I have a sweet roll problem.
I blame my original cinnamon rolls. For they are evil. And they must be destroyed.
From there I made these orange marmalade rolls. A triumph.
Then, with zero shame in my soul, I made these caramel apple rolls.
Help.
Over the weekend, I made a whole bunch of cinnamon rolls for Cookie Sunday at church. Cookie Sunday used to be called Linger Longer, and before that, I think it was happy hour, which might have inflamed the evangelicals because of its reference to discounted booze…but I’m a Presbyterian and nobody cared.
I set aside some of the cinnamon roll dough and decided to try yet another variation of sweet rolls. I steered away from anything having to do with fruit or cinnamon…and I got myself into a little trouble.
Just scroll. You’ll see what I mean.
The whole world of my cinnamon rolls begins with this: four cups of whole milk.
This is a big moment, folks.
Pour it into a dutch oven or other pot.
Add a cup of sugar…
And a cup of oil.
Stir it together and heat it over medium heat. Don’t let it boil. Turn off the heat and allow it to cool a bit. You want it to be warm, but not too warm for the yeast.
When it’s cooled enough, sprinkle in the yeast.
Let it sit on the surface of the warm liquid for a couple of minutes.
Then add eight of the nine cups of flour.
Stir it gently to combine. It’ll be super wet and stick.
And that’s what you want.
Then place the lid on the pot and allow to sit in a draft-free place for one hour.
I love using heavy cast iron pots for yeast doughs, as they tend to trap in the warmth and give the yeast more of a yeast-happy environment.
Here it is an hour later!
Groovy, man.
Time to add in an additional cup of flour…
A good tablespoon of salt (don’t skip this!)
A heaping teaspoon of baking powder…
And a scant teaspoon of baking soda.
Stir it around…
