Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

     These are my tried and true cinnamon rolls.  I have made these for my family through all their growing up years and they never failed to please.  They are less time consuming than most recipes because you put the dough together one day and pop them into the fridge.  The first rise happens overnight while you rest!  Take them out the next day and they are ready to roll out and shape into regular rolls or cinnamon rolls.  Let them rise on the cookie sheet, cook, and ice and you have the most melt in your mouth rolls you have ever tasted!   Your family will love you!  What are we waiting for?  Let's cook!

 

Light Refrigerator Rolls  

1 cup shortening

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup boiling water

2 teaspoons yeast (instant)

1/2 cup room temperature water

4 eggs

7 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup cold water

     In a large bowl, cream shortening, sugar and salt.  Add boiling water and stir until mixture is smooth and most of shortening is melted.  Let this cool until it is just warm.  Add yeast and 1/2 cup warm water.  Beat eggs and add to mixture.  Add flour alternately with cold water and stir with a large spoon until mixture is well combined and smooth.  It will be quite sticky but will come together when stirred.  If you have a well fitting lid, place this on the bowl.  If you don't have a lid spray the top of the dough lightly with non stick spray and cover the bowl with plastic.  Place bowl in the fridge overnight to rise. 

     The next day, take dough out and place on a floured surface.  Sprinkle with flour and sprinkle rolling pin with flour also.  Roll dough into a rectangle that is about 3/8ths inch thick.  

     This is where I don't have a lot of measurements.  I take a 1/2 cup of butter and melt it in a cup in the microwave.  Pour it over the dough covering as much area as possible.  Use a pastry brush to spread the butter over the surface until a thin layer covers it.  Mix about 1 cup of sugar with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon well and then sprinkle this over the dough until it is covered with as much as you like.  Sprinkle raisins over the surface if you are adding them.  

     Starting with the longest side, begin rolling the dough and continue until it is rolled into a tube. 

Prepare baking sheets by spraying with cooking spray.  Cut a piece of thread about 1 yard long and fold it in the center to double it.  Slide the thread under the dough and bring to the top about 1 inch from the end.  Cross the thread and pull until it cuts through the dough.  This is much better than using a knife to cut the dough because it won't mash the dough but cuts it leaving it in a circle shape. 

     Lay the cinnamon roll dough on the cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.  Let rolls rise until double in size.  Cook at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until light brown.  Take out to cool.  

     As rolls are cooling make some icing.  I use any unused melted butter plus another 1/2 cup of melted butter in a bowl.  Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and enough powdered sugar to make icing that is not too thick and easy to spread.  While the rolls are still warm but not hot, spread the icing on.  Do not cover rolls until they are completely cooled.  Enjoy!

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Soft and Delicious Homemade Flour Tortillas - Part 3

 Soft and Delicious Flour Tortillas

(Part 3 of Sweet Chicken Tortilla Salad)

I forgot to take the picture.  The one with the tortilla folded over and looking pliable and soft... But these tortillas can do that- really- I just forgot to take the picture.  I think I was in a hurry to get dinner on the table and topped them too quickly but I hope this pic shows how really wonderful they are.  Here is a picture of them in a meal. 

See? Soft, delicious.

You won't want to go back to store bought after trying these.  If it seems like it is time consuming then the best thing to do is make them up when you do have time and freeze them in batches of how many you use.  They come out of the freezer great. ( I take them out of the plastic bag one at a time still frozen and let them sit at room temperature for a little while to thaw so they don't stick together).

I searched through a bunch of recipes and found that they are quite a bit the same.  The things that vary are the amount of shortening, use of baking powder, dough resting time,  and water temperature.  I took them all and put together one that I like best and here it is!

Flour Tortillas

 2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 Tablespoons shortening
1/2 to 3/4 cup very hot water

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Add 1/2 cup hot water and stir. (I do use tap water but Hot is important). Keep adding small amounts of water until the dough comes together smoothly.  (Too much will make it sticky).
Now, cover the bowl with a slightly wet cloth and let it rest for 15 minutes.  Divide dough into 5 or 7 pieces.  It will make 5 large ones or 7 medium.  I usually at least double this recipe to make some to freeze.  Roll each dough piece into a ball and then using a little flour on your surface, begin to roll out. Push rolling pin in a different direction each time to help them stay round.  Roll very thin (see pic).  Heat skillet to a little above medium (one mark).  Fry tortillas in the ungreased pan until bubbles form.  Turn and cook other side until light brown spots appear.  

