Home Baking: Old Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls

There is only one difference between a long life and a good dinner: that, in the dinner, the sweets come last. – Robert Louis Stevenson

Can you smell it?

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned warm cinnamon bun. They announce their presence the moment you enter the house.

Nine very large fluffy rolls.

They’re a childhood memory that many of us share. I wanted to resurrect this memory so I took my dough hints for a 1959 recipe. It was from the sweet rolls found in  A Guide to Good Cooking with Five Roses Flour. Always a reliable source for old-style recipes.

Here’s a little known fact on this side of the Atlantic. October 4 is Kanelbullens Dag (National Cinnamon Bun Day) in Sweden. Instituted in 1999 by the Home Baking Council it was a way to stimulate tourism to the country. It is now a well recognized tradition, even though it's only 13 years old.

One difference from what North Americans call cinnamon rolls is that the Swedes often put cardamom in the dough, much like I did for my Cardamom buns (recipe here). 

Dough before 1st rise.

The ingredients in cinnamon buns have all been around for many, many years, reaching back past recorded history. When they may have all come together I cannot find. But one source says cinnamon buns may be a descendant of ancient galettes or medieval fritters.

One thing is known. The final ingredient needed to make a cinnamon bun – cinnamon – wasn’t available to European cooks until after Marco Polo’s expeditions and resulting spice trade. This was in the latter half of the 13th century.

There are now different versions in many countries all over the world, where they range from a biscuit-like dough to full-on fluffy wonders. Sometimes they are called sticky buns; sometimes they have nuts; sometimes cream cheese frosting… 

I have a recipe for a Swedish Tea ring that has raisins and is formed into a ring shape. The ring is then almost cut through and turned slightly to make individual buns. Quite festive looking. I should have done that with these. Next time....

Dough after 2nd rise.

Although I am a fan of cream cheese the frosting on these buns is a standard icing sugar glaze. I wanted to keep this recipe fairly true to the old-fashioned variety.

The buns are not small. In fact, they are rather large. That’s the way I like them. I hope you do too.

Cinnamon Rolls

Prep: 3 hrs 30 min | Bake: 35 min | Yield: 9 large rolls

1-1/2 cups water (or milk) at 110°F

1 tbsp yeast

2 eggs, beaten slightly

Ready to be rolled and cut.

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

4 cups flour*

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

1.2 cup softened butter

glaze

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tbsp milk

2 tsp corn syrup

pinch of salt

Proof the yeast in the warm water until frothy, about 10-15 minutes.

Add the eggs, butter, sugar and salt and stir well. Mix in the flour and then bring together with your hands in the bowl.

Transfer to a flat surface and knead. The dough will be a little sticky at first but will loose that as it is kneaded. Only add enough flour as is necessary to do so.

2nd rise.

Knead the dough until smooth, about 5-10 minutes. Under-kneading will not activate the elasticity in the flour.

Transfer the dough back to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise until double in bulk, about 2 hours.

Once the dough has risen, punch the dough down and roll it out into a rectangle about 12” wide by 16” long. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.

Spread the softened butter over the surface and then dust with the cinnamon sugar. Roll up the dough so you have a roll 16” long. Cut evenly into 9 pieces.

Generously butter a 9” by 9” tall sided pan. Arrange the cut rolls in three rows of three. Place the pan in a warm place with a piece of plastic on top and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about another hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  While the rolls are baking, whisk all the ingredients together for the glaze in a bowl.

Bake the rolls for 30-35 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and then drizzle with the glaze. Serve while still warm.

* The moisture content in flour varies on a daily basis, so start with a little less than 4 cups and see how it goes. On this day I didn’t have to add any additional flour at all. It used exactly 4 cups.

........................................

If you like this post feel free to share it using any of the links. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site. Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask!

Home Baking: Cardamom Sweet Rolls

Behave so the aroma of your actions may enhance the general sweetness of the atmosphere. – Henry David Thoreau

Warm from the oven. The best way...

Nothing says lovin’ like something from the oven. Or so the saying goes…

Before rising the first time.

I can see why. Not only do home baked goods take time to make that demonstrates love, but they also fill the house with homey scents sure to make fond memories for all.

Bread is one baked good that creates remembrances of hearth and home in those we love. Sweet rolls ratchet it up a notch, in my lowly opinion.

This recipe, a delicious twist on cinnamon buns, is no exception. Think about a light, moist dough – flavoured with sugar, eggs, milk and cardamom – wrapping a spicy sugary filling with more cardamom. Mmmm…

Doubled in size.

