Life is What You Bake It: Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls M A K E S 1 D OZ E N R O L L S

One year at Thanksgiving, we had some cream

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE

cheese frosting left over from making Granny’s Million Dollar Cake (page 187). While I was making my Old-School Dinner Rolls (page 223), I went rogue and decided to see if the dinner roll recipe would work for cinnamon rolls. It did! And the pillowy texture and tangy cream cheese icing made them some of the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had. But since I can’t seem to leave well enough alone, I made a few tweaks: I halved the recipe because cinnamon rolls should be savored. I swapped the warm water for warm milk to make a richer dough, and I added a touch more butter and sugar so that the dough could stand up to the fierce cinnamon filling and delightful cream cheese glaze. The softer your butter is, the easier it will be to spread onto the dough to make the filling. Don’t be tempted to melt it—melted butter is more likely to leak through the filling and into the bottom of the pan.

4 tablespoons (55g) unsalted butter, room temperature

DOUGH

1 cup (240ml) warm milk 1 large egg 4 tablespoons (55g) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the bowl and pan 1⁄3 cup (65g) granulated sugar 1 (¼-ounce/7g) package instant yeast 3½ cups (420g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling and shaping 1½ teaspoons ground cardamom 1½ teaspoons kosher salt FILLING

½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, room temperature ¾ cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar

½ (8-ounce) package (½ cup/113g) cream cheese, room temperature 1 cup (125g) confectioners’ sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

make ahead You can make the rolls through step 3. Instead of chilling for 20 minutes, let the dough chill up to 24 hours, covered, in the fridge. The cold air slows the rise of the dough, yielding a richer flavor. When ready to bake, punch the dough down and continue with the recipe.

1. Make the dough: Add the warm milk, egg, and the 4 tablespoons of the melted butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.

2. Add the dry ingredients in the following order: the granulated sugar, yeast, flour, cardamom, and salt. Knead on low speed until the ingredients come together, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and continue to knead until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl, 8 to 10 minutes (it won’t form a ball around the hook).

3. Grease a large bowl with some butter and scrape the dough into it—the dough will be very sticky, but don’t worry; as it rests and rises, it will become easier to work with.

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

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Challah M A K E S 1 B R A I D E D LOA F

Cover the bowl with plastic or a dish towel and let rest until the dough doubles in size, 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes. When the dough has doubled in size, set it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. (This will give the butter a chance to firm up, making it easier to roll out.)

4. Make the filling: In a medium bowl, stir together the softened butter with the brown sugar and cinnamon.

5. Form the rolls: Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Use your fingers to deflate the dough (what we call “punching it down”)—really get in there so that no air pockets remain. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the dough onto a generously floured work surface. Roll the dough to an 18 by 14-inch rectangle. (Rolling out bread dough is different from rolling pie dough or cookie dough. Apply very light pressure—there’s no need to put your body weight into it. The dough is supple and requires a gentler touch.)

6. Use a spatula to spread the filling over the dough in an even layer, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Tightly roll the dough lengthwise from the bottom into a long cylinder. Brush a small amount of water on the last bit of edge and then roll the dough on it to seal (the water is like glue and will help the cylinder stay tight).

7. Cut the cylinder into 12 equal pieces.

Like layering my clothes for cold weather and

8. Grease the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Place the rolls in the pan, making 4 rows of 3 rolls each, setting them an equal distance apart. Cover the pan with plastic or a clean dish towel, and set aside to rise until the rolls have doubled in size and the rolls are touching one another, about 1 hour. (It may seem like these little rolls won’t rise that much, but they will. Letting them rise adequately during this step will ensure that they bake up light and fluffy.)

wearing flats in a city that requires a lot of walking, challah is something New York City introduced me to. Challah is a hallmark of Jewish baking and is traditionally eaten on ceremonial occasions. I love it because it’s so versatile. The enriched dough has just enough sweetness to still feel like bread, not dessert. But it’s got enough butter and eggs to also be a tender, pillowy treat. (I like to add lemon or orange zest to brighten the flavor.) In fact, I like this enriched dough so much that it became the foundation for one of my favorite festive loaves, Blackberry Lemon King Cake (page 201).

9. Preheat the oven to 400°F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Remove the plastic from the pan and bake until the rolls are puffed up and browned on top, 15 to 20 minutes. Let the rolls cool slightly, in the pan, on a wire rack.

1 cup (240ml) warm water

10. While the rolls are baking, make the cream cheese glaze: Add the softened butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla to a medium bowl. Use a hand mixer, whisk, or spoon to mix until the glaze is smooth.

11. Spread the glaze over the top of the warm cinnamon rolls and serve warm or at room temperature.

3 large eggs, room temperature 1⁄3 cup (65g) granulated sugar 1 (¼-ounce/7g) package instant yeast 4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed 1½ teaspoons kosher salt 5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, room temperature Grated zest from 3 lemons (preferably organic) Softened butter or vegetable oil, for the bowl

make ahead The dough can be made through storage S tore these, covered, either in the fridge or at room temperature, for up to 4 days.

step 4 and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. The cold air slows the dough’s rise, yielding a richer flavor. When ready to use, remove the dough from the fridge and punch it down before shaping. It will need a little more time on the second rise.

1. Add the warm water and 2 of the eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.

2. Add the sugar, yeast, flour, salt, the 5 tablespoons of butter, and lemon zest.

Knead on low speed until the ingredients have come together, about 2 minutes.

3. Increase the mixer speed to medium and knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic and the gluten develops, 8 to 10 more minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when a single ball forms on the dough hook and it thwacks the side of the bowl as the dough hook moves.

4. Remove the bowl from the mixer and shape the dough into a ball. Transfer to a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic or a clean damp towel and let rise until it doubles in size, about 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. Use your fingers to deflate the dough (what we call “punching it down”)—really get in there so that no air pockets remain. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.

7. Cut the dough into 3 equal pieces and roll each piece into an 18-inch-long rope. Set the ropes parallel to one another on the prepared baking sheet and press the tips of the 3 ropes together at the top; this anchors the dough so you can braid them. Braid the ropes just as you would a ponytail, then press the ends together at the other end and tuck them under.

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