Wednesday, March 21, 2007

My Very First Home-baked Cinnamon Rolls


Cinnamon Rolls

Quite honestly, I’m not good at baking bread. The biggest reason is that I’m not patient enough to wait until required “bench time” is over. Yes, I tend to put the dough in the oven too early. But that probably is not the only reason why my bread hardens so quickly. Tell me… can using soy milk in place of milk contribute to this hardening of the bread?

This time I used this recipe but substituted milk with soy milk just because I ran out of milk and my craving for cinnamon rolls couldn’t wait until the next day. Yeah, do you know what time I baked these? Around midnight. My craving was that bad (for some reason).

So these cinnamon rolls did not turn out as soft as I wanted them to be, and they turned rock hard on the next day. But I can still eat them after microwaving for about 1 – 1.5 minutes, so it wasn’t a total waste, after all. :P
I wish I had more confectioner's sugar for a heavier frosting...

Dear readers,
If you have a recipe for very soft & moist, cinnabon-like cinnamon rolls, please share it with me!
Oh, one more thing: If used crisco instead of butter, would it make the rolls softer or prispier?


Categories:

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I made this recipe once when I too had a serious craving for cinnamon rolls. It took a lot of time but was soooo worth it!!

http://www.recipezaar.com/106825

Plume said...

I make all my baking with soy milk as I don't eat dairy, and it turns ok!
I don't think crisco would work better either.

Here is a very good recipe for cinamon rolls, I made it substituting soy milk etc, and it turned great anyway!

http://www.baking911.com/recipes/bread/cinnamonbuns.htm

Anonymous said...

i got a recipe online and modified it heavily here's mine and theirs (sorry it's so long)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Overnight-Cinnamon-Rolls-I/Detail.aspx

INGREDIENTS
sponge
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
3 tsp yeast

dough
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/3 cup butter
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 eggs

FILLING:
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 cup toasted pecans

GLAZE:
* 1 tbsp maple syrup***
* 1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
* 2 tablespoons half-and-half cream


***if you've got some, otherwise use corn syrup or just stick with the milk

DIRECTIONS

1. microwave the 1/2 cup of milk for about a minute or until it's warm, stir in 1/2 cup flour and yeast. (check the clock)
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the sugar, 3 cups of flour, and salt. melt the butter. after the sponge has sat around for at least 10 minutes or until it's spongy stir it and the eggs and butter into the flour mixture. Add the remaining cup of flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes. ( i do it in the mixing bowl, it works fine)
3. put the dough in a mixing bowl, cover it with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. (it sometimes takes a lot longer, if you poke it it should feel fluffy and spring back, if you poke it and it still feels moist and dense, go read a book for a while.)
4. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 10x 14 inch rectangle. Lightly brush the far edge with water. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and 3/4 cup brown sugar and sprinkle over the rectangles. Then sprinkle the chopped nuts over the dough. Roll up the dough into a log and seal the seam.
5. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces; place the pieces in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan, or 12 inch deep dish pizza pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight. (or put on the counter to rise for another hour or so)
6. preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Take the rolls out of the refrigerator (if that's where they were) and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
7. Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile, combine the syrup with the sugar in a small bowl. Whisk until it turnes paste-like and then add enough cream to make a thick glaze; set aside. Drizzle the glaze over the rolls and serve warm.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm.... They look yummy... I know what its like to get a craving at such a bad time... :)

Chubbypanda said...

Yes, soy milk will result in stiffer bread. The fat to protein ratio is higher in milk than it is in soy milk. More fat results in a more tender bread. The addition of shortening helps, but since the fat particles in shortening are larger than in milk, it doesn't completely compensate.

When bread goes stale after a day or two, it's because the fat suspended in the gluten has hardened, causing the bread to stiffen.

Carolie said...

This:

http://pioneerwoman.typepad.com/confessions_of_a_pioneer_/2006/12/cinnamon_rolls_.html

is the best cinnamon roll recipe I've ever, ever eaten!

Jason Truesdell said...

I think if you use more egg yolk or more fat, you'll get softer bread.

Milk also has more sugar than (unsweetened) soy milk, and, though I might be a bit off, breads I've made with more sugar seem to turn out softer.

Butter makes cookies crispier than Crisco/shortening, but I'm not sure if that holds true for moister things like bread. Personally, I'd rather have the butter flavor, but given butter prices in Japan, I'd probably use half butter, half vegetable oil.

obachan said...

