Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

© Donna Cook – All Rights Reserved  

Nothing says home like the smell of fresh baked cinnamon rolls! This recipe is adapted from the "Betty Crocker Bread Machine Cookbook." The icing is from a 1970's version of the classic "Betty Crocker Cookbook." I have nothing against the rolls from the refrigerated section of the grocery store. These are just more luscious, gooey and taste better!

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoon bread machine yeast
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons table sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze

• 1/3 cup butter, 
• 2 cups confectioner's sugar, also known as powdered sugar
• As needed milk, to thin glaze
• Optional 1 teaspoon flavored extract, such as vanilla, raspberry or lemon

Stats

• Total Time: 4 hours 30 min 
• Prep time: 1 hour  
• Cook time: 3 hours 30 min 
• Serves: 12 or 15 rolls

Instructions

1. Combine the first six ingredients in bread machine pan. These include the bread flour, sugar, egg, salt, butter, and water.
2. Place pan in bread machine. Add yeast to dispenser.
3. Run bread machine on dough cycle.
4. When cycle is completed, remove dough from pan. Let dough rest on a floured, flat surface for 10 minutes.
5. Flatten and roll dough into a 15" x 10" rectangle.
6. Spread melted butter evenly over dough to the edges.
7. Spread filling evenly over the dough to the edges.
8. Roll dough up into a cylinder, like a jelly roll.
9. Cut into 12 even slices. A dough scraper works best for me. 
10. Grease 13" x 9" cake pan.
11. Place rolls in pan, cover, and let rise until double in size. This takes one to one and one half hours depending on ambient temperature.
12. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
13. Bake rolls for 25 minutes.
14. Let rolls cool. Cover with glaze.

Glaze 

1. Melt butter in sauce pan over very low heat.
2. Slowly mix in confectioner's sugar.
3. Add milk a little at a time to help thin and help sugar dissolve.
4. Frost rolls quickly as the glaze sets up almost immediately.

More fillings and variations

There are many ways to enhance the fillings, toppings, and icings of these cinnamon rolls. As noted in the recipe, the icing can be flavored with extracts, such as vanilla, raspberry or lemon. Other possible extracts include mint, cherry, and toffee.

Add your favorite nuts to the filling or on top of the icing. Walnuts, pecans, almonds, and coconut increase the flavor and add texture to the rolls. Macadamia, pistachios, or hazelnuts infuse a more exotic flavor into classic cinnamon rolls.

Adding fruit, either fresh, dried or jams, is another way to amplify the basic flavor of these rolls. Finely diced fresh apples, pineapple, peaches, or berries add zing to the rolls. Popular dried fruits are raisins, currants, figs, cranberries, and many more. Jams, preserves or spreads of any kind uniquely flavor the rolls. Apple butter, raspberry jam and Nutella are a few of the myriad possibilities.

Tips

• I use an old Tupperware pastry sheet to roll out dough. I put a wet kitchen towel underneath the plastic to prevent it from slipping while working with the dough.
• Hard brown sugar can be softened. Put the brown sugar in a microwave proof container. Put one to two cups water in a separate microwave proof container. Put both in the microwave nd heat until the water boils. The steam softens the brown sugar. Store brown sugar in an air tight container to keep soft.
• I put the 13" x 9" pan by the pastry sheet while I'm rolling out the dough, as shown in the picture, I use the pan as a size guide.

Dough from bread machine

Rolled out dough








                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Mise en place - filling

Dough with filling

                                                            


Cutting the rolls

Rolls before rising

                                                                                   



                                                     

Rolls after rising

Baked rolls

                                                     

Iced rolls

Food Facts: Cinnamon

Cinnamon is an ancient spice, used by the Egyptians and mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible, also known as the Hebrew Bible. Christopher Columbus was seeking cinnamon when he sailed east from Europe.

Unique among spices, cinnamon is actually tree bark that is dried and ground. The two main types of cinnamon are known as Ceylon cinnamon and Cassia cinnamon. Both types come from laurel trees. Ceylon cinnamon grows in Sri Lanka. The species of the laurel is Cinnamomum zealanicum. The Spice Council of Sri Lanka and other sources refer to the spice as “true cinnamon.” Cassian cinnamon grows in China, Vietnam, and Burma. The species for this laurel is Cinnamomum cassia, Blume.

Grocery store cinnamon is most likely Cassia cinnamon, although the type is probably not on the label. Cassia cinnamon is far less expensive than Ceylon cinnamon. Ceylon cinnamon is labeled as such to justify the cost. The Cassia type has a bolder taste than the subtle Ceylon. Similarly, the bark of Cassia cinnamon is tough and difficult to grind whereas the Ceylon cinnamon is soft and easily crumbles.

Cinnamon is used in folk, Chinese and alternative medicine. There are many claims that cinnamon may help lower blood sugar and fight infections. According to WebMD.com, results from studies are not definitive and calls cinnamon “an unproven treatment.”