Best served still warm from the oven, they’re good cooled too, if they last that long. 

One word of advice. Sweet rolls really should be eaten within 2 or 3 days of baking because, like any dough, they loose that freshness we value so much.

Grocery store baking, complete with preservatives, will last for much, much longer. I guess that’s the price we pay for having the care to bake for our families.

Try these. You won’t regret it.

Roll the dough out to 16" x 10". Spread with butter and
sprinkle the spice mixture evenly on top.

Cardamom Sweet Rolls

Prep: 3 hrs 15 min  |  Bake: 35 min  |  Yield: 12 large rolls

4 cups flour

2 tsp yeast

1 cup milk, at 110-115°F

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup butter, melted (or margarine)

1/2 tsp cardamom, ground (or mace)

Spice Filling

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom, ground

1/4 cup sugar

melted butter for brushing tops

Roll up with the longest side facing you. Cut into 12 buns.

Confectioner’s Icing

1 cup confectioner’s icing

2 tbsp milk

2 tsp white corn syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

Proof the yeast in the warm milk and sugar until creamy. Add to a large ceramic bowl. Add the salt, eggs, melted butter and cardamom. Mix well and then add the flour. Bring the mixture together and knead the dough for five minutes. 

Place the dough back in the bowl. Cover with plastic and a tea towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Place the buns in a buttered baking dish and let rise until doubled again.

Mix together the sugar, cinnamon and cardamom. Roll out the  dough to 16” x 10”. If you like thinner dough (and more spiral) roll the dough out to 16" x 16".

Rub the flattened dough with the butter then sprinkle with the sugar mixture. Roll up along the 16” dimension and slice into 12 equal pieces. Arrange, cut sides up in a well buttered 10” x 14” oven proof dish.

After rising.

Cover with plastic and a tea towel and let rise again until doubled, about 1 hour. 

Bake for 35 minutes until golden.

Bake at 375°F for 30-35 min. Let cool 5 minutes and then drizzle with the confectioners icing.

Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but these are not. Mmmmm....

…………………………………..

If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share using any of the links below.

Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks?

Homemade Cardamom Sweet Rolls

A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body. – Benjamin Franklin 

Warm from the oven. The best time to enjoy these.

After the blistering weekend it seems we have been given a bit of a rest here in Nova Scotia. Rain started late yesterday afternoon and has continued into the morning.

I’m sure our garden is loving it. Unfortunately it kind of means that we’re a bit “trapped” inside, at least until it starts to clear off this afternoon.

With the rain has come cooler temperatures so the inside of the house isn’t as much like an oven as it was. It is a little on the unpleasant side to cook meals when the weather is hot. Turning on the oven only increases the heat inside your home.

But today, not so much. And since there’s not much one can do outside in the yard, how about a homey baking recipe? But a homey recipe with a twist...

Bread is one baked good that conjures remembrances of hearth, home, comfort and love. Sweet rolls ratchet it up a notch, in my lowly opinion.

This recipe, a delicious twist on cinnamon buns, is no exception. Think about a light, moist dough – flavoured with sugar, eggs, milk and cardamom – wrapping a spicy, sugary filling with more cardamom. Mmmm…

Best served still warm from the oven, they’re good cooled too, if they last that long. 

One word of advice. Sweet rolls really should be eaten within 2 or 3 days of baking because, like any dough, they loose that freshness we value so much.

Grocery store baking, complete with preservatives, will last for much, much longer. I guess that’s the price we pay for having the care to bake for our families.

Try these. It’s a rainy day. You won’t regret it.

The risen dough is rolled to 16"x10", spread with butter and sprinkled
with the cardamom sugar.

Cardamom Sweet Rolls

Prep: 3 hrs 15 min  |  Bake: 35 min  |  Yield: 12 large rolls

4 cups flour

2 tsp yeast

1 cup milk, at 110-115°F

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup butter, melted (or margarine)

1/2 tsp cardamom, ground (or mace)

Spice Filling

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom, ground

1/4 cup sugar

melted butter for brushing tops

Roll up with the longest side facing you. Divide into 12 even slices.

Confectioner’s Icing

1 cup confectioner’s icing

2 tbsp milk

2 tsp white corn syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

Proof the yeast in the warm milk and sugar until creamy. Add to a large ceramic bowl. Add the salt, eggs, melted butter and cardamom. Mix well and then add the flour. Bring the mixture together and knead the dough for five minutes. 

Place the dough back in the bowl. Cover with plastic and a tea towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Space evenly in a well buttered baking dish...

