Classic Cinnamon Rolls

Warm comforting aroma of cinnamon spice wafting through the entire house on a chilly Sunday morning tells you that your weekend is going to be all good and relaxed. Classic cinnamon rolls and a mug of hot coffee is something I crave for quite often. My love for these delicious American breakfast started during my days in US, almost 8 years back. Right when I was exploring new flavours. Being an Indian, I had never tasted cinnamon in something sweet before. To me, it was a complete culture shock. Because until then, it used to be an amazing spice used in savoury Indian food such as biryanis or curries. Or the way my grandmother used to grind her own Garam Masala (Indian spice mix) which had a generous share of this humble earthy spice. But then I got introduced to cinnamon rolls by one of my American colleague at work. One bite, and I was a complete convert. I was smitten and thought why I hadn’t tasted this before. Not only those rolls, but that experience opened doors of my imagination and I became even more opened to trying new recipes and cuisines. The breakfast menu just got expanded for me and I figured that I had many other options besides having Indian breakfast. I started cooking pancakes and I would sprinkle them with cinnamon powder generously, with some going in my cappuccino too. I would bake apple pies and cinnamon coffee cakes too. Whenever I had to treat someone special, I would bake them a nice cinnamon swirl coffee cake. Although I have many recipes of cinnamon breads (kanelbullar, babka, raisin bread) here, but I didn’t have a recipe for classic cinnamon rolls yet. And I had been thinking of baking these. But something else would pop up on the list and the poor humble cinnamon rolls would be ignored. But this time I was determined to have bake them. I wanted to enjoy these rolls in breakfast, so I proofed the rolls in fridge overnight, so that I can bake them in morning, without having the need to get up pretty early. And how could a cinnamon roll be called classic, if it hadn’t been glazed with cream cheese icing. The rolls came out amazingly delicious. My friends liked them too. I even had the leftovers in breakfast the next day. 

Classic Cinnamon Rolls

2017-02-08 08:07:38

Classic Cinnamon Rolls

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For the dough

1. 4 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg
2. 1/4 cup sugar
3. 75 gm unsalted butter, melted
4. 3/4 cup plain yogurt
5. 350 to 400 gm plain flour
6. 7 gm fast action yeast
7. 1 1/4 tsp salt

For the filling

1. 150 gm brown sugar
2. 25 gm unsalted butter, melted
3. 1 tbsp cinnamon powder

For the icing

1. 75 gm cream cheese, softened
2. 75 gm icing sugar
3. 3 tbsp milk
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Combine the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter and yogurt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with dough hook and whisk at medium speed.
2. As the mixture comes together add 350 gm of flour, along with the yeast and salt and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. The dough should feel soft and moist. If it is sticky, add a bit more flour (one tbsp at a time). Knead on low for another 5 minutes or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; and form dough into a smooth ball. Transfer the dough ball to a lightly oiled large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 3 hours or until doubled in size.
4. Once the dough has risen. Butter an 8 inch cast iron pan, set aside. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon powder in a bowl.
5. Roll the dough into a large rectangle of size 18 inch x 12 inch. Apply the melted butter on rolled dough using a brush and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture evenly.
6. Beginning with the long edge near you, roll the dough away from you into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down.
7. Using a knife, gently cut the cylinder into 2-inch rolls, yielding 8 pieces.
8. Arrange rolls cut side down in the butter pan into a circle. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight.
9. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 200 degree C. Turn off the oven and place the pan in oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until rolls are puffed up.
10. Now again heat the oven to 180 degree C and bake the rolls for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.
11. Meanwhile make the icing by whisking together all the ingredients.
12. Once rolls are baked, take them out of oven and spread the icing on top of rolls using back of a spoon. Serve warm with coffee.

By Himanshu Taneja

The White Ramekins http://thewhiteramekins.com/