Cinnnamon rolls

When I was a child, my mother always made cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve so that we could wake up and enjoy them while we opened our presents. Now that I'm grown, I've tried to continue the tradition. I used Betty Crocker's recipe with very limited success. They just never tasted right, and they often didn't rise properly, and I was always disappointed. Somehow, my mom was able to coax flavour out of that recipe that I never could.

So when I woke up with a serious craving for cinnamon rolls, I decided that I would try the recipe in Bread Baker's Apprentice. The recipe is a little more complex and time-consuming than BC's, but SO worth it. I think it took me about 5 hours from start to finish, although most of that time was rising and baking time.

6 1/2 Tbs baker's sugar (I probably would add a bit more next time)
1 tsp salt
5 1/2 Tbs butter or shortening at room temp (I used all butter)
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp lemon zest or extract
3 1/2 cups bread or AP flour (I used bread flour)
2 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk at room temp (I used all milk)
3/4 cup cinammon sugar (7 Tbs baker's sugar, 3 Tbs ground cinnamon)

Cream sugar, salt and eggs on medium speed in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Whip in egg and lemon until smooth, then add flour, yeast and milk (make sure to mix yeast in milk first to activate it). Mix on low speed until the dough forms a ball. Switch to the bread hook and knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is silky and supple, but not sticky. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register at 77-81. Oil a bown and transfer the dough. Cover. Let ferment 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size.

Oil the workspace (I used Silpat with a light oil coating) and the pan you will use - I used a glass pyrex pan - and roll the dough to about 2/3 inch thick. I actually stretched the dough by hand, instead of using a rolling pin. Spread the cinnamon sugar over the entire dough. Roll up the dough so that the cinnamon sugar is on the inside. Cut rounds about 1 1/2 inch thick - you should get 12 pieces easily, although I got 15. Put pieces into pan so that they aren't touching. I also put a bit of brown sugar at the bottom of the pan, but that's totally optional.

Proof for 75-90 minutes or until the pieces have grown into each other. At this point, you could put it into the fridge for up to 2 days, but you will need to allow 3-4 hours for the dough to come back up to temperature and proof.

Preheat the oven to 350. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until they are golden brown. Mine took about 35 minutes. Let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then add the following glaze (this is half the recipe from BBA, but was PLENTY):

Cinnamon Roll Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon zest/extract
1/4 cup warm milk

Stir until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is a thick paste. Use a fork to drizzle the glaze over the hot rolls. We also found that using a knife to poke holes into the dough allowed the glaze to penetrate. That gave the leftovers a beautiful syrup-y texture.

Enjoy! We sure did!