The first time we made these cinnamon rolls they became an instant favorite. They are very easy to make, and really shine when baked in cast iron. We hope you enjoy!
Ingredients:
5 ¼ cups bread flour
¾ cup warmed milk
1 egg
1 ½ stick of unsalted butter
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons quick rise/active yeast
½ cup sugar
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
4 oz softened cream cheese
Instructions:
1. Blend. Add the yeast to the lukewarm milk in a mixer. Then add in the ½ cup of sugar, egg, baking powder, and sea salt. Mix. Then add flour and mix again.
2. Knead. Sprinkle a little flour on the counter, then knead the dough for a couple of minutes until it is elastic and smooth. It's sufficiently kneaded once it doesn't tear when you pull it.
3. Proof. Let the dough rise, aka proof, by covering it in a bowl with plastic wrap and a warm towel. The dough is ready after about an hour or once it has expanded to about twice the size. This can take up to an hour or two. Some prefer to do a lot less, some a lot more.
4. Cinnamon-sugar. Mix the ½ cup of sugar and tablespoon of cinnamon with ½ stick of melted butter.
5. Spread. With a little flour sprinkled on the counter, spread out the dough using your hands or a rolling pin dusted with flour. Spread the dough into a rectangle around 12 by 16 inches, and 1/2 inch thick.
6. Coat. Coat the surface of the dough with the cinnamon-sugar.
7. Roll. Tightly roll the dough starting from one of the 12 inch sides. When you get to the end, smooth the seam of the dough back into the roll. This will help keep the cinnamon rolls circular and rising tall as they bake.
8. Slice. Cut the dough around every 1 ⅓ inch to make 9 rolls. To get real clean cuts while preserving the spirals, you can wrap mint flavored dental floss around the dough and pull to cut. Just kidding, use unflavored floss of course. Now they are ready to bake.
9. Bake. Place the cinnamon rolls into a big cast iron skillet, or a couple of your favorite cast iron skillets. No need for oiling the pan if using well-seasoned cast iron. Bake at 350°F for around 25 minutes for golden brown rolls.
10. Ice. Blend 3 tablespoons of butter, 4oz of cream cheese, ¾ cup of powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract together for icing.
11. Cool. Once the rolls are done baking and have cooled a bit they're ready to be iced and enjoyed!
