cream cheese laced cinnamon rolls

My trusted assistant and I decided we needed more cinnamon in our lives.  Or maybe I am the trusted assistant?  I had come across a cinnamon roll recipe from Always with Butter  that looked interesting to me.  I decided to give it a try, with my normal adjustments and help.  Small Mister is loving helping lately and even needs his own apron.

These cinnamon rolls are well worth the effort by the way.  It may just be the cream cheese frosting and cinnamon but they are nice and light and full of flavor.

cream cheese laced cinnamon rolls

Note:  adapated from Always with Butter

sourdough starter

1 cup flour 

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 tablespoon salt

7 tablespoons butter

5 plus cups flour

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/4 cup powdered sugar

The night before, mix the starter, 1 cup flour and 3/4 cup water together in a large bowl.  Cover and let become bubbly. The next day, remove a couple tablespoons of starter and put in the refrigerator for next time.

To the starter add the milk, sugar, eggs, salt, and 3 tablespoons butter.  Mix well.  Add 5 cups flour.  Mix slowly.  The dough will be very soft and that is what you wish.  When most of the flour is incorporated, turn out onto a floured counter and knead until smooth.  You wish to add as little flour as possible.  Put back into a clean bowl. Cover and let rise until double, about 2 hours.  This is a rich dough so it may take longer.

When the dough has risen, turn out onto a floured surface.  Pat or roll until it is about 10 inches by 10 inches.  I guess.  Spread 4 ounces of cream cheese across the dough.  Fold into thirds with the edges in the center.  Fold the edges in.  Roll the dough out to 16 inches by 20 inches.

Spread 2 tablespoons of butter across the dough.  Mix the brown sugar with the cinnamon in a bowl.  Sprinkle across the buttered dough.  Roll the dough into a cylinder, starting with the 20 inch side.  Cut into eight pieces and place into a greased baking pan.  The pan I used was 9 inches by 13 inches (my lasagne pan).  Cover and let rise until double.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Uncover the rolls and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden.  

While the rolls are baking, mix the frosting.  Mix 4 ounces cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, and the powdered sugar together.  When the rolls have come out of the oven and are cool enough not to burn your mouth, put one on a plate and put a dollop of icing on top.

I made these large because I followed the recipe.  You could definitely make them smaller but....  

My Beloved ate two on in sitting.  The man who has been avoiding grains.  What does that tell you?

galette bressane with lemon curd

There is a group of bakers out in the world who call themselves the Bread Baking Babes.  I read on of them who writes a blog.  They do a monthly bread baking challenge.  The only constant is that all the recipes include yeast.  I have to admit that reading the choices give me ideas.

When I happened across the month where a galette was involved, I was curious  I have really enjoyed the galette bressane I have been making.  I have even started to use part whole wheat flour.  This recipe called for a creme fraiche that was flavored with lemon.  Similar to a lemon curd.  My Mom and Dad had gone on a trip to Bermuda and one of the gifts she brought back was a jar of lemon curd.  I figured why not.

I substituted a half cup to a cup of lemon curd for the creme fraiche in the recipe.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I would call this more a dessert then a breakfast but that is how I feel about lemon.  I now wish to try the original recipe and see how it is.  Of course, there will be changes because there always is!

chocolate, hazelnut, oatmeal cookies

Small Mister has become my cooking helper.  He is tall enough to stand on a chair and stir now.  I worked a thirteen hour day today and needed tea and cookies.  So I put some together for us.  Gluten free.  Chocolate.  Not too sweet.  Perfect after a very long day.

chocolate hazelnut pecan cookies

Note:  adapted from Small Treats, Small Plates and treehugger.com.  I made enough just for us after a long day.

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoon sorghum flour

1 tablespoon quinoa flour

1 tablespoon cocoa

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon hazelnut flour

2 tablespoons quick oatmeal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cream butter, sugars, and vanilla in a small bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Cover a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.  Drop teaspoons of dough on the baking sheet.  Bake for ten minutes.

Eat warm!  After a very long day.

kouign amann (old fashioned breton cake)

I will not say it has gotten any easier.  I just do the things I need to do to keep me sane.  I put my hands in dough.  But because I have so much bread already I decided to make cake.  This is my type of cake.  It is kind of a sweet bread cake.  But then we had sweet rolls for our wedding dessert since I really do not like most cake.  This should tell you something.  

