Cinnamon Rolls

Typically, in my recipes, I take inspiration from several sources, but end up with a recipe that's my own. This is one really one of those times. Cinnamon rolls, for the moist, doughy, sweet, sticky rolls you're familiar with, are kind of complicated. They're yeast doughs, for one. But they've got a lot of fat in them. So they're basically a really dense, sweet brioche. This recipe, with some minor adjustments and my own instructions and pics, comes from Alton Brown.

You're going to want to start these the night before you want the cinnamon rolls. And preferably not at 10 PM the night before. The reasons will become clear. A side note, this recipe makes about 12 rolls.

Start by beating 4 egg yolks, one whole egg, 1/4 cup of white sugar, 6 tablespoons of melted butter, and 6 ounces of buttermilk in a bowl. 

In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups of flour with 2 1/4 tsp yeast, and 1 1/4 tsp salt. Beat the flour mixture into the batter until everything is well mixed. 

Switch to the dough hook, add another cup of flour, and knead for 5 minutes. Add flour, if necessary, until the dough is moist, but not sticky, and knead for another 5 minutes.

Turn out the dough on a floured counter top, knead by hand for about 30 seconds, and place it all in bowl with a little canola oil.

Let it rise for about two hours.

While this is happening, mix eight ounces of light brown sugar with 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Cover this, by the way, or else the brown sugar may start to dry out while you wait for the dough to rise.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out out until it's an 18x12" rectangle.

Melt about 1.5 tablespoons of butter, and paint the dough with the melted butter. Sprinkle the dough with the brown sugar and cinnamon filling, leaving about 1/2 inch for a seal. 

Roll it up, cut the dough into 12 equal pieces, and place them in a buttered 13x9" glass baking dish. Cover it all, and throw it in the fridge overnight.

The next morning, place the rolls, in the oven (turned off). Boil some water, and fill a shallow baking pan about 2/3 full with it. Leave it all in the oven for 30 minutes. The rolls will begin to rise.

Remove the rolls and preheat the oven to 350F. Place the rolls in the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. Make some icing while you wait, if you'd like, but you won't need it.

Remove, and let cool. They'll say fresh for about 5 days, if you leave them covered.

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks, 1 whole egg

1/4 cup sugar

6 tablespoons butter

6 ounces buttermilk

4 cups all purpose flour

1 package instant yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons)

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

vegetable oil

8 ounces brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

1.5 tablespoons butter

Procedure:

1. In a stand mixer, combine yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, buttermilk until smooth.

2. Whisk in 2 cups of flour, yeast and salt. Then put the dough hook on.

3. Add another cup of flour, and knead for 5 minutes. Add more flour, if needed, until dough is moist, but not sticky. Knead for another 5 minutes.

4. Turn dough out and knead by hand for 30 second. Place it in a bowl with some vegetable oil, let rise for 30 minutes.

5. In a separate bowl, mix 8 ounces of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and a pinch of salt, and set aside, covered.

6. Once dough has risen, roll out to 18x12". Melt 1.5 tablespoons of butter, and paint on the dough. Add the brown sugar filling, and roll the dough up. Cut into 12 slices, place in a buttered 13x9 glass baking dish and let rest overnight in the fridge.

7. The next morning, boil some water, and place the rolls in a turned-off oven with a shallow baking pan, filled 2/3 of the way with the boiling water. Wait 30 minutes, take everything out of the oven.

8. Pre-heat the oven to 350F, and place the rolls in for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cook slightly before serving.