Cinnamon roll-cinnamon danish

This one looks good! I think I'll save it for xmas as I'm trying to control the calories (yeah, right). Correction noted. The plain dough is on its first rise at the moment for the cheese buns. Many thanks Graham

I was using #1 grade Canadian maple syrup. I'm not keen on using any artificial flavours but the total replacement of the sugar with syrup may be sufficient, along with the maple syrup painted on the rolls when they come out of the oven. Sometimes a nice, subtle flavour is better than the "hit-you-in-the-face" sensation one gets from supermarket and shopping mall concession cinnamon rolls. I really like your dough recipe! I'm using eggs from an organic farm and the yolks are deep yellow so the dough has a really pleasing color. Graham

I used my Cuisinart for many years to make bread dough until I bought the Bosch to make large quantities of pain-au-levain. Starting at 6pm, I usually had 16-18 400g loaves in the freezer by 11pm without too much mess to clean up. This morning, my kitchen is a wreck;-( With all the strain with which I subjected it , the spindle cracked and is now being replaced. It will get another good work-out making pastry at xmas. Graham

You will have to share your holiday pastry recipes.

What a monster machine! Dee

Thanks for the recipe! Boy, does that look like a lot of butter, at least relative to the amounts of fat I'm used to putting into most breads with any fat at all. I can see the idea, though - you'd want a reasonable amount to crisp the outside well. I suspect part of the key to the kind of texture and taste is the ratio of milk - specifically, I'm suspicious I'm looking for a recipe with a hefty dose. 1/2 cup sugar doesn't sound wildly excessive, although I'm tempted to reduce it to 1/3 cup. But I will try first of all exactly as specified, because guessing before testing gives me no reference to compare against.

I might also want to experiment with a longer rise, much like ordinary breads, for a yeastier flavour. However, I'm wary of doing this to extremes with sweet breads. I can see possibilities for various undesirable runaway effects.

Cinnabons are sweet in every component. The roll dough is sweet, the filling is insanely sweet, and so is the frosting. Mountain of frosting is about right. Check out the proportions on the roll I called out. That's more realistic (as well as more practical to eat).

On cinnamon intensity vs. harshness, I've found that the key point is to use Ceylon cinnamon. Much better, warmer, less sharp flavour. However, cinnamon is perhaps the most potent spice of all, and I find too often people (like Cinnabon), use it very heavy-handedly. What do you think about mixing butter, sugar, and cinnamon first, then spreading it out on the dough? The build-up you suggest sounds to me like it might lead to another effect that I'm not really fond of - cinnamon rolls that "unroll" when you pull on them. What I've seen is that often in these rolls, the cinnamon and butter, done in layered fashion as you describe, act a bit like greasing a pan, preventing the rolls from staying whole. My idea is to have a filling that actually bonds the spiral together.

This is the recipe that I use - the resulting rolls look like the cinnamon bun pic from harvestlanecandleco.com on your google images.

Cinnamon Rolls

*Note: If eggs are refrigerator cold, pour hot water over them and let stand for several minutes before cracking.

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a small cup or bowl, stir, and let stand for a minute or so to dissolve. Combine the milk, sugar, salt, butter, and eggs in a large mixing bowl, and beat well. Stir in the dissolved yeast. Add 2 1/2 cups of the flour, and beat until smooth and well blended. Add 2 1/2 cups more flour and beat until the dough holds together in a rough, shaggy mass.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or two. Let rest for

Resume kneading for 8 to 10 minutes more, gradually sprinkling on a little more flour if the dough sticks to your hands, until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk.

Filling

Punch the risen dough down, and roll it on a floured surface to a rectangle about

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes, until golden brown.

I don't care for icing on my cinnamon rolls, but of course you could drizzle with your favorite

That is almost exactly the same recipe I posted.

I find that with the high sugar and butter content, the rise can often take a long time, especially at cool room temperature. I tend to like the intense cinnamon flavor and often supplement it with a combination of freshly ground allspice and nutmeg. All three spices are high in eugenol - that distinctive clove flavor. Maybe its because I'm a dentist and eugenol is in a lot of dental products, that I am fond of or desensitized to the flavor. I know I have overdone the spices when they cause acid reflux!

I can do without the thick coat of frosting. I make some cream cheese frosting and if anyone wants frosting, they can add their own. My partner will go to the supermarket in a blizzard to get cream cheese for the frosting if I haven't remembered (or bothered) to buy it. I would rather drizzle a glaze of flat icing over the warm rolls and call it quits. In the KitchenAid cookbook, they recommend a sauce that is made from sweetened condensed milk, as I recall, that I have never considered making. That is way too sweet for me - sort of like that bread pudding recipe that is made with KripyKream glazed doughnuts and sweetened condensed milk. It would be enough to cause a diabetic shock!

As for mixing all the filling components and then spreading them, that is the standard method. I'm just lazy and don't want to measure the ingredients or dirty another bowl. That's why I just build the filling, dispensing the components right from their containers. I never thought about the "unrolling" issue. Sometimes if I place them close together they sometime "telescope" while rising.

I will, later. I make an alternative to mince pies that is very popular. The cheese alternative turned out well. Next time (always a next time) I'll add a little cheese to the dough, I think. I used 250g of strong cheddar for the roll. I think perhaps 300-350g might be a bit better - possibly with a dash of nutmeg? Your dough recipe is very flexible. Graham

Re: "I find that with the high sugar and butter content, the rise can often take a long time, especially at cool room temperature."

For me, if I didn't want to waste my time and risk a failure, I would next time reduce the yeast by one-half. One reason is that I don't care for a yeasty-tasting product. The rise took a very short time, IMO, is one reason I felt that there was too much yeast.

...

You might also want to try using Shady Maple Farms' Clearly Maple which is a super-thick (pure) maple syrup. It's got a thickness similar to thick honey, so that you spoon it out of the jar unless you want to wait a while. I found the difference in maple flavour it imparted when added to hot cereal (e.g. Red River or, for that matter, porridge) made that critical jump from slightly too weak to just right, so that you could really taste the maple as opposed to it being a very subtle hint. I suspect that this will get you where you want to go.

Thanks! I'll look out for some. At the nearest farmers' market, there is a stall selling Quebecois products, mostly maple syrup/candy/sugar/butter etc but also cheese curds for poutine. Graham