Sticky Caramel Cinnamon Rolls

I have never made homemade cinnamon buns before. They have always been one of my favorite sweet breads, along with apple fritters. The cinnamon bun has always seemed like a bunch of work, when I can very easily purchase the pre-made dough, throw them in the oven and…voila!

One of my favorite cookbooks for bread making is Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I actually love both of their books! What is cool about this method of bread baking is that you make dough in somewhat of bulk (usually making 4lb loaves), that is able to be stored in the refrigerator for about 5-7 days, depending on the recipe. If you do not use all of the dough, it can be frozen for up to 4 weeks. All of their dough recipes are super good and can be applied to several recipes in their cookbook, or any bread cookbook for that matter. Very versatile!

Here is their recipe for Brioche, which is the dough I used for my cinnamon rolls, followed by their Sticky Caramel Cinnamon Rolls. I am happy to report that they were very good, and eaten up at Sunday’s breakfast by all of us. I am also happy that I have 3 more loaves worth of dough ready for baking this week!!

Brioche Dough

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of lukewarm water
1.5 tbsp granulated yeast
1.5 tbsp kosher salt
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup of honey
1.5 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
7.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Mix the yeast, salt, eggs, honey, and melted butter with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container

Mix in the flour without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup capacity food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with dough hook). If you are not using a machine, you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour. The dough will be loose but will firm up when chilled; don’t try to work with it before chilling. (You may notice lumps in the dough but they will disappear in the finished product)

Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

The dough can be used as soon as its chilled after the initial rise. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 5 days. Beyond 5 days, freeze the dough in 1-pound portions in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks. When using frozen dough, thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before using, then allow the usual rest and rise times.

For a Brioche Loaf

On baking day, grease a 9x4x3 inch nonstick loaf pan. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-sized) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.

Elongate into an oval and place in the prepared pan. Allow to rest for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Twenty minutes before bake time, pre-heat the oven to 350. If you’re not using a stone in the oven, 5 minutes is adequate.

Using a pastry brush, brush the top crust with egg wash.

Place the bread near the center of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a medium golden brown. Due to the fat in the dough, brioche will not form a hard, crackling crust.

Allow to cool before slicing or eating.

Sticky Carmel Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs of any pre-mixed dough (in this case we will use brioche)

The Caramel Topping:

6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
30 pecan halves

The Filling:

4 tbsp salted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped and toasted pecans
Pinch of ground black pepper

On baking day, cream together the butter, salt, and brown sugar. Spread evenly over the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan (I used a pie plate). Scatter the pecans over the butter-sugar mixture and set aside.

Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1.5lb piece. Dust the peice with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.

With a rolling-pin, roll out the dough to a 1/8 inch thick rectangle. As you roll out the dough, use enough flour to prevent it from sticking to the work surface but not so much that it makes the dough dry.

Cream together the butter, sugar, and spices. Spread evenly over the rolled-out dough and sprinkle with the chopped nuts. Starting with the long side, roll the dough into a log. If the dough is too soft to cut, let it chill for 20 minutes to firm up.

With a very sharp knife, cut the log into 8 equal pieces and arrange over the pecans in the pan, with the “swirled” edge facing upward. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest and rise for 1 hour (or just 40 minutes if you are using fresh, unrefrigerated dough).

Twenty minutes before bake time, pre-heat the oven to 350. If you are not using a stone, 5 minutes is adequate.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until golden brown and well set in the center. While still hot, run a knife around the inside of the pan to release the caramel rolls, and invert immediately onto a serving dish. If you let them set too long they will stick to the pan and be difficult to turn out.