"Alex Rast" > wrote in message
...
> at Sat, 17 Sep 2005 00:47:57 GMT in
> >, (Vox
> Humana) wrote :
>
> >
> >"Alex Rast" > wrote in message
> .. .
> >> at Wed, 14 Sep 2005 01:28:45 GMT in
> >> >, (Dee
> >> Randall) wrote :
> >>
> >> >
> >> >Here are a few pictures of cinnamon rolls
> >> >http://images.google.com/images?q=cinnamon+roll&hl=en
> >>
> >> Speaking of recipes - does anyone have a recipe for cinnamon rolls
> >> that turn out rather like PD_Cinnamon_roll_95_g_lyrical_2? ...
> >> I'm looking for - a rather bready, moist roll with a slightly crisp
> >> crust, pronounced but not aggressive cinnamon flavour, and most
> >> importantly, not tooth-aching sweetness.
> >
> >The sweetness and the intensity of the cinnamon are nearly entirely
> >attributable to the filling and topping. There is a limit to the amount
> >of sugar you can add to yeast dough before it fails to perform, so it is
> >unlikely that the dough is the sauce of too much sweetness unless your
> >threshold for sweetness is very low.
> >
> >I use the recipe for sweet dough that is in the Kitchen Aid stand mixer
> >cookbook. I roll that out, slather it with butter, sprinkle with brown
> >sugar and then with cinnamon. I don't measure the ingredients for the
> >filling. You can control the texture of the crust by the length of
> >baking, the sweetness by moderating the sugar in the filling, the
> >intensity of the cinnamon by using it sparingly. I think much of the
> >cloying sweetness of the Cinnamon product is from the mountain of
> >frosting they slather on it.
> >3/4 cup milk
> >1/2 cup sugar
> >1 1/4 tsp salt
> >1/2 cup butter
> >2 pkgs. yeast
> >1/3 cup of warm water ( 105-115F)
> >3 eggs
> >5/12 to 6 1/2 cups AP flour
>
> 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.
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.