Enjoy!This recipe was shared on these wonderful sites!
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The Most Delicious Bread..The Easy Way!

I have made bread for so many years.  From the time I was first married (many moons ago..),  I have tried over and over to find a recipe that works.  Many were good but they just weren't good enough to spend a lot of time on just to have them dry the next day and too heavy to use for regular sandwiches.  Recently, I have had fun with no knead breads and sour dough breads that taste great for specialty bread but I really, really wanted to find out a way to make light delicious flavored bread for sandwiches. 

A couple of months ago, I was lucky enough to see an ad for a new cooking school in a city close to mine. (Provo, Utah)  This is a wonderful business run by a very nice lady, Nesha who brings great gourmet chefs and teachers to 
teach their

classes.  This is their info in case you live close and want to check them out!

The Kitchen

(801) 900-5717

560 South 100 West

Provo, UT 84601

Anyway, this class was taught by Lisa who is a great cook and has spent many years making bread and studying about how to get the best results! 

She actually taught us a lot about the chemistry behind bread making.  She really knows her stuff!  All that sounds complicated,but when it came down to making the bread it was amazingly quite simple.   I was surprised that it was actually one of the easiest bread making recipes I have tried!  That was a double bonus!  The samples of bread she brought were not only beautiful but tasted divine!  I am really not exaggerating.  I was so pumped to go home and try her methods. At the risk of making my results look bad, here are her samples of bread.

These tasted as wonderful as they look!






Just to show you how committed I am to spreading the joy of cooking, I took the class, came home and experimented with the recipe for weeks, and now, I will share them with you!

     The first and one of the most important principles she taught us was how to make a poolish.  The definition of a poolish is:  "A type of sponge.  Equal amounts of flour and water with an extremely small amount of yeast."  This may sound intimidating but couldn't be more simple.  The day before you want to make bread take a couple of minutes to mix 5 cups of water and 5 cups of flour in a bowl with a wisk.  Then add a pinch of yeast and mix. This will make 4 loaves of bread.  If your mixer won't hold that much or you don't want that many loaves just divide everything in 1/2. (The bread freezes well though)

      Cover lightly and set it on the counter for 4 to 36 hours.  See easy right?  No big deal but it makes a huge difference of having bland bread and delicious bread.  

     So you wait (the longer you give it the better it will taste!).  When it is ready it should look bubbly like this.

When you have about 2 hours that you know you will be home you can start making the bread. You won't be working all that time.  In fact there is very little effort here but you do have to have time to let it rise twice.  If you did your poolish in your mixer bowl you can attach it to the mixer and insert the dough hook.  Add ingredients in this order:

White Bread

begin with all of the poolish and add:
1 Tblspn. instant yeast
1 Tblspn. salt
1/2 cup sugar
7-12 cups flour (I usually use about 8 cups)

Mix until combined and remember to be flexible with the amount of flour.  Only add flour until the dough comes together in a smooth ball on the dough hook.  The dough should be tacky but not sticky.  Now add:

 1/4 cup butter (room temperature)

Mix until butter is incorporated.  (1 to 2 minutes)  Let this rise in the bowl (covered) in warm spot for about 30 minutes until doubled.  It should look kind of soft and spongy.  Spray the counter with oil and turn the dough out.  Divide the dough into 4 parts and place in 4- 3 x 5 prepared (greased and floured) bread pans. I actually use a great spread that I make for the bread pans and even for the wedding cake I made that I will share with you in the next post.  It works like a miracle and any batter or dough slides out like a dream. 

Let the dough rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until doubled.  Pre- heat the oven to 350. This is how high my dough was when I placed it in the oven.

      Sorry it is a little dark but I forgot to take the picture until it was inside the oven!  Bake the bread for 30 to 40 minutes.  I test mine with an instant read thermometer. It should read 190-200 degrees when the middle is done. 

