Cinnamon Rolls

I'm back after a few weeks of blogging rest. It was an unplanned rest, came about when I hurt my back while cleaning my kitchen. I tried to lift the microwave oven! And hurt my back. Spend the first few days lying down (ouch!). If you have experienced with back pain before (this is not my first either!), you would know that it takes weeks for the pain to subside. So I have not been baking for the past few weeks or do anything much except to finish reading three novels. And no, I will not be lifting the microwave oven again (or any other heavy stuffs!) on my own anytime in the future! 

I made these Cinnamon Rolls as I was itching to bake some sweet bread. The original recipe is called Gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese frosting. I did not have any cream cheese so I omitted the frosting. 

The dough is enriched with milk, butter and eggs, similar to a brioche, soft and smooth, and easy to work with. The recipe makes 16 rolls, all of which are supposed fit in a 13x9-inch pan. I could not fit all of the rolls in the pan, so 12 rolls goes into the 13x9-inch pan, and the balance  4 rolls are placed in a 6" round cake pan. 

I mixed the ingredients for the filling ; ground cinnamon, brown sugar, orange zest in a bowl. The dough is divided into two halves, and each half is rolled out to 9 by 14 inch rectangle. Spread the rolled dough with some softened butter and spread half the filling on each, roll up the dough, Swiss roll style. Slice into 8 even slices and place in the greased pan, cut side up. I have spread one dough half with some raisins over the filling, and leaving the other half only with the cinnamon filling.

The rolls smells wonderful while baking. 

Very nice when eaten while still warm. Soft moist crumbs with sweet cinnamony taste and the fragrant orange zest,  and fruity bite of the raisins. Lovely with a cup of tea. The rolls are not as soft on the next day, but can be reheated wrapped in foil, about ten minutes in the oven.

A Good, Honest Sandwich Bread

I'm using one of my favourite baking books for Cookbook Countdown #6 this month, Home Baked Comfort by Kim Laidlaw. She has a few bread recipes in the book, and I wished that she had more! This is the third bread recipe I've tried and so far I like them all, especially the soft and fluffy Cranberry Bread which I've made before. 

I like how she called this bread, "A Good, Honest Sandwich Bread". While I was making this bread, with the book opened on this recipe page, my son took a peek to see what bread I was making, and he had a good laugh at the name of the bread, as he thought it was funny calling a bread "honest"! But just as the author said, this is really "A Good, Honest Sandwich Bread"! 

The recipe makes 2 loaves, but I've made only half a recipe for one loaf. I've replaced both the flours in the recipe with bread flour. This is an easy, straight forward bread to make, nothing fussy about it. The dough is easy to work with. 

This bread, as the author describes, "is both moist and lightly dense and is superb for anything from turkey or grilled cheese sandwiches to cinnamon toast and eggy French toast".  I agree, this is a very nice bread, with light dense crumbs, yet soft in texture. I ate a piece on its own as it is quite tasty! We had it for breakfast with some tuna spread, and a mug of hot coffee.

Soft Pretzels

Re-post from Sept 3, 2015

I could not decide whether should I make savoury or sweet pretzels, so I made half of each!

My puffy pretzels! Looks more like buns! Haha! 

About to go into the boiling bicarbonate of soda solution. 

After boiling in the bicarbonate of soda solution for just under one minute, and they are a little out of shape after that! For the sweet pretzels, I've sprinkled a mixture of cinnamon powder and brown sugar over the top. And for the savoury pretzels, I've sprinkled a mixture of garlic powder and dried oregano. (I did not sprinkle the top with coarse salt as per instructions in the recipe).

Sweet and savoury, which one do I prefer?

These pretzels are soft, chewy and the one with the cinnamon-sugar over the top, is really nice. Makes a wonderful snack with a cup of tea.

The recipe says to serve the pretzels with some grainy mustard. I have not tried that before!

Surprisingly, it was really good eating the savoury pretzels with grainy mustard! I like them both, both the sweet and savoury.

Soft Pretzels with Grainy Mustard
(adapted from "Williams-Sonoma : Home Baked Comfort", Kim Laidlaw)
makes 12 pretzels
1 cup (8fl oz/250ml) warm water (110F/43C)
1 package (2-1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp olive oil, plus more if needed
3-1/4 cups (16-1/2oz/515gm) all-purpose flour (I use bread flour)
1 tsp kosher salt (1/2 tsp sea salt)
1/3 cup (2-1/2 oz/75gm) baking soda
coarse salt for sprinkling
grainy mustard for serving

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add the 3 tablespoons oil, the flour, and kosher salt. Attach the dough hook and knead the dough on medium-low speed until smooth, about 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled, about 1 hour.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and brush the parchment with oil. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, then cut it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope about 18 inches (45cm) long. With each rope positioned horizontally, bring the 2 ends up and toward the center as if forming an oval, cross one end over the other, and press each end into the bottom of the oval to create a pretzel shape. Place the pretzels on the prepared pan, spacing them evenly.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450F (230C). Fill a large, wide saucepan with 7 cups (56fl oz/1.75liter) water, stir in the baking soda, and bring to a boil. Gently drop 2 or 3 pretzels at a time into the boiling water (be careful not to overcrowd them). Boil for just under 1 minute, turning once with a large slotted spoon or spatula. Return the boiled pretzels to the baking sheet, top side up.

Sprinkle the pretzels with coarse salt. Bake until beautifully browned, about 10 minutes, rotating the pans about halfway through. Serve warm with big spoonfuls of grainy mustard.

Cranberry Bread

Re-post from July 17, 2015

A soft and fluffy bread, that is perfect for breakfast, tea-time, and anytime throughout the day. It is not only soft, but so fluffy soft, and really, really good!

