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Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls
From Dorothy McNett's recipes at www.dorothymcnett.com. (Cut this recipe in half if using a bread machine. Program the machine for the "dough" setting, and when that has finished its cycle, remove the dough and shape it as described below for making the cinnamon rolls and/or caramel rolls.) I would rather make the whole batch by hand kneading instead of the bread machine, making half cinnamon rolls and the other half Caramel Rolls as directed below.
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 packets active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm milk (110 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup sugar (raw sugar)
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 whole eggs
1/3 cup soft unsalted butter
7 to 7 1/2 cups bread flour (or unbleached all purpose)
4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1 cup sugar (raw sugar)
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
FOR CARAMEL ROLLS: (for 1/2 of the bread recipe above, double if making 2 pans)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar (raw sugar)
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup pecan or walnut halves
In mixing bowl, combine water and yeast. Add the warm milk, sugar, salt, eggs, and butter. Add 4 cups of the flour. Mix until smooth. Add remaining flour and stir. It should be clumpy and a little sticky. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead by hand until smooth and elastic, adding flour as you go if it is still too sticky. This will take about 8-10 minutes of kneading. Grease a bowl, and swirl the dough in the oil and then place the ball of dough with the greased side up. Cover. Let rise in a warm draft-free place (85 degrees) until double in bulk about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down. Let rise again until almost double in bulk, about 30-40 minutes. Divide dough into two parts. Roll one half at a time into oblong, about 15 by 9 inches. Spread with 2 tablespoons of softened butter and sprinkle with 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Roll up tightly, beginning at wide side. Seal well by pinching edges of roll together. Stretch roll slightly to even it out. Repeat with second half of dough. Using Grandpa's fishing line, cut into 1 inch slices. (Well,that is the old Iowa farm way of doing it, but you can use a piece of thin cooking twine, or cut with a sharp serrated knife.) Place a little apart in a greased 13 by 9 inch baking pan or pans. Cover and let rise until double in bulk, about 40 minutes. In meantime, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake about 30 minutes.
For caramel rolls, before placing the cut cinnamon rolls in the pan coat the pan with the melted butter, the sugar, water, and nuts. Place the cut cinnamon rolls on top of this mixture. Bake as above, and when done immediately invert on a large tray. Let pan stay over rolls a minute so that the butterscotch runs down over them. Serve!
Recipe created 1997-05-05.