     See how easy that was?  We really didn't worry about kneading all you do is make sure the ingredients are well mixed in and done in order.  The poolish adds a spongy texture and flavor to the dough so it is light and stays soft longer than most bread recipes.

     This is how I make regular sandwich bread and it is soooo delicious I can't even describe how good it is.  We learned how to do some different toppings that you can spread on the bread before putting it in the oven that make them more gourmet, specialty bread but I will address that later.  You can see examples of these in the pictures I took of her bread above.  The toppings are great but I want this post to be about the basics.  


     There is one thing we need to talk about that is really important now.  The fact is that after my class I came home so excited to make this wonderful bread.  I got out my ingredients and baked some the next day.  When I tasted it the flavor was really good but the texture just wasn't as good as Lisa's.  It lacked the spongy, soft goodness that her bread had. It was a bit on the dry and compact side. It was a big disappointment.  

     So I kept trying and experimented with many different methods.  I  mixed it different ways, let it rise different amounts of time and everything I could think of.  Finally, I contacted Lisa by email and she encouraged me to try the flour that she gets at Costco that comes for Lehi Roller Mills (Turkey Red Wheat) in Orem.  It is a little bit more expensive and I always try to go for the good deals but I knew I wanted my bread to be as good as hers so I tried it.  

     This is a side by side comparison of the dough using the two different flours.  The one on the right is an unbleached all purpose store brand and the one on the left is the flour from the mill near our home.  Can you see the puffy texture of the mill flour?  

     Here is a close up of the crumb.  The texture is out of this world soft!

     WOW!  What a difference it made.  I was amazed.  I had no idea that flour could cause such a difference.  My dough was soft and puffy and just easier to work with all the way through...I wouldn't have believed it until I saw it myself.  She explained that it is much fresher than most found in stores and they use a finer grit to mill it.  I know some people reading this won't be able to buy this specific flour so I asked her for her advice for you.  

She said  "As for flour, the trick is to find as high of a quality as possible.  Specialty mills, like Lehi Roller, Bob's, King Arthur, etc.  pay close attention to the grains they use, as well as the handling of them
My personal feeling is the more local/fresh you can get, the better, no matter where you live.  Better flour is more expensive, but worth it to me for the results.  Cheaper flour is okay too if that is all that is available.  My understanding is that those flours (store brand or less expensive) are made from older grain, and can be a mixture of species, depending on what is available to the company at that time of year.  This ensures that they always have a product available, whereas sometimes at the end of a harvest of Turkey Red, Lehi will not have flour in stock for a couple of weeks until the new harvest comes in.  They do not substitute or mix grains for Turkey flour."

     This is my first experience using a better quality flour and boy am I sold on it.  If you can't get Lehi Roller Mills flour I would definitely try the other kinds she suggests here that are widely available. You will love the difference!

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Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns

How hard is it to drive to the supermarket and pick up hamburger buns?  Well, if you count the time spent driving there and waiting in line to buy them and then driving home, you could have made them at home.  They would not only be a fraction of the cost but would be so delicious that you would not want to ever buy them again!  It's true I haven't counted the rising time but these are so easy you won't believe it! 

This recipe from Allrecipes (source) gives complete instructions for making the dough in the traditional way. I use my bread machine because it does a magnificent job of proofing the dough.  I have made them as the recipe is written and they have come out very well too.  It is just soooo much easier with the bread maker that I will give those instructions here.  They taste so good that I even went to my local second hand store and bought another bread maker so I could make a double batch for parties!  

Hamburger Buns

1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter - melted
1 egg

2 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teas. salt
4 1/2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon instant yeast

Heat milk and water in a glass measuring cup on 50% power 30 to 45 seconds until it is warm (about 100 degrees).  Add the melted butter and egg.  Stir egg with a fork.  Add next 3 dry ingredients then make a well in the flour and put yeast in it.  Select dough setting on bread maker and start.  Now you can watch tv or curl up with a good book!  See isn't this hard?

When dough is ready, (my bread machine takes an hour and a half) remove dough onto a lightly floured surface.  

Divide the dough into the size you want.  I make 14 dough balls out of each batch and these make large buns.  If you want to be picky you can weigh them as I did here.  Each one weighed close to 2.7 oz.  They came out very uniform and nice but this step isn't normally needed.  

