Apple cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing

Baking bread is something I deeply enjoy, even though I have not done that much lately. Unless you have access to good artisanal bakeries (which are very few here in Sao Paulo), it is the only guaranteed way of having good bread on the table.

These apple rolls were my idea to turn the humble cinnamon roll into something even more special, to get people interested in them again – like Nic Pizzolatto casting Mahershala Ali for the third season of True Detective, after that not-so-great season 2. :D

I was very happy with the recipe: the rolls are tender and perfumed with cinnamon and the tangy icing compliments the apples beautifully. They disappeared quite quickly every time I made them, and next time I prepare this recipe I intend to use pears + nutmeg instead of apples + cinnamon – I believe it will be just as delicious.

Apple cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing
own recipe

Dough:
200ml whole milk
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, room temperature and chopped
2 ¼ teaspoons (7g) dried yeast
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ¼ cups (455g) all purpose flour

Filling:
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, softened
4 Granny Smith apples (about 650g/1 ½ pounds), peeled, cored and cut into small dice*
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (44g) light brown sugar, packed
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

Icing:
½ cup (113g) cream cheese, very soft
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, very soft
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) icing sugar, sifted

Start by making the dough: in a small saucepan, heat milk until it starts to boil. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and let it melt. Once the mixture is lukewarm, pour it into the bowl of an electric mixer and stir in the yeast and sugar. Set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg, salt, vanilla and flour and mix with the dough hook for 8-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Transfer to a lightly buttered large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in a draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 ½ hours.

Generously butter a 20x30cm (8x12in, and 13x9in also works) baking pan. Set aside.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll it into a 30x40cm (12x16in) rectangle. Spread the butter over the dough leaving a 1cm (½in) border. In a medium bowl, stir the apples with the sugar and cinnamon until well coated, then spread evenly on top of the butter layer. Starting from the longest side, roll the dough into a tight cylinder, then slice into 12 equal pieces. Place the slices side-by-side in the prepared pan, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and set aside to prove again, 40-45 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°/400°F.

Bake the buns for 25-30 minutes or until risen and golden. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold the buns onto the rack. Now, make the icing: in a small bowl, whisk the ingredients together until smooth. Spread over the buns and set aside to cool completely, or serve them warm.

* it is important to keep the apple pieces small otherwise they will not bake properly inside the dough

Makes 12

Pesto and cheese rolls and family traditions

Yesterday I started thinking about family traditions and how some of them go from one generation to the other, sometimes without us even noticing.

My brother and I have become much closer since my nephew was born, and that brings me a lot of joy. So on weekends we are inevitably all together, either they come to visit Joao and I or we visit them – I love that. It reminds me of when I was little and we would go for Sunday lunches at my grandmother’s or my aunt and uncle from the country side would come to spend the day with us – we are doing exactly what our parents did almost forty years ago and that happened so naturally I only thought of it now.

One of the times they came to visit us I had just finished baking these pesto rolls – they smelled wonderful and I thought the adults would love them, but to my surprise my nephew was the one that enjoyed them the most. I had no idea he would like bread filled with pesto – I thought he would find the flavor too strong or something like that – but I was wrong. Therefore I bring you these today and hope you the adults reading me like them as much as the little one at home did. :)

Pesto and cheese rolls
own creation

Dough:
¼ cup (60ml) lukewarm water
¾ cup (180ml) lukewarm whole milk
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons dried yeast
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¾ teaspoon table salt
2 ¼ cups (315g) all purpose flour
½ cup (70g) whole wheat flour

Filling:
½ cup (40g) fresh basil leaves, packed
2 tablespoons finely ground pecorino
1 small garlic clove
2 tablespoons pine nuts
¼ cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
200g shredded cheese – I used one kind of mozzarela we find here in Brazil that is yellow and drier than fresh mozzarela; replace with cheddar

Egg wash:
1 egg + ½ teaspoon water, beaten with a fork

Start by making the dough: in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix together with a fork the water, milk, sugar and yeast. Set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg, butter, olive oil, salt and flours and mix on medium speed until a smooth and elastic dough forms, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside on a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 ½ hours.

