Are you hungry?: Let’s bake homemade cinnamon rolls

I use the same basic recipe to make a variety of sweet rolls. There is cinnamon and its variations – raisin or raisin and apple. I make a delicious orange roll. There is a sticky pecan roll. I will cover each variety in a separate post.

The basic sweet dough recipe is an adaptation of the recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Old-Fashioned Home Baking.  The book was edited by Mary Jo Plutt and published in 1990.

Basic Sweet Dough

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 to 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package (2 ¼ tsp) active dry yeast
• 1 cup of milk
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 eggs

Combine 1 1/2 cups of flour and yeast. Heat milk, sugar, butter, and salt to 120 to 130 degrees. The butter may not be completely melted. Add to the flour mixture.  Add the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl. Beat at high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

On a floured surface, knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough. Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Turn over once. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double. 

Punch dough down. Turn on to a lightly floured surface. Divide in half and let rest for 10 minutes.  Shape and bake as directed in the recipe. 

Cinnamon rolls

• 1/3 cup of butter
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ¾ cups raisins (optional)
• ½ cup finely chopped apples and 1/4 cup raisins (optional)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla
• Milk

Grease 3 pans thoroughly. I bake the rolls in foil serving pans that come with a foil/paper lid (often called take out containers – approximately 8″x6″x2″)

Roll each half of the dough into a rectangle, roughly 10 by 12 inches.  Soften the butter and mix in the cinnamon and sugar. Take half of the sugar mixture and spread it over dough, leaving about an inch of the long edge of the dough clear. If desired, sprinkle raisins or apples and raisins on the dough.

Roll the dough, dampening the edge to seal it. Use a piece of stout thread to cut the rolls into slices.

Roll the dough from the other long edge. Use a bit of water along the edge of the dough to help seal the edge. Cut the roll into twelve pieces. Place the pieces cut side down in the pans. Let rise for about 15 minutes. The rolls can then be refrigerated for up to 24 hours or frozen as described below.

If chilled, let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until done.

While the rolls are baking, sift the powdered sugar. Mix in the vanilla and one tablespoon of milk. Add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until the icing is smooth and can be drizzled. 

Drizzle the icing over the baked rolls and serve warm.

Freezing the rolls

To freeze the rolls, I cover them with waxed paper and then put the lid on. I add a piece of tape to tell me the variety and date the rolls were made. I then put the whole pan in a zipper bag. They are best if they are baked and eaten in within 3 months. 

Ready for freezing. Walt and I don’t need to have 2 dozen sweet rolls at one time!