A recipe for fluffy, delicious Cinnamon Rolls, adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Make the evening before, then bake for breakfast in morning! Alterations from the original are noted below.
Course:
Breakfast
Cuisine:
American
Keyword:
cinnamon rolls
Servings: 16
Author: Leona Konkel
Ingredients
6 ½tablespoonssugar
1teaspoonsalt
5 ½tablespoonsshortening, margarine, or butter(at room temperature)
1egg
1teaspoonlemon extract
16ouncesbread or all-purpose flour(3 ½ cups)
2 ¼teaspoonsactive dry yeast
1 ⅛cupsmilk(9 ounces; I used 1% milk)
Filling
2tablespoonssoftened butter(optional)
¾cupgranulated or brown sugar(original recipe called for 6 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar)
2tablespoonscinnamon(original recipe called for 1 ½ tablespoons)
Glaze
2cupspowdered sugar
¼teaspoonlemonor vanilla extract
3tablespoonsmilk
Instructions
Cream the sugar, salt, and margarine at medium-high speed with your paddle attachment of your stand mixer. Add egg and lemon extract and cream until smooth. Add flour, yeast, and milk, and stir on low until a ball forms. Switch to the dough hook and mix at medium speed for 10 minutes, until the dough is silky and tacky, but not sticky. I had to add a little extra flour to get to this stage. The dough should pass the windowpane test. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 2 hours, until dough doubles in size.
Line your counter with plastic wrap; oil it if you desire. Turn out the dough. Roll out the dough into a 18x9-inch rectangle using your rolling pin; dust the dough with a little flour to prevent it from sticking to the pin if necessary. Spread dough with softened butter, if using. Sprinkle dough with cinnamon sugar and roll up dough into a log. With seam side down, cut dough into 12-16 even rolls that are about 1 ¼ inch thick. (I got 14, even with measuring out 1 ¼ inches with a ruler.)
Place buns ½ inch apart, cut side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment, or in another baking dish if desired. (I used a Silpat-lined baking sheet, as well as a ceramic dish with higher sides.) The buns should not be touching each other at this point, but will after they rise. Spray buns with oil and cover with plastic wrap.
Proof buns at room temperature for 75-90 minutes, until they have doubled in size. Alternatively, you can place them in the fridge for 1-2 days. If you refrigerate the dough, pull them from the fridge 3-4 hours prior to baking to remove the chill.
Bake cinnamon buns for 20-30 minutes (mine took 20) at 350F on the middle rack of your oven.
Mix together powdered sugar, extract, and enough milk to make a paste. Cool buns for 10 minutes before glazing. Wait 10 minutes before serving. (The recipe said 20 minutes, but I thought they were too cool at this point.)