Filling: place the basil, pecorino, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and black pepper in a blender or food processor and blitz until a paste forms – I don’t add any salt for the cheeses are already salty. Set aside. Brush a 12-hole muffin pan with butter.

Knock down the dough to remove any excess air. Roll it on a lightly floured surface until you get a 30x50cm (12x20in) rectangle. Spread the pesto over the dough, leaving a 1cm (½in) border. Sprinkle evenly with the shredded cheese. Beginning with the longer side, roll the dough tightly like a cylinder. Cut into 12 slices and place each slice, cut side up, inside a hole in the muffin pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise again for 40-60 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C.

Brush the rolls with the egg wash and bake for 20-25 minutes or until deeply golden and cooked through. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold each roll and transfer to the wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Rolls can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Reheat them in a 180°C oven for 8-10 minutes before serving if desired.

Makes 12

Milk rolls

It is always a joy to receive the latest issues of the food magazines I subscribe to: I usually bookmark a lot of recipes but it takes me some time to actually make them, especially if the magazines arrive on those days when a trip to the grocery store is more than necessary.

When I received my Donna Hay magazine a couple of weeks ago, for instance, both my fridge and my cupboard were a bit on the empty side, but when I saw the recipe for these rolls I knew I would make them the following morning: the small list of ingredients consisted of basics I still had a bit of around, it wouldn’t be a problem. I did bake them and they looked beautiful when I took them out of the oven – they smelled fantastic, too.

I posted the photo on Instagram and it was welcomed by many people, therefore I felt like sharing the recipe here on the blog – the thing is: I gathered my family around the table, made some coffee and the rolls disappeared on that very same day. :)

Everyone loved the rolls, so I made them once again and thought they looked even better, more golden – now that I’ve managed to take a decent photo of them I bring you the recipe and I am sure many of you will like it for it is really easy to make and the rolls are divine.

Milk rolls
slightly adapted from the always wonderful Donna Hay magazine

330ml whole milk
65g unsalted butter, room temperature and chopped
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons dried yeast
2 eggs
650g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt

For brushing the rolls:
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon whole milk

Place half the milk in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, add the butter and sugar and stir until butter is melted. Add the remaining milk. Set aside until lukewarm, then pour into the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and set aside until foamy, 5 minutes or so.

Add the egg, flour and salt and mix with the dough hook until you get a smooth dough, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a large lightly buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) metal baking pan and set aside.

Punch the air from the dough, divide into 15 equal pieces (mine were 75g each) and roll each into a smooth ball, using your hand as a cage to roll the dough around. Place the dough balls side by side onto the prepared pan, about 1cm apart. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside for 40 minutes or until risen – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.

Beat the egg yolk and milk together with a fork. Brush the rolls with the mixture and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and the rolls sound hollow when tapped with your fingers. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature – the rolls can be kept in the freezer for up to 1 month, just let cool completely and wrap in Ziploc bags.

Makes 15

Skillingsboller - a delicious project for a rainy day + something to go with it

I love baking with nuts and usually have at least one kind of them around – I keep them in the freezer so they’ll last longer without going rancid. Sometimes I go crazy and buy too much of a certain kind of nut and then, even with the help of the freezer, I have to find a way to use the precious ingredients.

The small package of flaked almonds in my freezer begging to be used coincided with the arrival of this adorable cookbook, and being a huge fan of cinnamon rolls only added to the equation – it was easy to pick the first recipe to be tried. The buns turned out delicious, ridiculously tender and perfumed with the cinnamon, with some crunch added by the almonds. They do take some time to be put together, I admit it, but it was a cloudy day and I had no intention to go out, therefore it was a perfect project.

