No-Nonsense Cinnamon Rolls

On my first day of culinary school, I got my pastry kit ready, figured out how to tie my neckerchief, and prayed we wouldn't be making anything with yeast.  Especially since, (gasp!), I had never really worked with yeast before.  It makes me laugh that my biggest fear was making some sort of leavened bread or pastry, especially since now it's one of my favorite things to do.  Somewhere along the way, yeast got a bad reputation as a complicated and time-consuming ingredient (at least with me) and I avoided it.  Once you get the hang of it, though, it's really not too tricky, especially in a recipe like this one.  For these yummy cinnamon rolls, you don't have to get fussy with the temperature of the buttermilk, or the precise length of time you allow the dough to proof, and it is the perfect recipe to make when you're putzing around the kitchen preparing other foods or doing dishes.  Just keep an eye on it while it's rising and you'll be fine!

I've made this versatile sweet roll dough in all different kinds of recipes, more times than I care to count.  Cinnamon rolls, pecan sticky rolls- there are lots of different ways you can use this dough.  When you make it, keep a few things in mind:

1.  When kneading the dough, a Kitchen Aid Mixer fitted with a dough hook makes the job quick and easy.  If you don't have a mixer, don't fret.  You can knead this dough by hand.  Please keep in mind, though, that the dough goes through stages- it starts out as a sticky mess and slowly becomes more cohesive and elastic.  Be patient with it!

2.  When rolling out the dough, don't roll it too thin!  This dough is pretty tender and rolling it too thin and piling lots of melted butter and cinnamon sugar on top of it will make it prone to rips and tears when it comes time to roll it out and cut it.  Try to keep the dough to that 1/2 inch thickness.

3.  This dough is pretty versatile- you can use lots of different ingredients to personalize your roll.  The baking gods will not strike you with lightening if you sprinkle the dough with brown sugar instead of granulated, add some raisins or walnuts to the filling, or even if you swap some cream cheese for the butter in the glaze and spread it over the warm rolls.  Take the sweet roll dough recipe and customize it with your own version of the filling or glaze.  Have fun!

Cinnamon Roll Ingredients:
Sweet Roll Dough:  
2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, very soft
Filling:
2 ounces butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Glaze:
2 ounces butter, very soft
8 ounces powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup hot milk

Directions:
1. To make the dough, stir the yeast, sugar, and salt together in a mixing bowl.
2. Stir the buttermilk and vanilla together and add to the yeast mixture.
3. Add the flour, egg yolks, and butter to the liquid mixture.  Knead for several minutes until the butter is evenly distributed and the dough is smooth and elastic.  (This is when a KitchenAid mixer with a dough hook comes in incredibly handy).
4. Place the dough into another, large mixing bowl, and set in a warm place until doubled.  The amount of time this takes will vary by kitchen (temperature and humidity are key factors).
5.  Once dough is doubled (it will be very light and airy), punch down and let it sit while you prepare the filling.
6.  Line a sheet pan with parchment.
7.  Melt butter and combine the sugar with the cinnamon.
8.  On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.
9.  Spread the melted butter over the surface of the dough and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.
10.  Starting at the long edge, roll up the dough.
11.  Slice the roll of dough into 16 equal-sized pieces.
12.  Arrange slices on the prepared baking sheet, in rows close together but not quite touching.
13.  Set baking sheet in a warm place until rolls are doubled.  (Great time to do the dishes!)
14.  Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.
15.  While rolls are baking, prepare the glaze.  Cream together the butter and powdered sugar.  Add the vanilla, then the milk, one tablespoon at a time until glaze is smooth and fluid enough to drizzle over the rolls.
16. Drizzle the glaze over warm rolls.