...and let rise until doubled.

Mix together the sugar, cinnamon and cardamom. Roll out the  dough to 16” x 10”. If you like thinner dough (and more spiral) roll the dough out to 16" x 16".

Rub the flattened dough with the butter then sprinkle with the sugar mixture. Roll up along the 16” dimension and slice into 12 equal pieces. Arrange, cut sides up in a well buttered 10” x 14” oven proof dish.

Cover with plastic and a tea towel and let rise again until doubled, about 1 hour. 

Bake and then drizzle with the confectioner's icing. Mmmm...

Bake at 375°F for 30-35 min. Let cool 5 minutes and then drizzle with the confectioners icing.

........................................................

You know, I really like comments... I really do.

Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Baking: Apple Cardamom Buns in Sweet Cream Dough

Mick Jagger is about as sexy as a pissing toad. – Truman Capote 

No resemblance to Mick Jagger.

Food porn. That’s the best words I have heard to describe the over the top "sexy" way food and food photography is portrayed now online and on TV.

It’s an apt term, and I’m guilty of my fair share of proliferation. I only wish that my photographs were sexier. I also wish that computers had smell-evision or taste-evision. Some recipes would really make that technology investment worthwhile.

The dough rised overnight.

I say thank goodness for sexy food pictures. We do eat with our eyes first. Ask any restauranteur if they take care in the presentation of their dishes. I bet even if they don’t they wouldn’t admit it. Positive expectation is half the consumer battle.

Of course food porn can be taken to extremes. With the rise of pinterest (guilty) and instrgram (not yet...) some diners are beginning to make pests of themselves. Mostly their intentions are good – sharing something wondrous; for others it’s bragging. But pest they can be, especially to other diners. 

There are some chefs now that refuse to allow diners to take pictures of their food. I can sympathize if you have some wiener standing on his or her chair to get “just the right angle”... I'm paying for ambiance as much as food. Acrobatics (unless a floor show) isn't on my menu.

A pan full of kitchen love.

Of course taking photos of food you prepare yourself is fair game. I just wish I was better at it, even though I took several photography courses at NSCAD. A poor craftsman blames his tools, it is said. I blame my point-and-shoot.

Hopefully my photos with this post do this recipe justice. These buns are worthy of being food porn. Just amazing.

Of course my intentions are twofold: first to illustrate how things are done, and second to make it appetizing enough that you’ll want to make them.

If you could be in our kitchen right now, as they are cooling, and smell them, you’d go running for your yeast instantly.

Do you think I believe these are good? Well they are. This dough is a cousin of the dough I made for my old fashioned cinnamon rolls (recipe here), with some specific differences.

The first is the overnight rise and the second is no eggs. I substituted cream for richness, so the dough is slightly less fluffy, but no less delicious.

Mixing the dough and letting it sit is actually n work. Making the buns the next day is maybe 20 minutes hands on time, and uses common ingredients. 

If you’ve never had apples and cardamom together you’re really missing a match made in heaven. Would you like another?

Apple Cardamom Buns in Sweet Cream Dough

Prep: Overnight  |  Bake: 40-45 min  |  Yield 9 buns

dough

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup water

1/2 cup 18% cream

2 tbsp sugar

2-1/2 tsp yeast

1/2 tsp salt

3-1/2 cups unbleached flour

2 granny smith apples

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp sugar

1/4 cup turbinado sugar

2 tsp ground cardamom

glaze

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 tbsp cream

2 tsp white corn syrup

Melt the butter. Combine it with the water and cream in a large bowl. Mix in the sugar, yeast and salt. Then stir in the flour until the mixture comes together fairly smoothly.

Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise on the counter overnight (at least 12 hours).

The next day pare and core the apples. Chop into fairly small pieces (less than 1/2” in size). 

Melt 1 tbsp of the butter in a sauté pan and add the apples and sugar. Cook the apples just until they are no longer crisp, about 2 minutes. Do not cook until soft or the apple pieces may disappear when baked.

Roll the risen dough out on a floured board to 16” x 12”. Take the remaining butter and dot the surface of the dough. Sprinkle the surface with the sugar and then the cardamom. Then arrange the slightly cooked apple pieces on the top.

Working with the 16” dimension facing you, ease the dough up over itself and roll into a log. Square up the ends so the entire log is nearly the same thickness. Measure into thirds and cut. Then cut each third in three pieces.

Butter a 9” x 9” baking pan and arrange the rolls in three rows of three. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the rolls in the middle of the oven for between 40-45 minutes.

