Orange you glad I am sharing this recipe?

Homemade Orange Rolls

I really enjoy this variation on my homemade sweet rolls. I made the recipe a few times tweaking the quantities and flavorings. Fortunately, I live with someone who is happy to act as taste tester.

Orange Rolls

Dough

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

Combine 1 1/2 cups of flour and yeast. Heat milk, orange juice, sugar, butter, and salt to 120 to 130 degrees. The butter may not be completely melted. Add to flour mixture. Add eggs and orange extract. 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.

Grease pans thoroughly. 

Filling

• 1/3 cup of butter
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1 tablespoon orange zest

Roll each half of the dough into a rectangle, roughly 10 by 12 inches. Soften the butter and mix in the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, 1 tablespoon orange zest, 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.

Roll the dough and cut with a piece of heavy thread. This prevents smashing the rolls when trying to cut with a knife.

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 in the post about Cinnamon Rolls.

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

Icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon orange extract
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• Orange juice

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

Drizzle the icing over the baked rolls and serve warm.

Zesting and juicing citrus fruit

I love the flavor that you get when you use fresh citrus zest and juice in recipes. For both ingredients, I have found that fruit that is room temperature works best.

When zesting, make sure your are not getting too deep into the peel. You only want the colored part of the peel. If you get into the pith (the white part) you will get a more bitter taste.

If you are squeezing the juice, take some time to roll it around on the cupboard pressing down firmly and toss it from hand to hand a few times before you cut the fruit. This helps to break up the small juice sacs in the fruit, making it easier to to get the juice out.