Place dough on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray and leave a couple of inches on each side of them.  I put mine 3 across and three down to give them plenty of room.

Make them smooth and round by pushing the dough up through your fingers.  Stretch the dough on top of the ball until it is perfectly formed.  This helps them look good and rise better too.

 Flatten dough with palm of hand.  Don't be worried about pushing them down. They will be too thick if you don't push down enough.






  You want them to be no taller than your finger.

 This is how they look after you press them down. There is still plenty of room for them to grow as they rise.   Cover with a dish towel.  Let rise for about 30 minutes.  I like them to be  touching when I bake them. 

When dough has risen and buns are the size you want, bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes. 

Can you smell the of baking bread right now? Divine!

 See? Perfect, light, hamburger buns! 

 This is how I like mine to look but you can take them out whenever you like. 

To make Hot Dog Buns:  Shape each ball of dough into a 6x4 inch rectangle.  Starting with the 6" side, roll up, and pinch edges and ends to seal.  Let rise and bake the same as the hamburger buns.  You can get about 16 hot dog buns out of one batch. 

p.s. These buns freeze well.  Freeze in a non-frost free freezer if possible and they will taste just as good for 4-6 weeks! 
p.p.s. If you want to make Dollar Rolls - you know the ones that are only a couple of inches across and are fun for showers and parties?  Use .8 oz of dough and cook for 6 minutes.  Even though these rolls are tiny compared to hamburger buns, the stores charge a lot  for them, sometimes $2.50 to $3.00 a dozen.  These will save you a ton of money by making them yourself.  And they couldn't be more delicious! 

Parbaked Dinner Rolls

 It took quite a while to decide what to give for neighbor gifts this year.  If you read the post on apple butter that I made late this fall I mentioned that I wanted to give cute little tubs of it to my neighbors for Christmas.  But what good is apple butter with nothing to put it on?  So it made sense that it would be great to combine it with rolls.....but then came the problem.  How to get them to them fresh and hot which is obviously the most fantastic way to eat rolls with cinnamony (is that a word?) sweet apple butter on them, right?  So the testing began.  No one I talked to had ever parbaked rolls and many wondered if that was even possible.  I took my favorite Sweet Dinner Rolls recipe from allrecipes and even researched on the internet and found that there is a way to parbake (partially bake) the dough so that they can either be frozen or refrigerated and finish cooking at another time!  It really works and makes it so you can have hot rolls but prepare them ahead of time!  They made fun gifts because neighbors could eat them when it was convenient but also enjoy them hot.  Here is how to do it.

 First make a batch of this roll dough:

Sweet Dinner Rolls
 Ingredients

1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F)

1/2 cup warm milk

1 egg (mixed in with a fork)

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (1 Tblspn.)

 I make it in my bread machine following the instructions it gives me.  I add the liquids first then the dry ing. and last I make a well and put the yeast in it. ( I also use instant yeast instead of regular).  Set the bread machine to the dough setting and press start.  You can make it by hand the usual way you make rolls, but I love the way my bread machine turns out a perfectly risen dough each time and it is just sooo easy!
While the dough is rising go ahead and get your pans ready.  This is what I did for the neighbor gifts:

Spray pan with cooking spray, then if you want a space in the middle to put tubs of butter or apple butter, wrap two small canning jar rings with foil and set in the middle of the pan. 

When the dough is ready, take it out of the machine and divide the dough in half and those halves in half.  Keep squeezing each portion in half until you have 16 little equal size portions of dough.

  Form rolls by taking dough and pushing it up through an O formed by your thumb and middle finger.  This makes the top of the roll smooth and pretty.  Set the dough evenly around the pan with about an inch in between and cover with a light cloth to rise for about an hour.  Rolls should touch when they have risen enough.

To parbake them when you want to finish baking at a later time, just preheat the oven to 250 degrees.  Bake your rolls for about 11 minutes.  Watch rolls and remove when they just have a hint of golden on the top.

Remove them from the oven and let them cool.  Remove the foil rings in the center and add the tubs of butter. 

I included a note telling them that these were only partly baked and how to finish them.

Bake these at 400 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown!  Top with apple butter or strawberry butter!
Great for Christmas gifts but just as wonderful any time of the year!