Freshly baked buns + the couch on a rainy day = pure bliss. And if there is something interesting to watch, even better. \0/

Skillingsboller
from the delicious The Book of Buns

Dough:
500g all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons dry yeast
75g granulated sugar
1 cup (240ml) whole milk, heated up to just below boiling point, then cooled to room temperature
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 egg
½ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
75g unsalted butter, room temperature, chopped

Filling:
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
50g granulated sugar
50g light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
150g flaked almonds

Glaze:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
pinch of salt
pinch of granulated sugar
demerara sugar, for sprinkling the buns

Put the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer, make a well in the center and put the yeast and sugar into the well. Pour the milk over the well, toss some flour over the milk to cover it, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Add the salt, egg, cardamom and vanilla to the rested mixture and mix at low speed to combine (or mix with a wooden spoon). Mix on low-medium speed for 5 minutes (or knead by hand for 10). Add the butter and mix for another 5 minutes (or 10 by hand), until you get a smooth, elastic dough – at this point my dough was too wet from the butter, so I added 20g all purpose flour and it became smooth and soft. Transfer to a lightly buttered large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 2 hours.
For the filling, mix the butter, sugars and cinnamon until incorporated. Set aside. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan.

Punch the dough down and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Roll it to a 60x30cm (24x12in) rectangle. Spread the dough evenly with the cinnamon butter, then sprinkle with the almonds. Starting from the longest side of the rectangle, roll the dough tightly into a cylinder and pinch the seams to seal. Cut the cylinder into 12 equal slices and place them, cut side up, into prepared pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the buns prove for 45 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
In a small bowl, beat together with a fork the egg, water, salt and granulated sugar. Brush the buns with the glaze and sprinkle generously with the demerara sugar and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then unmold and place upside up on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12

Raspberry jam rolls and "Hannibal"

After some thought, I decided to put Game of Thrones aside and go for something more interesting: between Bates Motel and Hannibal I ended up choosing the latter, Mads Mikkelsen and the comments left on my blog in Portuguese being the reasons. I’m halfway through the show and loving each and every minute of it: the dark atmosphere, the music, the writing and the great acting are amazingly combined and what a surprise it was for me to see Scott Thompson in a drama series (I loved The Kids in The Hall back in the ‘90s, wouldn’t miss it for the world).

I’m not a fan of Anthony Hopkins and after watching Manhunter I found Brian Cox a much better Hannibal Lecter; now I think Mads Mikkelsen is giving those two a run for their money. :D

***
One of the latest DH mag issues I received features one basic sweet yeasted dough turned into several different recipes – they look so beautiful I felt like baking them all, but started with the jam one since it was what I had in my fridge. It was, indeed, a great way to start: these rolls are really simple, yet very delicious.

Raspberry jam rolls
slightly adapted from the always gorgeous Donna Hay Magazine

1 ¼ teaspoons dried yeast
2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk, lukewarm
55g granulated sugar
450g all purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
200g raspberry jam
icing sugar, for dusting

Combine the yeast, milk and a pinch of the granulated sugar in a large bowl and set aside until foamy. Add the flour, remaining sugar, cinnamon, salt, eggs, vanilla and butter and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic (I used my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook for the entire process). Shape into a ball, transfer to a lightly buttered large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Butter a 12-cup muffin pan. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll it out onto a 60x25cm (24x10in) rectangle. Spread the jam over the dough leaving a 1cm border. Starting with the longest side facing you, roll the dough tightly to enclose the filling. Cut the roll into 12 slices and place each one of them, cut side up, into the muffin pan. Cover and set aside to prove again for about 40 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully unmold and transfer to the rack. Dust with icing sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12

Spiced orange and currant rolls and another food show disappointment

Once again I watched a TV cooking show only to get disappointed with the winner – I should have learned from “Top Chef”, shouldn’t I? :/

* spoilers of “The Great British Bake Off” seasons 2 and 3 *

Choosing John over Brendan was completely unfair – Valentina thinks they went for the one who would look better on TV and cookbook/magazine covers, and I agree with her. I own John Whaite’s cookbook and after watching “The Great British Bake Off” I felt that the book doesn’t sound much like him; the recipes look delicious, but in my opinion they don’t match the boy I watched on TV – from the book he seems to be a lot more skilled than he was on the show.

I haven’t watched season 2 of “The Great British Bake Off”, but I bought Jo Wheatley’s cookbook, which is packed with wonderful recipes. I don’t know how well she did throughout the competition but if these rolls are any indication I guess she deserved to win after all – the boozy currants are my contribution to the recipe.

