Mother's Day whole-grain cinnamon rolls

Mother's Day at our house means, among other things, baking cinnamon rolls. M. loves these rolls, and usually asks this of me as her Mother's Day treat. Since I love making bread products, and love sharing in the eating of these rolls, this is an easy acquiescence.

While these are (mostly) whole grain cinnamon rolls, let's not kid ourselves, these are also full of all sorts of sweet and gooey goodness. That is what defines a truly good cinnamon roll. A basic whole wheat bread dough wraps around a richly thick serving of butter, sugars, nuts, and dried cranberries and cherries. Trader Joe's sells wonderful dried orange-infused cranberries and dried cherries that add a tart counterpoint to the rest of the sweet in the filling.

Zoom (name is a link to product Web site) is a regionally available whole wheat hot cereal, similar to oatmeal except made from wheat grains. I like the added grain texture it adds to bread when included. Anything similar would substitute, of course, and you can leave it out altogether. You could also stick to white flour for the dough, but that would rob this recipe of the hearty bread flavor that helps carry off the gooey middle.

I usually make my bread doughs in a Kitchenaid, but any mixer, large food processor, or mixing and kneading the dough by hand would work just as well.

Here is what the finished product looks like:




And, for those who are interested, here is the recipe:

Kevin's (Mostly) Whole Grain Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:
3/4 Tablespoon yeast
1/4 Cup melted butter
1/2 Cup warm water
2/3 Cup warm milk
1 1/2 Cups bread flour
2 Cup whole wheat flour
2 heaping Tablespoons gluten flour
1/3 Cup Zoom cereal
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Teaspoons salt

Filling:
1 Cup melted butter
1 Cup granulated sugar
1 Cup packed brown sugar
1 Cup chopped nuts
1 Cup soaked/drained craisins and/or dried cherries
2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Pour melted butter into bottom of mixer bowl with dough hook installed. Warm buttermilk and dissolve sugar, salt, and active dry yeast into it, then pour into mixer. Break eggs into mixer bowl, ensuring yolks are broken. Turn mixer on setting #2 and turn a timer on for 7 minutes. Add dry ingredients one by one and allow to mix and knead until timer expires. Add flour or water if needed to ensure a kneadable dough consistency. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes.

Turn out dough onto floured board and roll out into a large thin rectangle (roughly 22" x 14"). Spread filling across dough. Roll, starting from the long edge, jellyroll fashion. Seal ends, slice into 10-20 rolls. Place cut side down into buttered glass baking dish. Cover and let rise in a warm place, about 45 minutes.

Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.



- Posted via Hermes.