Doses of Domesticity - Step By Step

It's Saturday and we're all still alive and WELL after our "killer schedule" week! Here's some of the Fall Out - most of which was expected

• The house is messier than usual
• I'm NOT going ANYWHERE today
• I'll likely take a nap
• My spirit's a bit parched
• I'll spend some extra time before the Lord and in His Word today
• I'm going to start my new book Love Burning In The Soul
• I'm feeling domestically deprived
• Knitting is a MUST for today
• We started the day with the grandest of treats -- Which I'm now going to share with you -->

A couple of weeks ago my friend Michelle asked if I'd post "my" roll recipe, so that's been on my mind and provided a perfect place to dive back into some glorious domesticity!!
It's a fantastic refrigerator roll type of recipe which comes from The Engineer's side of the family, though no one's sure where it originated. It's "only" ONE recipe, but your possibilities are boundless - so don't be limited by what you're about to see below. Though I do recommend it as a YUMMY place to start! Some of the things we've made with it are

• Cinnamon Rolls
• Pizza dough
• All shapes of dinner rolls (crescents, fan rolls, clovers, etc.)
• Bread sticks
• "Pretzles"

I usually make a quadruple batch, which will break down like this

• Big "double batch" of cinnamon rolls for TODAY
• Crescent rolls with dinner TOMORROW
• Fan rolls with dinner on TUESDAY

Plan on using up all the dough within 4-5 days.

In this post you'll find the single batch recipe in green, with the 4x recipe beside it in red, and lots and LOTS of photos! Later this week I'll make new posts for the crescent and fan rolls, inner-linking back to here.

Here we go!! (Do not preheat the oven - you won't need it until tomorrow!)
In a big (HUGE) bowl mix together
1/2 c. shortening (2 c.)
1/4 c. granulated sugar (1 c.)
1 t. salt (4 t.)

Next, carefully add and mix in 1/2 c. boiling water (2c.)





While the above mixture is cooling slightly, in a different smaller bowl soak 1 T. yeast (4T.) in 1/2 c. lukewarm water (2 c.) and set aside.

To your original big/huge bowl, which has now slightly cooled, beat in 1 lg. egg (4 lg. eggs - one at a time).

Now pour your smaller bowl of bubbly dissolved yeast INTO your big/huge bowl of "liquid dough" and mix together.




Slowly begin to beat in 2 3/4 c. flour (11 c.). At first it'll be easy, but will get really thick.

When the dough starts climbing up your "regular" beaters (like in this photo) it's time to switch to your bread dough hooks -->













Getting T-H-I-C-K-E-R.








Might need two hands!!







When the flour is finally mixed completely in the dough will still be sticky. Plop your big blob of dough into clean, OILED, and airtight/covered big/huge bowl, providing plenty of room to rise.






Place in refrigerator.






A few hours later you're likely to hear an unfamiliar P-O-P from somewhere in the kitchen. There's been a build-up of fermenting gases in your dough, and it's exploded off your lid!! This is GOOD and exactly as should be!

Punch the dough down.









Back to its small original size.






Cover back up and return bowl to your refrigerator. You'll repeat this explosion, punch, refrigerator cycle several times - more at first, slowing in frequency as the dough matures.




I usually prepare the dough ONE DAY IN ADVANCE of when I want to start using it. However, you could whip up a batch early in the morning and use it at night.

The following directions are for a double batch of my WAY BETTER than CinnaBon rolls! Yes, we (the whole family!) really thinks so!! Come back later in the week for some photos/directions for other types of dinner rolls. Basically you just form whatever shape you desire, let them rise for 45 - 1 hour until approximately doubled and then bake at 350 degrees for 10-20 minutes (depending on size.)


Pinch off as much dough as you need and return the remainder to your refrigerator. For this I took out half of the dough (which amounts to 2x the original recipe), placed it on a generously floured surface, and let it rest for 20 minutes. This "resting" is important and makes your dough MUCH easier to work with.


Though not pictured, I partially rolled out my dough and then let it rest for another 5-10 minutes, so it would easily stretch the rest of the way. Since I prefer LOTS of "rolls/layers" in my cinnamon rolls, I go B-I-G. The finished size of this dough rectangle was 20" x 24."

Gently (so as to not rip the dough) spread softened butter or margarine all over your dough, up to one inch from the edges. I don't measure this, but I'd estimate that I used almost 3/4 c. for my DOUBLED recipe. Today I used a small ziplok bag to keep my hand clean because I was also trying to take photos. Turned out to be a great idea!

Next cover your buttered dough with crumbled brown sugar (I used about 2 1/4 c. unpacked), sprinkle on a layer of granulated sugar (maybe 1/3 c. - guessing!), and then the cinnamon (I think I used a little less than 1/4 of spice bottle.) At this point, also top with walnuts, pecans, or raisins, if you prefer. Most of my family doesn't.



Starting on the L-O-N-G edge, carefully roll up the dough, moving from one side to the other, trying to make as even as possible.

Just keep rolling, rolling, rolling!

Next, grab your secret weapon - - yes, dental floss!! It makes a great KNIFE for soft dough things.

I throw away both ends of the roll - but that's probably irresponsible of me. Do whatever you deem best with them.

Carefully slide your dental floss under the roll, criss-cross the floss, and squeeze off in 1" dough sections.

Like so ...

Place rolls on baking dish of your choosing. This is a "jelly roll" type stoneware pan - it provides a side edge, but still space similiar to a cookie sheet. You might consider an 8x8" or 9x13" baking dish, depending on your batch size. The dough needs room to rise, but don't give it too much space, so they'll spread UP as well (I'll show you what I mean below.)

Place your rolls in a warm, draft-free environment for 45 - 60 minutes, or until approximately doubled in size. I usually turn on the oven for 1 minute and then turn it back off. Just place the rolls inside and let them peacefully go about the hard work of growing!!

This is a good time to clean up the huge mess you just made. Though not profound, I prefer to scrape my floury surface straight into the trash and then DRY wipe it with a paper towel. Save a wet washcloth for the last stages, otherwise you'll create a harder to deal with doughy mess.

See how poofy and full they are! Now you're ready for the actual BAKING!!

With baked goods like these - yeast especially - I prefer a COLD START oven. This means you DON'T preheat, and that your dough gets one more chance to poof up just a bit more in the warming oven. If you want to give that a try, place your rolls on the middle rack of your oven, set it to 350 degrees and bake for approximately 20 minutes (or until done). If you prefer the preheating method, do that firsts.

Ours finished perfectly!! See how some of the middles have squeezed up? I LIKE that look and besides, it makes more surface area for the frosting! This is accomplished by NOT giving them too much space when initially placing them on your baking sheet/pan.

Sometimes we start eating what seemed like perfectly baked cinnamon rolls and find that the centers are still doughy. No worries. Just quickly stick them back in the oven to cook 5 more minutes or so. (Obviously, this 'no worries' stance is enabled by sampling while still very warm - which is the BEST way anyhow!)

We top them off with this easy homemade frosting

* 1 lb. Confectioner's (Powdered) Sugar

* 1 t. vanilla

* 1/3 c. softened butter

* 1/4 c. milk

Whip that all up and begin adding small amounts of additional milk until you arrive at your desired consistency.

Enjoy!





Enjoy!


Be sure to let me know if you give these a try.
Also, don't forget to come back later to see what we did with portions #3 and #4 of the dough!!