I have actually made this cake twice.  The first time, I flubbed it a bit and then we lost the hard drive.  This time, the process was easier.  It tasted the same both times.  The bit of sanity helped.  Next time, I will put Small Mister on a chair so he can help knead.  He and I are learning that we work well with him on a chair next to me in the kitchen.  This is a new development.  He is also my garden sprite/helper.  Between dough and dirt, my head is a little straighter.

Do not expect American cake here.  Just be warned.  I like ti though.  

kouign amann (old fashioned breton cake)

Note:  Modified from Manger.  I figured out how to use sourdough.  I also think this would be quite good (but probably very non-traditional) with cinnamon or orange added.

The last time I made this, the bake took twice as long as it should.  It jiggled at 25 minutes.  Stick a sharp knife in it and make sure it comes out clean.

sourdough starter

1 cup flour

3/4 water

1 1/2 cup flour

pinch of salt

3/4 cup butter, room temperature but not runny

about 1 cup sugar

The night before, mix the sourdough, 1 cup flour, 3/4 cup water together in a bowl.  Cover and let get bubbly, about 8 hours.  Take a bit out for next time right before you wish to start mixing.

Add 1 cup flour and the pinch of salt.  Mix well.  It should come together into a soft dough.  Knead until smooth.  Use the extra flour to keep it from sticking to the counter.  Better to err on the soft side.

Cover and let rise for three hours or nicely double.

Butter a cake pan, about 8 inches in diameter.  NOT a  spring form pan.

Roll the dough out to about 1 cm (about a quarter inch thick).  Spread  a scant 1/4 cup of butter over it. Sprinkle with about rounded 1/4 cup sugar.  Fold into thirds toward the center.  Then into thirds again from the ends so you have a square.  

Roll out the same twice more.  You may wish to refrigerate the dough between the second and third roll to let the butter set up again.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Press into the cake pan.  You should have a bit of sugar and butter left over.  Spread the butter on top.  Sprinkle the sugar over it.  Bake for 22 -25 minutes or until golden.  There should be no jiggling of the cake when you take it out.  Start checking at 17 minutes and cover if it starts to burn.  If it is golden, it is time to take out.

Wait to cut into this for 15 minutes.  It is really easier to cut.

Cinnamon next time....

pocketbook rolls

The day we started traveling for our land we did a mad thing.  We had a cookie decorating party.  It had actually been planned before we found out our trailer was ready and needed to be picked up and that my Mother's retirement party was happening.  We chose not to cancel and still had friends over.

I made a large pot of bean soup and tried a new bread recipe.  Lucullian Delights had done a Baking Babes challenge awhile back for pocketbook rolls and I thought they looked interesting.  Then I totally screwed up the recipe.  I was told they were the best rolls that my Beloved had ever had and I needed to make them again.  Others agreed.  It is a good thing I remembered how I screwed up!

pocketbook rolls

sourdough starter

3/4 cup water 

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup room temperature butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1egg

6 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

8 tablespoons melted butter

The night before, mix the sourdough starter, 3/4 cup water, and 1 cup flour together.  Cover and let become bubbly overnight.  Remove a couple tablespoons of starter for next time.

To the starter add 1 cup milk, 1/4 cup sugar, and 4 tablespoons olive oil.  Mix well.  Add 2 cups flour and mix.  Cover and let sit for a couple hours covered until bubbly and like pancake batter.

Mix in 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup water.  Add sugar, butter, egg, and salt.  Mix in the rest of the flour a cup at a time until you have a soft dough.  Turn out and knead until smooth.  Let rise until double.

Cover baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.  Roll the dough out to 1/2 inch.  Cut 2 1/2 inch rounds.  Dip in the melted butter.  Put on the baking sheet and fold in half.  You may need to mash it a bit.  Cover and let rise until double and puffy, about 45 minutes to a hour.

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake the rolls for about 10 minutes.  They need to be golden.

Like I said, I royally screwed up the recipe but they were well liked.  Maybe sometime I should try the actual recipe!

But like always.

There was much fun had and many cookies eaten!