Spiced orange and currant rolls
adapted from the beautiful A Passion for Baking (I bought mine here)

Dough:
350g all purpose flour
1 1/8 teaspoons dried yeast
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, warm
finely grated zest of 1 orange
¼ cup (60ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
30g unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
2/3 cup currants
1/3 cup Marsala wine
¼ cup (50g) demerara sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup (55g) pecans, finely chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

In the large bowl of an electric mixer place flour, yeast, sugar. Place the salt in the bowl away from the yeast. Add the milk, orange zest and juice, butter, egg and vanilla and, using the hook attachment, knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a lightly buttered large bowl, cover with plastic and set in a warm place for about 1½ hours or until the dough has doubled in size. Meanwhile, butter 8 cavities of a 12-hole (1/3 cup capacity each cavity) muffin pan and make the filling: place the currants and Marsala in a small saucepan over medium heat. When it boils, remove from the heat and cool completely. In a small bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Set aside.

Punch the dough with your fist to deflate, then transfer to a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to a 40x30cm (16x12in) rectangle. Brush the dough with the melted butter and sprinkle the pecan mixture evenly over it. Drain the currants (discard the wine) and scatter over the filling. Starting from a long edge, roll up the dough into a long, thin sausage shape.
Using a small sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 even-sized pieces. Place them with their cut sides up in the prepared pan. Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap and leave to rise again (prove) for about 1 hour until the buns have risen. Towards the end of the proving time, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°C. Before placing the rolls in the oven, fill each empty cavity halfway through with cold water.
Bake the rolls for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for about 8 minutes, then carefully remove and transfer to the rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving – you can serve the rolls warm or at room temperature. They also reheat very well.

Makes 8

Salami and cheese rolls from a fantastic recipe source

I might be the owner of too many cookbooks, that is true, and still one of my favorite sources for great food is Gourmet Traveller: the photos are crazy beautiful and the recipes are delicious and never disappoint. With a long holiday ahead and the urge to bake bread I went straight to GT’s website for some inspiration and there I found the perfect recipe: it was yeasted, as I wanted, and it called for cheese and salami, two ingredients I had in the fridge that needed to be used with some urgency. While the bread was in the oven my husband – the salami eater of our house – kept telling me how good it smelled, and after tasting one of the rolls he told me that next time he bought salami he would bring home some extra on purpose so I could make these rolls again. Indeed the bread turned out fantastic but I would do two things differently next time: amp up the amount of cheese and double the recipe – 8 rolls were gone in no time. :D

Salami and cheese rolls
adapted from the always stunning Gourmet Traveller

Sponge:
1/8 teaspoon dried yeast
pinch of sugar
125g all purpose flour

Dough:
½ tablespoon olive oil
½ large onion, finely diced
1 ¼ teaspoons dried yeast
pinch of sugar
2 cups + 2 tablespoons (300g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon table salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
30g unsalted butter, softened
70g salami, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, coarsely chopped
100g fresh mozzarella, grated

Make the sponge: combine the yeast, sugar and 1 tablespoon warm water in small bowl, stand for 10 minutes or until foamy. Add 1/3 cup (80ml) warm water and the flour and stir for 2 minutes or until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and stand for 3 hours or until doubled in size. Starter can be refrigerated at this stage and brought to room temperature before using.
In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until fragrant and beginning to brown. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

Dough: combine yeast, sugar and 2 tablespoons warm water in the large bowl of an electric mixer and stand for 10 minutes or until foamy. Add starter and, using the dough hook, mix for 4-5 minutes or until smooth. Add butter and combine. Add onion, salami and oregano and mix until well combined. Add the flour, salt and pepper and knead for 3 minutes or until shiny and elastic. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover with plastic wrap stand for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Lightly brush with oil a 25cm (9in) round cake pan.
Knock back dough, turn onto a floured surface and roll out dough to a 50x30cm (20x12in) rectangle, scatter the mozzarella over the dough, then roll into a cylinder beginning with the longer side. Cut into 8 pieces and place, cut-side down, onto the prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and stand for 30-40 minutes, then bake for about 25 minutes or until golden. These are delicious warm drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and reheat really well – keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Makes 8

