My love of baked goods had to come from somewhere, right?
If I had to pinpoint a source, I would have to blame the breakfast treats around our family table for my sick fascination with baking. Today I bring to you a recipe from my past for these simple, no rise cinnamon rolls that have been in my family for generations and passed down from my great-grandmother. I started baking these as a child and they are one of the first things that I ever learned to bake. Basic Dough with cinnamon and sugar, you can’t beat this for a good way to start a lifelong love of baking.
Times change and so has the way food is manufactured. I follow an entirely GMO-Free, Organic diet now and have adapted our old family recipe to be organic so that I can still enjoy some of my favorite treats and eat in a way that I feel is healthy. So here you go, an entirely organic cinnamon roll, a favorite for breakfast on leisurely Saturday mornings.
Some recipe notes, I make this recipe with sprouted wheat Flour, but you could use regular white wheat flour. If you do select sprouted flour, please keep in mind that sprouted flour does not brown as readily as standard flour. Look for even the slightest browning on the edges to know that it is done.
I normally use Coconut Sugar for all of my baking, but for this recipe I use Organic Cane Sugar because I feel that the crystalline form tends to candy better for the filling. You could use Coconut Sugar or Sucanat, if you prefer. I would be interested in hearing your comments if you do so.
I have to credit my local baker, Steve VanDermyden at Oven and Butter for his great suggestion on using a cheese grater to grate the butter into the flour. I used to do this with a fork and it takes a while to get the butter chunks broken down. The cheese grated butter gives the perfect crumbly texture in 1/4 the time.
[portfolio_slideshow id=319]- 3 cups Organic Wheat Flour (I used Arrowhead Mills Sprouted Wheat Flour)
- 2 sticks Organic butter, one frozen one softened
- ½-3/4 cups water, warm
- 6 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons Organic Cinnamon (or to taste)
- Pinch of Organic Nutmeg
- 1-1/2 cups Organic Cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon Organic coconut palm sugar
- flour for rolling
- Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. Prepare two cookie sheets with parchment lined to size.
- Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and coconut sugar in large mixing bold. Blend well.
- Grate frozen butter stick into flour mixture. Using a fork, combine to create a crumbly mixture.
- Slowly add warm water to the flour mixture using a fork to blend. Repeat until the dough has reached a moist, but not sticky consistency.If too dry add more water. If too wet add a bit more flour.
- Once the dough is the right consistency, use your hands to knead the dough a few times.
- Form dough into a roughly round shape and place on rolling surface dusted with flour. Lightly dust a rolling pin with flour. Beginning at the center of the dough, roll out in a linear direction. Roll again in the opposite direction.
- *If you are using sprouted flour, be aware that it is more delicate than traditional flour and will require a little more care. The dough will be prone to tearing and requires more careful rolling. You will see that the dough has a grain to it and will almost scale in one direction. Work with the dough and roll in the direction the grain wants lay until you get a flat, level dough surface approximate ¼ thick.
- Once you have your nice evenly rolled dough it is time to add the goods. With a case knife, spread thin slices of softened butter on the dough to create a rough layer of butter over the entire dough surface.
- Next sprinkle sugar evenly over the butter layer. Finally, sprinkle cinnamon evenly over the sugar.
- To roll the dough, gently lift the front edge and fold over away from you. If you dough wants to stick you can use a knife to lightly lift the dough up as you roll. Continue rolling, creating a snug, but not tight roll until the entire dough is rolled into a tube. Using a dab of water on your fingertips, wet the inside of the back edge of the dough and press to the roll to hold it shut. If you have tearing as you roll, just use a dab of water to "glue" the spot back together. Pinch the ends of the roll.
- Using a thin, sharp knife, gently slice rolls into ½ slices. I use a gentle sawing motion to avoid smashing the roll flat. Cut and discard the ends. I support the slice with the blade of the knife and transfer them to the cookie sheet as I go.
- Once entire roll is sliced and on the pans, bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes until dough is lightly browned.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on the pan before transferring to a plate to serve.
- *Note, sprouted flour does not brown as readily as standard flour so look for even the slightest browning on the edges to know that it is done.