Rei
Thanks for the link. It looks like something I ought to try. :)

Plume
Oh, thank you for another recipe. It’s encouraging to hear that you had a success with soy milk.

Anonymous commenter
This recipe looks great, too! Thank you so much for sharing. You are such an enthusiastic baker, aren’t you? ;)

Mako
Glad to know that I’m not the only one ;)

chubbypanda
So the key is the fat. Mmmm…. Since I can’t exercise much now, I should be satisfied with less-fat version for the time being.

Carolie
Gosh, the photos are amazing! Yeah, I gotta try out this recipe, too.

Jason
Thanks for the information. Yeah, the price of butter is such a pain in the neck here. Makes me want to keep a cow in my balcony garden. ;)

Anonymous said...

お誕生日おめでとうございます。
下記のページはプロ用のレシピをすごく丁寧に書いてくれますよ。ふわふわしておいしく見えますよね。
http://www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp/e-pan/cinnamon/cinnamon.htm

Anonymous said...

I love cinnamon buns really..We have a few shops selling these buns here in Singapore..They are so fragrant and nice...You must be a really good baker :)

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
obachan said...

rdb
ありがとうございます。
リンク先を見てみました。本当に詳しいレシピですね。参考にさせていただきます。次回はふわふわ目指しますよ!;)

ti wei
It's so nice of you to call me a good baker, but I'm still in trial-and-error or crash-and-burn stage, to be honest. But, maybe making a progress little by little...
:)

GFAD said...

Hi. I have a very easy and tasty recipe for homemade cinnamon buns if you are still interested:

http://suum-cuique.blogspot.com/2006/04/breakfast-buns.html

Actually I came by to see if you have a simple recipe for okonomiyaki. And I know your recipes are very authentic!! :D My daughter's favourite food are cabbage and eggs, so this seems like a good dish for her! Thanks!

Karin W. said...

Swedish cinnamon buns are famous, you know.
This recipe makes about 40.

The ingredients are:
50 g yeast
150 g butter
5 dl milk (fat: 3%)
a pinch of salt
3/4 - 1 dl castor sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
14 - 15 dl wheat flour

Filling:
150 g butter, softened
3/4 dl castor sugar
1 - 2 tablespoons cinnamon

Garnish:
1 beaten egg
pearl sugar

Preparation:
1.Crumble the yeast in a bowl and stir in a few tablespoons of milk. Melt the butter and pour the milk on it. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead the dough in a dough mixer for 10–15 minutes. Let the dough rise while covered at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2.Roll out the dough so it is about 3 mm (1/8 in) thick and 30 cm (12 in) wide. Spread the room-temperature butter on top. Make a mixture of sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it over the dough. Roll the dough the long way and cut the roll into about 40 slices. Place them with the cut edge upward in paper molds. Place on a baking sheet and let rise under a towel for about 60 minutes or until the buns have doubled in size.

3.Beat the egg, brush carefully on the buns and sprinkle pearl sugar on top.

4.Bake in the oven (220 degrees C/425 degrees F) for 5–6 minutes. Allow to cool on a rack.

You can find a very easy to use world wide metric calculator here:
Calculator

obachan said...

Ka..t
Hi. Thanks for the link. Gosh, with ground almond added, the filling must be sinfully good!

About okonomiyaki recipe. Mmmmm… sorry I can’t post one anytime soon, but I think the batter in this recipe is somewhat close to the okonomiyaki batter I usually make. Yes, I add grated yam. If yam is not available, adding a little baking powder would probably do, because basically it is for making your okonomiyaki fluffier.

But what’s writted after the “As desired” is a bit different from my style. I’ve never used mirin nor oyster for my okonomiyaki. Thinly sliced pork is my favorite, and I might add some squid pieces and shrimp, if available. Also, chopped green onion is the must for me. I love minced benishoga (pickled ginger) in my okonomiyaki, too, but you might find it too strong if you’re not used to it.

I wonder if you have access to Japanese okonomiyaki sauce or tonkatsu sauce… My favorite combination is tonkatsu sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes and dried green laver flakes.

Sorry, this is the best I can do now. Hope you and your daughter enjoy experimenting with okonomiyaki.

Karin
Oh, there must be a magic in the word, “Swedish.” It makes everything sound so yummy, doesn't it?

Thanks so much for the recipe and the link! Now I have so many attractive recipes and don’t know which one I should try first. :D