If you are getting your feet wet in the kitchen and could use a little hand holding, What to Cook and How to Cook It (November 2010, Phaidon Press) by Jane Hornby comes to the rescue.
We give you a head start with her 12 Steps to Cinnamon Rolls Heaven, just in time for the week-end.
Cinnamon Rolls
Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus 1 ½ hours for rising
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Makes 12
Here’s something really worth getting out of bed for. .As with most dough-based recipes, these sticky rolls take a little while to put together, but this recipe cuts out any lengthy kneading. The rolls are best eaten warm, so if you want to make them the night before, follow the tip* below.
Ingredients:
Scant 4 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for shaping the dough
1 tsp kosher salt
¼ cup fine sugar
1 ( ¼ -oz) packet fast-rising yeast
1 ¼ sticks ( 2/3 cup) very soft unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
½ cup milk, plus 2 tbsp for the icing
2 large eggs
½ tsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 cup raisons, golden raisins, or a mixture of both
½ cup pecans
1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
*GETTING AHEAD: Make the dough the day before, then put the rolls into the refrigerator at the end of step 10. They will rise, but at a slower rate. Next day, take them and leave at room temperature for an hour or so or until they have grown together, as in step 11. Bake as before.
Instructions:
1
Put the flour, salt, fine sugar, and yeast into a large bowl. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a small pan. Take the pan off the heat, then use a fork to beat in the ½ cup milk, and then the eggs.
2
Quickly mix the wet ingredients into the dry, until you have a rough, sticky dough. Cover with plastic wrap, then set it aside for 10 minutes.
3
Sprinkle a little of the flour over your work surface, then scrape the dough out of the bowl onto it.
4
Dust the top of the dough with a little flour. With dry, floured hands, knead* the dough into a smooth, springy ball. This should only take 30 seconds or so.
5
Rub a little oil around the inside of a large bowl, then put the dough into it. Lightly oil a sheet of plastic wrap and cover the bowl. Put the bowl in a warm (not hot) place. After 1 hour, the dough will have doubled in size.
6
Flour the work surface and your hands, then turn the dough out onto it. Press the dough out to a rectangle about 16 x 12 inches using your knuckles and palms.
7
For the filling, spread the remaining soft butter over the dough, then sprinkle with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins. Chop the pecans, and scatter over.
8
Take hold of one of the long sides, then roll the dough around the filling, as though you’re rolling up a carpet.
9
Using a sharp knife dipped in a little flour, cut off the very ends of the roll and discard them, then cut the rest of the roll into 12 equal slices.
10
Use a little butter to grease the inside of a baking or roasting pan measuring around 10 x 9 inches. Put the rolls in the pan, cut-sides up, spaced apart.
11
Rub a little vegetable oil over a sheet of plastic wrap, then loosely drape it over the rolls. Leave in a warm place for 30 minutes, or until the dough looks puffy and they have grown together. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
12
Bake the rolls for 25 minutes, until risen and golden. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out of the pan and put them onto a cooling rack. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a bowl, then mix with 2 tablespoons milk to make a smooth, runny icing. Spoon it over the rolls while they’re still warm.
*HOW TO KNEAD: Hold the left edge of the dough down with one hand, then grab the farthest edge and push it away from you. Fold the stretched dough back on top of itself, press it down with your palm, give the dough a quarter turn, then repeat. After a few turns the dough will be smooth and elastic. Sprinkle with more flour if the dough sticks.
Back on the sweet side of things with Holiday Recipes, Part 4.
(Recipe and illustration reproduced by permission of Phaidon Press)