Apple and marzipan rolls + an interesting read

One of my favorite things to do is reading about how movies are made and especially how directors and actors are chosen for each project; there are characters impossible to imagine being played by someone else – can you picture Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones? – while with others I would have taken a different route: for instance, I would have chosen Vanessa Williams to play Storm instead of Halle Berry.
Ryan Adams’ has posted an excerpt from William Friedkin’s memoir in which he describes the casting for “The Exorcist” – it’s a very interesting read. I find Ellen Burstyn’s performance in that movie one of the best I have seen in my entire life and it is amazing to find out that she hadn’t even been considered for the part. It is also curious how Jason Miller got cast as Father Karras. Friedkin is a director I admire – can’t wait to watch “Killer Joe” – and I ended up adding his memoir to my already too long wish list. :)

***

Ever since making Paul Hollywood’s marzipan for the first time I’ve been enjoying recipes I had bookmarked for years – these rolls come from Waitrose’s website and are every bit the delicious treat I’d imagined them to be.

Apple and marzipan rolls
slightly adapted from Waitrose

2 ½ cups (350g) all purpose flour
7g dried yeast
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
100g unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk, lukewarm
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
200g golden marzipan, grated – I used homemade, recipe here
1 large Granny Smith apple
½ cup (75g) golden raisins
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
icing sugar, for dusting

Place the flour, yeast and sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Make a well in the center and add the egg, butter, milk and vanilla and mix to combine. Mix at low-medium speed until it starts to form a soft dough. Continue mixing for 5-6 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic – or knead by hand for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a lightly buttered large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about 1½ hours or until the dough has doubled in size. Meanwhile, butter a 23cm (9in) round cake pan.
Punch the dough with your fist to deflate, then tip it out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out to a 40x20cm (16x8in) rectangle. Scatter the marzipan over the dough to within 1cm (½in) of the edges. Peel, core and chop the apple and scatter over the marzipan. Mix the raisins with the cinnamon and sprinkle them over the apples. Starting from a long edge, roll up the dough into a long, thin sausage shape.
Using a small sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 even-sized pieces. Place them with their cut sides face-up in the prepared tin. Cover loosely with a piece of buttered plastic wrap and leave to rise again (prove) for about 1 hour until the buns have risen and become tightly packed in the tin (mine took 2 hours to prove). Towards the end of the proving time, preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F.
Uncover the buns and bake for about 30 minutes until deep golden. Cover with foil towards the end of the cooking time if they start to over-brown. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 15 minutes then carefully unmold onto the rack. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 8

Parmesan pull-aparts

I once told you I wouldn’t be able to survive without bread and cheese, so can you imagine how much I loved these parmesan rolls? :) They’re delicious freshly baked – I doubt someone would resist demolishing them the minute they’re out of the oven – but reheat really well, too, so if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers the rolls can be enjoyed some other time. Just don’t count on that – trust me. :D

Parmesan pull-aparts
from the always delicious Epicurious

2 teaspoons dried yeast
1 teaspoon mild honey or sugar
2/3 cup (160ml) warm whole milk, divided
2 ½ cups (350g) all-purpose flour + 2 tablespoons for sprinkling over the dough
1 ¼ cups (1 1/3oz/37g) grated (with a rasp) parmesan cheese + a handful for sprinkling over the rolls
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
1 tablespoon water
1 large egg, extra, for brushing the rolls

Stir together yeast, honey, and 1/3 cup (80ml) of the warm milk in the large bowl of an electric mixer and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the flour (350g), cheese, and salt into the yeast mixture along with remaining 1/3 cup warm milk and mix at low speed. Increase speed to medium and beat in 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally, until a very soft dough forms, about 3 minutes. Beat in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is elastic, about 2 minutes. (Dough will be very sticky.)
Scrape dough into center of bowl and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons flour. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 ½ to 2 hours. Butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan. Set aside.
Punch down dough (do not knead) and turn out onto a floured surface. Cut dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each into a ball by cupping your hand and pushing dough against work surface as you roll in a circular motion. Arrange rolls 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared pan and cover with a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth). Let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and dough fills pan, 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F with rack in middle.
Whisk together remaining egg with water and brush on tops of rolls (you will have leftover egg wash). Sprinkle with the extra cheese and bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then loosen edges of rolls from pan with a knife and invert rolls onto a rack, then reinvert and cool at least 20 minutes.

