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. :)

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!