The original recipe is called Figgy Cardamom Bread, which uses dried figs and ground cardamom. I have however replaced the dried figs with dried cranberries and have omitted the cardamom. 

I've used instant yeast, so I have skipped the ten minutes step to make it foamy, but mixed it with the other ingredients and proceed with the instructions in the recipe.

The recipe makes a really huge braid! It would be a great idea to divide the dough into two halves and make two sets of braided loaves instead. 

This loaf is not only soft, but so deliciously fluffy soft.

Good to eat on its own or with a generous spread of salted butter. With a cup of your favourite tea or coffee.

Figgy Cardamom Bread (I've made as Cranberry Bread)
(adapted from "Williams-Sonoma : Home Baked Comfort", Kim Laidlaw)
makes 1 large loaf
1 cup (8fl oz/250ml) whole milk, warmed (110F/43C)
1 package (2-1/4 tsp) active dry yeast (I use 2 tsp instant yeast)
1/3 cup (3oz/90gm) sugar, plus more for sprinkling
3-1/2 cups (17-1/2oz/545gm) all-purpose flour (I use 3-1/2 cups + 3 tbsp bread flour)
1 tsp kosher salt (1/4 tsp salt, as butter is salted)
1 tsp ground cardamom (omit)
3 large eggs
6 tbsp (3oz/90gm) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into chunks (salted butter)
1-1/2 cups (9oz/280gm) quartered dried figs (replaced with dried cranberries)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the milk, yeast, and 1/3 cup sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. (Since I've used instant yeast, I skipped the 10 minutes, and proceed with the next step).

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and cardamom. Add the dry ingredients and 2 of the eggs to the yeast mixture. Attach the dough hook and knead the dough on medium-low speed until it starts to look shaggy. While continuing to knead, add the butter. Knead until the dough is fairly smooth, about 10 minutes. Dump the dough onto a floured work surface and flatten into a disk. Scatter the figs (cranberries) over the dough and gather it into a ball. Knead the dough gently to incorporate the figs (cranberries). Gather the dough into a ball, transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled, about 1 hour.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dump the dough onto the lightly floured work surface and divide it into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 16 inches (40cm) long. Lay the ropes next to each other, touching, on the work surface. Braid the ropes together, tucking the ends underneath the braid. Place on the prepared pan, cover loosely with a kitchen towel, and let rise until puffy, about 45 minutes.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F (180C). In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg with a little water. Brush the dough gently with the egg wash, then sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Buttery Flaky Rolls

Re-post from August 28, 2014 

I made these Buttery Flaky Rolls a week ago, and am already thinking about it again. If you love soft, fluffy and buttery rolls, then these would be a great recipe to try. Better still, get the book! This lovely recipe is from "Williams-Sonoma Home Baked Comfort" by Kim Laidlaw. I have tried three recipes from this book, and all are fabulous. And to think I almost did not get this book at the Big Bad Wolf sale last December, only got it during their second sale, a few weeks later. I have seen this book at the first sale, but thinking that I have way too many baking books, I thought I pass it on. But during the second sale, I could not help it! I just got to have it! And I am so glad I did. No matter what anyone says, one can never have enough of cookbooks! LOL! If cookbook makes you happy, go for it! That is, only when budget allows! And I have a long list ! :(

These dinner rolls are really good! Buttery and fluffy soft.

The dough is soft and a little sticky, but after the first rising, it is really easy to work with. Just flour your hands very lightly with flour and divide the dough into small balls. For constant size, use the weighing scale to divide the dough into 18 pieces. These dough balls rises really fast, with our hot humid weather, it takes only about 40 minutes. The best part of bread making for me is when the dough rises during proofing, bring a smile to me each time!

The rolls are baked in two 9" round pans, with 9 rolls per pan. According to the author, it can be baked as individual rolls, simply space the dough rounds on two parchment lined baking sheets and then let rise and bake as directed.

These rolls are really so soft and fluffy. It has a light salty buttery taste to it, as I've used salted butter, and with a hint of sweetness from the honey and sugar. These rolls are brushed with melted butter before the final proofing and again when the rolls are hot from the oven. So good! For those who are health conscious, you may skip it, but there's really not much butter used, only 3 tablespoons for 18 rolls, and it makes such a yummy soft buttery crust.

Good enough to eat it on its own. I had three rolls with a cup of coffee for my breakfast the next morning, and they are still as soft. A keeper recipe!

* notes : my changes listed in blue
Buttery Flaky Rolls
(adapted from "Williams-Sonoma Home Baked Comfort", Kim Laidlaw)
Makes 18 rolls
6 tbsp (3oz/90gm) unsalted butter (salted butter)
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp dark honey
1 cup (8 fl oz/250ml) whole milk
1 package (2-1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 cups (15 oz/470gm) all-purpose flour (bread flour)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp kosher salt (1/8 tsp sea salt)

In a small saucepan, melt the 6 tablespoons butter with the honey over low heat. Stir in the milk and gently warm the mixture to about 110F (43C). Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir in the yeast and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the eggs, flour, sugar, and salt. Attach the dough hook and knead the dough on medium speed for about 5 minutes. The dough will be very soft and sticky. Form the dough into a ball, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.

Generously butter two 9-inch (23-cm) round cake pans. Dump the dough onto a floured work surface. Divide the dough into 18 equal pieces, each about 1-1/2 ounces (45gm). (This is when a scale comes in handy!). Roll each piece into a ball and place 9 balls in each prepared pan, spacing them evenly. Brush the dough balls generously with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand until puffy, about 1 hour.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375F (190C). Bake until the rolls are golden, about 18 minutes. Brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven. Serve warm.