into small bite-sized pieces

For the filling, mix up the mayo, corn, onion, cheese, and herbs. Let sit for about ten minutes.

Follow the exact procedure of rolling out the dough for the cinnamon rolls, but instead of the cinnamon filling, spread on the mayo-corn mixture first. Then, sprinkle the ham evenly over, and roll up, cut, and then let rise. Baking time is the same.
** You can squirt ketchup over the top for presentation and taste if you want. Optional.

cheesey ham

earthquakes & focaccia!

herb

I was just chilling catching up on “30 Rock” and “The Office” while my onion focaccia was rising in the kitchen, and then, out of nowhere, a 5.0 earthquake!
The house shook for a good ten to twenty seconds and I got really scared. After my initial fear, I ran to the kitchen to check up on my focaccia because I was worried something happened. It was my first time making focaccia and I had spent all afternoon making it.

But not even an earthquake can stop my bread. :) Success!

I cut off a corner and slapped some cold ham between the halves.. .Yummmm. Hot bread and cold ham, it was delicious.

If you’ve never made a yeast bread before, I suggest you try making focaccia because you don’t have to worry about it rising so much as it is a flat-bread.

Focaccia originates from Italy and it has many variations. You can replace the onion with your favorite herbs, sprinkle it with coarse sea salt or maybe fresh-ground pepper. It’s a versatile bread; you can use it in sandwiches and paninis or my mom loves to just dip it in fruity olive oil and balsamic vinegar for breakfast. This is a great recipe because it does not involve any complicated shaping or hand-kneading what-so-ever!

perfect for sandwiches

Onion Focaccia
from The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (105 – 115 degrees F)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 – 4 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar over 1/2 cup of the water and stir to dissolve. Let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 10 minutes.

Add the remaining water and sugar, 1/4 cup of the olive oil, the salt, and 1 cup of the flour. Beat on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute. Add another cup of flour and beat on medium low-speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the onion. Switch to the dough hook.

On low speed, beat in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft shaggy dough forms that starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Knead on low speed, adding flour 1 tbsp at a time if the dough sticks, until a moist, soft, and slightly sticky, about 6 minutes. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes.

Line a heavy rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and brush the paper lightly with oil. Turn the dough out onto prepared sheet. With oiled fingers, press and flatten the dough into an oval 1 inch thick. Cover looseley with oiled plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. It will be about 2 inches thick.

With your fingertips, make deep indentations 1 inch apart all over the surface of the dough, almost to the bottom of the pan. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Cover loosely with plastic and let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Sprinkle with coarse salt lightly. Bake for 20-25 minutes until bread is lightly browned. Check bottom and bake for a few extra minutes if it is pale. Slide bread onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into squares or wedges.

tuna salad

Slather on some tuna salad for a yummy, easy lunch!

we love you, williams-sonoma

There’s nothing like waking up to the smell of fresh baking bread in the morning.
:)

whole-wheat

My mom’s been baking bread for about four months now, and she finally has the rising process perfect. And since her loaves don’t deflate anymore, she found that her loaves of bread weren’t fitting into her plastic containers.

How is one to keep bread fresh????

bread keeper

With a beautiful glass and stainless-steel bread box of course!

Mmmm.. Happy Mother’s Day!

sesame seeded

Whole-Wheat Bread
adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Cookbook

Yield: Two 9-by-5 inch loaves

1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
Pinch of brown sugar
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)
1 1/2 cups tepid buttermilk (90 degrees F)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups whole-wheat flour
3 1/2 – 4 cups bread flour, plus extra as needed

In a bowl, sprinkle the yeast and brown sugar over the water and stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the buttermilk, maple syrup, oil, salt, and 2 cups of the whole-wheat flour. Beat on medium-low speed until creamy, about 1 minute.

Beat in the yeast mixture and the remaining whole-wheat flour and beat for 1 minute. Beat in the bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed, adding bread flour 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough sticks, until smooth but slightly sticky when pressed, about five minutes. Transfer dough to a oiled deep bow and turn the dough once to coat it. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1-1 1/2 hours.

Lightly grease two 9-by-5 inch loaf pans. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and divide it in half. Shape each dough portion for the loaf pans. Cover loosely with plastic and let rise until 1 inch above the rim of each pan, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until the loaves are golden brown and pull away from the sides of the pan, 35- 40 minutes. Turn out onto racks and let cool completely.

Changes:
1. We used about a half cup of black sesame seeds to make it interesting.
2. We replaced the maple syrup with honey.
3. We made one 9×5 loaf and three small oval loaves for gift-giving.

sesame loaves

Yummmmm whole-wheat toast!

banana nut muffins

Another classic that went into the study snacks I made for my little Freshman buddy at school yesterday.

bananers

Because bananas are a valuable source of vitamin B, vitamin C, and potassium.

And I used walnuts. Did you know the Latin name for walnuts, Juglans, means “Jupiter’s Acorn?” Walnuts were known as nuts for the gods. They’re one of the best plant sources of protein, rich in fiber, vitamin B, magnesium, and antioxidants.

Brain food. MMMmmmmmm.

I haven’t used this recipe for banana nut bread in about two years when I used to make it regularly in high school. And for some reason, it doesn’t taste as good as I remember. My mom insisted that they tasted good, and others who had a little taste test said that they still tasted good, but I don’t know. It might be because I used to make it with wheat flour but I used regular all-purpose yesterday….

I don’t know but I think I’m on a mission to find a new banana nut bread recipe. This one is still good, but I think I’ll play around a little with it a little next time since I’ve made it so many times already. A crumb topping sounds pretty good…..

brain-shaped brain food

Whole-Wheat Banana Nut Bread

Yield: One 9-by-5 inch loaf or 15 muffins

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
3 large ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom and sides of a 9×5 inch loaf pan with wax paper and grease or use paper liners in a muffin tin.

Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon over the butter mixture and stir to blend. Stir in the whole wheat flour.

With a fork, mash the bananas into a puree and then stir into the batter. Stir in the vanilla and nuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread level. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before transferring to a rack.