Makes 12

Spiced blueberry rolls + some comedy after the drama

After watching several drama shows in a row a girl needs something to make her laugh, right? I have found the perfect way to do that by watching “Parks and Recreation”: I haven’t finished the first season yet but I’m completely hooked! Amy Poehler is absolutely hilarious – I start laughing just by looking at her – and the other actors are great, too, my favorites being Nick Offerman and Aziz Ansari. There are days when there’s nothing better than sitting down with something freshly baked – liked these delicious blueberry rolls – to watch “Parks and Recreation”; one just has to be careful not to choke – eating and laughing at the same time can be really dangerous, and I speak from experience. :D

Spiced blueberry rolls
slightly adapted from one of the most beautiful and delicious cookbooks I own

Dough:
225ml whole milk
75g unsalted butter
300g all purpose flour
125g whole wheat flour
70g granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
pinch of salt
2 ½ teaspoons dried yeast
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
75g unsalted butter, softened
75g granulated sugar + about 2 teaspoons extra, for sprinkling over the rolls
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
200g fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries

Dough: in a small saucepan, heat milk and butter together until milk almost boils and butter melts almost completely. Cool to lukewarm.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flours, sugar, zest, salt and yeast. Make a well in the center, add the egg, vanilla and the milk mixture and, using the dough hook, mix in medium-low speed until a smooth dough forms, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly buttered large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and prove for about 1 hour.
Filling: with an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and cinnamon together until smooth. Set aside.
Lightly butter a 20x30cm (12x8in) baking pan. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until you get a 30x50cm (12x20in) rectangle. Spread the filling evenly over the dough then sprinkle with the blueberries. Roll it like a cylinder, beginning with the longer side. Cut into 8 slices then arrange them about 2.5cm (1in) apart onto the prepared pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave to prove for about 1 ½ hours (if you’re using frozen berries prove your rolls for 2 hours); in the meantime, preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F.
Sprinkle the rolls with the extra granulated sugar and bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and golden brown.

Makes 8

Raspberry-swirl sweet rolls + a performance I love

I love Michael Mann – he’s one of my favorite directors; so when I saw that “The Insider” would be on cable a couple of weeks ago I knew I was going to watch it again. At the end my husband, who had never watched that movie before, told me: “wow, that is an excellent movie!”, and I instantly knew he’d really loved it, like I do.
Russell Crowe is really easy to love, I’m aware of that, but to me Jeffrey Wigand is his finest role so far, even greater than Maximus – I know many will disagree with me here, but think of how much more difficult it is to play a guy with lots of flaws than it is to play a hero, and yet Crowe gets the audience by his side. To top it all off, Crowe’s physical transformation is another thing of beauty and a sign of an actor extremely committed to his craft, and yet his performance is so much more than putting on dozens of pounds – it’s the whole thing, all the details connected, blessed by a talented director. It makes me of think Robert De Niro’s Jake La Motta which to me is the best performance ever delivered by an actor, so you get the idea.

***

I have been baking bread quite often lately but mostly savory ones – I decided to switch to sweet mode after seeing this recipe on a magazine that has been growing on me a lot lately; I am crazy for cinnamon rolls and found this raspberry twist so interesting I had to try it. And the rolls turned out delicious, very tender, irresistible. The dough, perfumed with lemon zest, is very soft, easy to work with and tastes wonderful – I bet that a number of different fillings would be used with great results.

