IslandWood Cinnamon Rolls

Thursday, 24 July 2008

IslandWood is an Environmental Learning Center on Bainbridge Island near Seattle, where school age children spend four days and nights away from home, living in lodges in the woods while they study environmental sciences. When we were planning the menus for the place, I happened to be reading Ruth Reichl’s 1998 culinary memoir, “Tender at the Bone.” In the book, she describes a summer spent as a camp counselor in France. “When we woke up in the morning, the smell of baking bread was wafting through the trees.” In a flash, I knew that on the first morning of their day at IslandWood, I wanted the kids to smell fresh baked cinnamon rolls.    (Makes 2 dozen) For the dough: 1 cup warm water 2 tablespoons dry yeast 1/3 cup sugar 1 1/4 cups milk 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter 2 eggs 2 tablespoons kosher salt or 1 tablespoon table salt 5 cups unbleached white flour For the Filling: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 2 cups brown sugar 1/4 cup flour 3 tablespoons cinnamon For the Topping: 2 cups powdered sugar 2 tablespoons milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1.)    In the bowl of an electric mixer or in a large mixing bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast and sugar. Allow the mixture to stand until the yeast is softened, about 5 minutes, then stir until the yeast is completely dissolved. Whisk in 1 cup of the flour and let the yeast mixture stand undisturbed while you prepare the milk mixture. 2.)    Warm the milk in a saucepan until it is steaming hot, but not boiling. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter, egg, and salt. The milk mixture should be warm to the touch, about the temperature of a baby’s bottle. Whisk in 1 cup of the flour, then stir the warm milk mixture into the yeast mixture. 3.)     Mix in 2 cups of the remaining flour, 1 cup at a time to make a very soft dough. Use the dough hook on the mixer, or turn the dough out onto a well-floured countertop and knead the last cup of flour into the dough, pressing it and folding it until it is very smooth and springy, sprinkling on additional unbleached white flour if needed to keep the dough from sticking to the counter. 4.)    Clean out the bowl in which the dough was mixed and rub the inside of the bowl with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Put the kneaded dough in the bowl and turn it over once so that the whole ball of dough is lightly coated with the oil. Cover the bowl with a damp, lint-free kitchen towel or with a piece of plastic wrap and put it in a warm place until the dough is doubled in size, about an hour. While the dough is rising, combine the ingredients for the filling to make a smooth paste. 5.)    Roll the risen dough into a large rectangle measuring 12 by 24 inches. Cut this rectangle in half to make two 12-inch squares. Spread filling over ¾ of each rectangle, leaving a strip about 1-inch wide along one long side uncovered. Roll the strip to make a 12-inch log, finishing on the uncovered end so the edge will seal and the filling will not leak out. (Note: The logs may be refrigerated at this point and held overnight, to be baked off in the morning, or the logs can be cut into rolls and baked off at once.) 6.)    Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 baking sheets with silicone pan liners or baker’s parchment. Cut each roll into 12 pieces and put the cut pieces onto parchment-lined baking sheets. (Note: if the dough was refrigerated, allow the rolls to “proof” at room temperature until they warm up and soften, about an extra 45 minutes.) Let the rolls rise at room temperature for 20 minutes then bake the rolls until they are well-browned and the filling is bubbling up in the middle, about 20 minutes. 7.)    Frost the cinnamon rolls while they are hot and serve warm.

 

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