Cinnamon Rolls

This is a tried and true favorite from one of my favorite (and most abused/covered in food) cookbook: The Tassajara Bread Book. I made these for a couple of reasons. First, my grandpa really likes cinnamon buns - I dropped them off at my grandparents house Friday afternoon and they loved them! Second, I have to keep my co-workers at Bivoauc fat and happy. Third... does they need to me a third? Who doesn't like cinnamon buns? Most of the cinnamon buns turned out well, but the final pan of buns that I put in the oven kinda were a little over cooked. I fell asleep for a hot second... so those were a little over cooked. Oh well - I'm pretty sure people still ate them. If you did get one of the kinda over cooked ones - I swear I'm usually better than that.

But for the actual cinnamon buns, I used a yeasted Norwegian Coffee Cake recipe for the dough.

Cinnamon Buns

Adapted from the Tassajara Bread Book

Ingredients:

For Dough:

• 2 packages of active dry yeast
• 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
• 5/8 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground cinnamon
• 3 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

For Cinnamon Bun Filling:

• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 (ish) tablespoons cinnamon

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in liquid and stir in the 1 1/2 cups of white flour, adding a couple of tablespoons of the sugar. Beat well, and set aside to rise (I proof mine in an oven heated to 100 degrees and then shut off).
2. Cream the butter, and then cream in the sugar.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
4. Fold the butter mixture into the yeast sponge along with the salt and cinnamon. Then fold in the flour, one cup at a time, as necessary to form a soft dough. Knead the dough until smooth, using more flour as needed.
5. Let the dough rise until doubled in size.
6. After it has risen, roll it out on a floured board in a rectangle 3/8 inch thick. Brush on melted butter.
7. Sprinkle on the brown sugar and cinnamon.
8. Starting at one edge, roll up the dough fairly tight as you would a carpet. Cut the toll in sections about 1/2 inch thick, and place the sections flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving space around them to rise and spread out. Let them rise for 20 minutes.
9. Brush with an egg wash (1 egg beaten together with 2 TBSP of water) and bake at 375 for about 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.
10. Frost with a powdered sugar glaze (powdered sugar beaten with milk until desired consistency is reached).