Damn My Hot Oven

Hello friends and lovers (*wink*)! I had started a draft way back in June (when I was still living in Durham), so the following paragraph of commentary is from that time. I am currently making dinner with my new oven in El Paso and will undoubtedly be comparing it to my previous oven in the next post.

I know what you're thinking: "But Kristine, if you know your oven runs hot, why don't you just set it lower? Cook your goodies for less time? Stop being such an idiot?" And those are good questions, provided we're talking about baked goodies and not my, you know, goodies. Ahem: I did set my oven on a lower temp, but it didn't seem to make a difference. There is some bizarre calibration curve that maybe, if I really really wanted to, I could sit down and figure out but I haven't and I won't. I'm moving in a month [sic] and hopefully my shiny new apartment will be have an accurate and shiny new oven. Despite my knowledge of the hot oven, I had to make cinnamon buns, been-craving-for-a-week kind of had-to. So I did. And they're yummy, even if the outer-most layer is crunchy.

PS: As it is with all leaven breads, this one will take a while. If you're trying to have these ready for a Sunday brunch or some such business I would make everything Saturday evening and leave the last rise to happen overnight, then throw them in the oven about forty minutes to an hour before you want them in the morning.

Cinnamon Buns
Adapted from Bon Appétit via Epicurious.com.

1 cup whole milk
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (divided)
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/4 tsp rapid-rise yeast
2.5 tbsp cinnamon (divided)
1+ tsp salt
non-stick spray
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (divided)
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Microwave milk and butter together until 120-130 F (about 30-45 seconds depending on your microwave's wattage). If you have a stand mixer, use its bowl as the bowl in the next set of directions and fit it with the paddle attachment. If you're a member of the baking proletariat (as I am), you're going to have to make due with a wooden spoon when it comes to the mixing - electric beaters really don't get the job done. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Beat on low or with spoon for about 3 minutes. Keep beating until all the flour is absorbed - you're trying to get a thick dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl as you move it; it will likely be super sticky when you first finish mixing, but continue to add more flour by the tbsp until it reaches the right consistency.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Kneed until smooth - adding more flour if you need - at least eight minutes. Form into a ball.

Get a clean bowl (or the clean the bowl you just used). Grease the inside of it (butter, oil, spray, whatev). Put the ball into the bowl (that's what she said? ... god I hope not) and turn it to coat in grease. Cover with plastic wrap, throw a kitchen towel over the top, and allow to sit until doubled in size (about 2 hours).

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. If you double the amount of these ingredients I won't judge.

Before rising

After rising (no zoom)

Once dough is sufficiently large, punch it down. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll it out into a rectangle, approximately 15x11 inches. Spread butter over dough leaving a 1/2-inch or so border. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over butter. Starting at a long side, roll the log tightly, pinching gently as you go. With seam side down, cut crosswise into thin (less than 1-inch wide), equal slices - you'll have 18 at the end.

Spray two glass baking dishes; if you have two 9-inch square pans, use them. I have a mishmash of glass ovenware that does not include duplicates so I ended up baking mine in a 9x11 pan and a 9.5-inch pie plate. It worked fine. Pack dough slices tightly into ovenware and cover with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let rise until doubled in volume again, about an hour (or overnight if this is the night before).

Preheat oven to 375F. Bake rolls until golden, about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and immediately invert pans to release rolls. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then turn them right-side up.

Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in a medium bowl. Beat until smooth with an electric mixture (now you get to use it). Spread glaze over rolls and enjoy. Mmmm.

Notes

• I brought these into work about two days after I made them and nobody even realized they were there until about two days after that. They kept great, but my suspicion is because I didn't frost them. Frost to order and these should be quite store-able.
• Also, pro-tip, make sure you heat your roll up for about 20-30 seconds in the microwave if you're not eating it fresh from the oven.
• Have milk on hand.

Cost

• I have no idea where in the hellish mess of a move my recipt ran off to (probably the apartment complex's trash bin), but these weren't expensive. The most costly thing you'll be buying that you might not already have is the cream cheese which is about ... what? $3 for 8 oz.?
• SO MANY CALORIES. SO WORTH IT.