Thursday, March 13, 2008

Cinnamon Rolls

Every 6 months or so, I come across a new cinnamon roll recipe. I have my mother-in-law's recipe - which is the gold-standard - but I am still trying to find a recipe to call my own.

I think Molly Wizenberg's recipe for Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze may be a contender. Her new column in Bon Appétit is great and her blog is even better.

The recipe isn't perfect. I have made enough yeast doughs to feel pretty comfortable with them though, so I ad libbed. Her recipe calls for starting off by mixing the wet ingredients plus a cup of the flour in a stand mixer. Beat it for 3 minutes, add the rest of the flour and mix together. She then says to knead by hand for 8 minutes. When you have already dirtied up the stand mixer, why not just keep the dough in there and let the mixer do the work? Well, I did. I switched to the dough hook and kneaded the dough for 3 minutes. Then, I kneaded by hand for another 2-3 minutes until the dough was smooth and springy.

The recipe is otherwise pretty good. It made more than 18 rolls for me, so I had to use a larger pan. I also baked them for about 5 minutes longer than the recipe calls for. I used about 50% more cinnamon and next time, I think I'd add raisins too.

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