Let cool slightly. Mix the glaze ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the still-warm buns. Serve immediately.

........................................ 

If you like this post feel free to share it using any of the links. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site. Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask!

Recipe: Pizza Spirals

Why can't I be different and unusual... like everyone else? – Vivian Stanshall 

Mmmm...fresh from the oven pizza spirals.

This recipe falls into the category of “different and unusual.” Actually that’s not completely right. I have pizza buns at least once a week from the Superstore, but they’re not like these.

Light, fluffy dough.

Pizza buns are sort of a snack but can be turned into a light lunch. The ones we purchase have pizza sauce and cheese slathered on top of a flat piece of puffy dough. They’re not bad…

I wanted to see if I could pull them off at home. The more I started thinking about doing it I started to wonder if you couldn’t turn a whole pizza inside out – but not like a calzone. Somewhere in between a pizza bun and a calzone. It was an intriguing thought.

This was a bread weekend for me, apparently. Two days ago I posted Maritime white bread (here). I guess the yeast wasn’t quite through with me. I've begun to realize that all the amazing kinds of bread you can make are really not all that different. It's only ingredient quantities and slightly different technique that yield such different results.

At first these were going to be cheese spirals – delicious flaky rolls stuffed with gooey mozzarella cheese... You could certainly do that with this dough. Your options are just cheese, or sauce and cheese – or pretty much whatever you want to include.

Leave about 1" bare on one of the long sides.

This recipe takes many of the ingredients in a simple pizza and wraps them in delicious, light dough much like that in a cinnamon roll. I’ve already started thinking what would happen if I turned others of my “standard” pizzas into spirals. I think artichoke heart, genoa salami and provolone would be stunning.

These rolls may take a little extra time, but they are amazing and delicious. Just remember that most of the "work" time, as with all bread, is in the rising. If you couple that with using a machine to knead, as opposed to by hand, these are hardly any more work than a regular pizza.

These will certainly elicit surprise when you put a serving plate down for at a buffet or your hungry family. These also have the distinct ability to be able to be picked up and eaten by hand without mess, even when warm!

Roll up carefully making sure the filling is evenly distributed.

Cut into 12 equal pieces.

Pizza Spirals

Prep: 3 hours, including 2 rises  |  Cook: 30-40 min  |  12 servings

2 tbsp white sugar

3 tsp yeast

1/2 cup warm water (110°-115°F)

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs,slightly  beaten

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, +/- a little

toppings:

1 cup tomato sauce

250 g sausage, cooked and broken up well

200 g mozzarella cheese, grated

2 tsps pepper

2 tsps oregano

1 tsp basil

sprinkle of salt

 2 tbsp olive oil

Place in an oiled pan and let rise. then top with remaining
sauce, sausage, cheese and spices.

Place the sugar, yeast and warm water a bowl. Let stand, covered, until creamy, about 10-15 minutes. (I do mine in my KitchenAid bowl so the machine can knead the dough.)

Add the milk, vegetable oil, salt, eggs and one cup of the flour. Mix until completely incorporated. Then slowly add the rest of the flour. Since the moisture content in flour varies daily, don't out all of the flour in. If it needs it add the rest, or even a slight bit more.

Knead with the dough hook until smooth, about 8 minutes, or by hand for 12 minutes. (Watch TV while you do it. It helps pass the time.)

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1-1/2 hours.

Punch the dough down and place it on a lightly floured rolling surface. Roll the dough out to a rectangle approximately 12” x 18”. The dough will fight back but be persistent and keep square corners as much as you can.

Cover the dough with slightly more than 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, taking care to get it out to the edges, but leaving one of the long sides bare about 1”. See the photo just above where the recipe starts. Sprinkle with most of the sausage, 3/4 of the cheese and half of the spices. Shake a little salt on top.

Roll the dough up like a jelly roll starting at the long side. Turn the roll seam side down. You will have a roll about 18” long.

These were amazingly good. I ate three for dinner, pig that I am.

With a serrated knife cut in two and then each half in sixths so you have 12 pieces. Arrange the rolls in a baking pan that has been rubbed with olive oil. Let rise for 30 minutes in the pan until doubled.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Just before placing in the oven spread the tops with the remaining sauce, sausage, mozzarella and spices.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until well browned. Let cool for 5 minutes and then serve.

 

.......................................

If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share it using any of the links below. Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks?

Make Your Own: Homemade Cardamom Extract

One of the hardest tasks is to extract continually from one's soul an almost inexhaustible ill will. – Victor Hugo

Delicious stuff, this is.