Raspberry-swirl sweet rolls
from the delicious Food & Wine

Dough:
1 cup (240ml) lukewarm whole milk
2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar
1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
¼ teaspoon salt
4 ¼ cups (595g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

Filling:
One 10-ounce package IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) raspberries, not thawed
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (74g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Glaze:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream

Dough: pour the warm milk into the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the dough hook and stir in the sugar and yeast. Let stand until the yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the softened butter, eggs, lemon zest and salt. Add the flour and beat at medium speed until a soft dough forms, about 3 minutes, then continue beating until the dough is soft and supple, about 10 minutes longer.
Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands 2 or 3 times. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly buttered bowl. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.
Line the bottom of a 22x32cm (13x9in) baking pan* with parchment paper, allowing the paper to extend up the short sides. Butter the paper and sides of the pan. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll it into a 25x60cm (10x24in) rectangle.
In a medium bowl, toss the frozen raspberries with the sugar and cornstarch. Spread the raspberry filling evenly over the dough. Tightly roll up the dough to form a 60cm (24in) long log. Working quickly, cut the log into quarters. Cut each quarter into 4 slices and arrange them in the baking pan, cut sides up. Scrape any berries and juice from the work surface into the baking pan between the rolls. Cover the rolls and let them rise in a warm place until they are puffy and have filled the baking pan, about 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F**. Bake the rolls for about 25 minutes, until they are golden and the berries are bubbling. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 30 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners' sugar with the butter and heavy cream until the glaze is thick and spreadable.
Invert the rolls onto the rack and peel off the parchment paper. Invert the rolls onto a platter. Dollop glaze over each roll and spread with an offset spatula. Serve warm or at room temperature.

* I made the exact recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan

** the temperature worked out for me but apparently did not for other people, who had their rolls too dark; you might want to check the rolls earlier or bake them in a lower temperature

Makes 16

Iced cinnamon snail rolls and when less is more

I hadn’t made cinnamon rolls in ages and this recipe, from Bill Granger’s "Sydney Food", seemed easy and quick to put together. It was – I watched TV all afternoon and yet finished baking the rolls before dinnertime.
I tried to restrain myself and not eat one of the rolls right out of the oven, but ended up giving up the fight after 5 minutes: the warm, tender rolls, deeply perfumed with cinnamon and freckled with raisins were irresistible. And I must say that as much as the rolls look beautiful with the icing on top I prefer them without it, still warm.

You know what they say: “less is more” - but some people take the idea to a whole new level... :)

Iced cinnamon snail rolls
from "Sydney Food"

Dough:
2 x 7g sachets dried yeast
¼ cup (60ml) lukewarm water
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter
4 cups (560g) all purpose flour, plus extra if necessary
pinch of salt
¼ cup (50g) superfine sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup (104g) golden raisins

Filling:
¾ cup (132g) firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted

Icing:
1 cup (140g) icing sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon warm water
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Start by making the dough: in a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Set aside. Place milk and butter in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until butter is melted. Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Add sugar and stir to combine. Make a well in the center and add the eggs. Mix to combine roughly, and then add the milk and yeast mixtures. Stir until a dough forms.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes or until dough is flexible and smooth – add more flour if needed, but be careful not to add too much flour or your rolls will turn out tough. Add the raisins to the dough in the last 2 minutes of kneading – I used my Kitchen Aid with the hook attachment in the whole process and needed to add 2 tablespoons extra flour. Turn dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in size – 40-60 minutes.
Make the filling: combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it into a 23x60cm (9x24in) rectangle. Brush generously with some of the melted butter and sprinkle the filling evenly over the surface.
Roll the dough up from the short end, swiss roll style, to make a log. Pinch seams to seal. Cut the roll, seam-side down, into 2cm thick slices and place onto a large baking sheet lined with foil, 5cm (2in) apart. Brush the tops of the rolls with the melted butter , cover loosely and leave to rise until doubled, 30-40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Bake rolls for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes in the pan over a wire rack; drizzle with the icing.*
Make the icing: mix the sugar, water and vanilla together in a small bowl until fluid enough to be drizzled over the rolls. Add more water if necessary. Drizzle over the rolls.

* I cooled the rolls completely before drizzling with the icing

Makes 12 – I halved the recipe above and got 8 rolls