Cakenista's I did a thing.... I created a little bit of heaven this past weekend. It's been years since I've made any type of homemade bread and I've missed it like crazy. Since my lifestyle is mainly keto I only indulge in actual breads every so often and these were a treat worth having. Most of us have had (and love) cinnamon rolls. I wanted to take it a couple of steps further by not only making cinnamon rolls, but a strawberry crunch roll, and a blueberry lemon roll as well.
As you may know I used to make cinnamon rolls at a hotel I worked at but I've never even thought about making other flavors until recently. Majority of my 'first time experiments' are done on camera and these were no exception. I played around a bit (as you'll see in the video) so that I could be able to give you an amazing recipe. Making dough can seem intimidating but please don't shy away from giving it a shot. This is a great dough to experiment with and try out your own flavors and fillings!
Key Points:
As you know there is a science to making the perfect dough. Here some key points to ensure that you have a successful dough.
Milk - 115 degrees is the perfect temperature. Anything more or less can prevent the yeast from activating.
Yeast- Make sure your yeast hasn't passed the expiration date. Yeast feeds on sugar. Sugar along with the heat from the milk 'activates' and ultimately awakens the yeast. If for some reason it doesn't foam up, it's a bad batch and needs to be redone.
Salt- Salt kills yeast but also adds a much needed balance to the dough, For this reason we add salt at the end stage when adding the other dry ingredients.
Kneading - Kneading the dough for a good amount of time is extremely important because it builds the gluten. This creates that beautiful doughy pull that we love in our rolls.
Resting- After all of that working out (kneading), the dough has to then rest. This allows the yeast to continue feeding on the sugars and release the gas that allows the dough to rise....i know....it sounds gross, but hey, it is alive.
Proofing- This is the last chance that your dough has to rise. It's like the last hoorah in what I'd call a showstopping experience. The best proofing temperature is about 80 degrees. Sit the dough in a bowl, cover well with plastic wrap and place somewhere warm.
Butter Baby- Because butter and sweet rolls is everything. Feel free to butter the rolls before baking, after they're rolled out, and after they've come out of the oven.
Recipe
Servings: 10-16
Dough
1 Tbsp Instant Yeast
1 1/2 C Warm Milk
1 tsp Vinegar
1/4 C Yogurt
1 /2 C Oil
1 Tbsp melted Butter
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Egg White
1 tsp Salt
5 C All Purpose Flour
Strawberry Filling / Rolls
1 C Fresh Strawberries (cut)
1/2 C Sugar
2 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Corn Starch
Strawberry Crunch
Cinnamon Rolls
2 Tbsp Cinnamon Powder
1 Stick (1/2 C) Butter - Softened
1 C Brown Sugar
1/2 C Chopped Walnuts
Blueberry Lemon
1/4 C Lemon Juice
1 C Fresh Blueberries
1/2 C Sugar
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Corn Starch
Buttercream or Store-bought frosting for the glaze
Directions:
Heat the milk up to approximately 115 degrees. In a large mixing bowl: Add yeast, vinegar, sugar and milk. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes. When you remove the cover check to make sure the yeast has foamed up. If the yeast hasn't reacted then the yeast is no good.
To the mixing bowl: Add the flour, salt, yogurt, oil, egg white and vanilla extract. Use a dough hook attachment and knead the dough for 15 minutes. If you aren't using a standing mixer, knead by hand for 15 minutes or until the dough has fully come together. Once done kneading, pour melted butter over the dough, cover tightly and allow to rest for 1 1/2 hours.
Strawberry Sauce: In a small pot, add strawberries and sugar. Cook on medium heat until the juice from the strawberries begin to release. This should take about 4 minutes. Transfer to a blender and blend for 30 seconds. Set 1/4 C of strawberry puree aside and allow to cool, add the rest of the sauce back to the pot. Add cornstarch to the portion of strawberry puree that has cooled and whisk until you create a slurry. Bring the sauce pot to medium heat and add the cornstarch slurry mixture to the pot. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the sauce is no longer 'cloudy'. Set aside and allow to cool.
Blueberry Sauce: To a small sauce pot, add blueberries and sugar. Allow to cook on medium heat until the juices begin to release. Whisk the lemon juice and cornstarch together until incorporated. Transfer blueberries and lemon juice mixture to a blender and blend for 30 seconds. Add back to the pot and allow to cook for 3 minutes. When fully cooked, set aside and allow to cool.
Once the dough has doubled in size. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface in a large rectangular shape. The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into thirds that you have 3 large rectangles of dough rolled out.
Grease a 1/2 hotel pan or 9x13 inch cake pan with butter and set aside. Spread blueberry filling on 1/3, carefully roll and pinch edge to seal. Slice into equal parts (about 2 inches). On another rectangle of dough, spread strawberry sauce and a layer of strawberry crunch (optional). Roll and slice into even pieces. For the cinnamon rolls, spread softened butter onto the last third of dough. Coat evenly with brown sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts. Roll, seal the edge, and slice into 2 inch slices. Place all rolls into the greased pan, cover and let rest for 1 hour.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. The glaze I use in the video is buttercream. You can use homemade buttercream or store-bought frosting. Put frosting in a bowl and microwave for 10 seconds then split into 3 bowls. To one bowl, add 1/4 C cream cheese and stir. To another bowl add blueberries or blueberry sauce, and leave the last bowl as is.
8. Once the rolls come out of the oven spread the cinnamon flavor with the plain icing. Top the strawberry rolls with cream cheese icing, strawberry crunch crumbs, and diced strawberries. Finish the blueberry rolls off with blueberry icing and fresh blueberry for garnish. Enjoy!