There’s nothing ill will about making your own extracts. My vanilla experiment is coming along nicely at the one week mark. I have high hopes for it to turn out well over the next 3 months.

I now have it in my head to make other extracts. There is clove, cinnamon, you name it… The first on my list (after the vanilla) is cardamom. This one only takes a few days too, unlike the vanilla.

Cardamom is a Middle Eastern/Indian spice that has a very wonderful aromatic scent. Interestingly it is also common in Scandinavian baking. This was due to the oceanic adventures of the Vikings. I have used cardamom powder in sweet rolls with glaze before and the flavour was amazing.

Pure cardamom extract is not inexpensive. 3 fl. oz on Amazon cost $12 USD. To make it, I discovered, is inexpensive. 

This recipe makes the same volume as I found on Amazon. To make around 1/3 cup only takes 1/2 cup of vodka and 1/4 cup cardamom. Buy the spice at the bulk food store and you only pay pennies. 1/2 cup of vodka is probably about $3.50. That’s quite a saving. So about $4 as opposed to $12.

Squeeze the seeds to get as much liquid out as possible.

This extract is going to be fantastic in baked goods like my sweet rolls, or cookies, cakes or even squares. I have already used it in a recipe I will post in a day or two.

Homemade cardamom extract is a little less strong than vanilla so you may need to add a little more, but at the cost to make it that is no problem.

Stay tuned for more extracts in the future. Absolutely.

Cardamom Extract

Prep: 5 min  |  Steep 2-3 days

1/4 cup green cardamom pods

1/2 cup vodka

Crush the green pods in a bag with a rolling pin. Combine the crushed cardamom with the vodka in a jar. Let steep for 2-3 days only. Any longer and the extract runs the risk of becoming bitter.

Strain through fine cotton cloth.

…………………………………

If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share using any of the links below. Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks?

Holiday Baking: Gingerbread Men

Take care of all your memories. For you cannot relive them. – Bob Dylan

Sweet tasting memories.

We may not be able to physically relive our memories, but we can most certainly maintain them and make new ones. These cookies remind me of growing up and Seamone’s Bakery in Liverpool.

We used to go grocery shopping on Fridays in Liverpool on the South Shore. There was a bakery on Market Street run by Mr. Seamone.

It was an old Victorian storefront with wide glass windows and a recessed entry. When you opened the door you were surrunded by counters on three sides, filled with freshly baked goodies.

In the bakery was all manner of homemade breads, rolls and sweets. Three treats that I remember are the fantastic “egg tarts,” sugar cookies and these delicious little men.

The gingerbread men stood out because they had no fancy decoration. The eyes and buttons were nothing more than red food colouring. But in our eyes they were decked out in gold.

Slightly firm and slightly spicy they were a treat for us on the drive home, if we were good while Mom and dad were shopping. We had to have something to occupy us on the half hour drive.

The bakery and its recipes are long gone, but the happy memory remains. Baking these cookies is a way for me to reconnect with happy times gone by.

I’m posting this today because this is a perfect activity to do with your kids this weekend. The dough takes next to no time to mix up. If you have things you need to do put it in the refrigerator and when you come back roll it out and bake.

We had company last night and baking the cookies made our dessert. It was fun and fast and made the house smell like a home. Two dozen cookies didn’t last very long either.

There’s one lonely gingerbread man left. And he’s soon to join his friends!!

By the way, gingerbread men, although fantastic for the holidays, would be happy to make an appearance in your kitchen any time of the year.

Gingerbread Men

Prep: 10 min  |  Refrig: 1 hr  |  Roll and bake: 30 min  |  Yield 24-28

1/2 cup butter or mararine

1/2 cup sugar 

1/2 cup fancy molasses 

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ginger 

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 

red food colouring

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Add the molasses and egg and beat again.

Next add the salt, baking powder, baking soda and all the spices. Stir to combine.

Add the flour, one cup at a time, beating it in well after each addition.

Scrape all the dough onto some plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Dust a rolling board with flour. Roll the chilled dough out to about 1/4” thickness and cut out with a cookie cutter. Arrange on a baking sheet, with a little space in between. The cookies will spread slightly.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit on the tray for 2 minutes, then remove to a rack. Do not stack the cookies while warm or they may stick together.

In a few minutes the cookies will firm up.

Bring any remaining dough together, re-roll and cut until all the dough is used.

To decorate add 3 drops of red food colouring to 2 tablespoons of water. Dot the cookies with a small paint brush for eyes and buttons.

.......................................

If you like this post feel free to share it using any of the links. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site. Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask!