How to Make a Cinnamon Roll ?

It was late in the afternoon and it was raining so hard as the storm is passing by southern Luzon, I can't do anything but just look through the window and  observe the surroundings as I marvel on the zero visibility of my neighbor's houses while both the fog and the rain cover the area here in Silang Cavite. Thinking of what to do to keep myself busy, it came to me to bake my own fresh smelling cinnamon rolls. I never made cinammon rolls for quite awhile. I thought of trying this new recipe I got and see how it differs from the first one I made months ago. This recipe calls for a combination of all-purpose flour and bread flour instead of using bread flour alone. I used to bake cinnamon rolls using bread flour alone, but I was never satisfied on the softness of the rolls.  Making use of all-purpose flour in combination with the bread flour provides an effect  of softer rolls, This one I would want to share with everbody else, having issue on hard cinammon rolls outcome. This is commonly encountered by home bakers. So here's how the recipe goes...

Here are the things I prepared:

1 1/2 c all-purpose Flour 

2 c bread flour 

1/4 c sugar

1 tspn yeast

4 tbspn shortening

1egg

1 1/2 c warm water

1/4 cup milk 

5 tbspn melted butter for brushing

1/3cup of all purpose flour for dusting

For the cinnamon syrup:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tspn cinnamon

5 tbspn water

1tspn canola oil ( or butter, whichever you prefer)

Follow these simple instructions:

Combine all dry ingredients.

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water (warm not hot).  Yeast should be frothy after about 5min. If yeast mixture do not become frothy, discard the yeast. This means that the yeast is already dead. Dissolve another teaspoon of yeast from a new package.

Combine the wet ingredients. 

Make a well at the center of the  dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients at the center.

 Mix until you form a dough. If the dough feels sticky, you can add all-purpose flour little by little until the dough is manageble to knead. 

Once you can hold the dough already without it sticking to your hand, get it and place on a clean  work surface dusted with flour. Knead by hand for at least 10 min (longer kneading time, the better). This will promote formation of gluten or the molecular cross-linking of the bread structure. This cross linking is responsible for having chewier baked bread.

After at least 10min of kneading, dab the dough surface with oil and place in a large bowl. Cover with cloth. Leave for about 30 min (take note that i used warm water for the dough so the yeast is active and my  house temperature is about 25-29 degC, If you're house temperature is colder, leave for a longer time), for the dough to rest. This will allow the yeast to work and release air (nor really air, but carbon dioxide as a by-product). After 30 min, punch down the dough to release the air.

With  the help of a rolling pin. Roll out the dough about  10x12 inch rectangle.

Brush butter onto the surface of the flattened dough. Put on brown sugar and sprinkle cinnamon all throughout the surface too. Spread the sugar and cinnamon uniformly on the surface.

Roll the dough into a log.

Cut into 1.5 inch thick. You will be able to yield more or less 18 cinnamon roll pieces. As you cut each piece, position them on a baking tray. Each piece should be placed about 1 inch apart to allow space for rising. Brush butter onto the rolls to prevent drying.

Leave  the dough for at least 2 hours in a warm area. My house is not warm enough so, I left mine overnight, about 6 hours. It's alright, I'm not in a hurry anyway to have these baked. I would want to have these rolls for the next day breakfast. And I want to eat cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven. Otherwise, if you want to have the rolls in a short time possible, you can set your oven at very low temperature, put the tray in, leave the oven door ajar (to allow humidity flow into the oven). Leave for 1hour proofing. In this proofing stage, yeast continues its job to ferment the flour. 

After the proofing step, the rolls should already double in size,  Bake for 20 min at 325deg. I bake my rolls at the topmost layer so the roll tops will brown nicely before the bottom does. When I use the middle layer, the top usually becomes pale, but bottom browns faster which i do not want to happen. If you use the  topmost layer, the radiating heat from the top metal (or ceiling)of your oven will make your bread top to brown faster than the bottom. 

After 20min of baking, take the baking tray out. Transfer the rolls on a cooling rack. 

While cooling ,combine 1/2 cup of sugar,1 tspn of cinnamon powder, 1tspn of oil and 5 tbspn of water. Mix thoroughly, then heat the mixture until sugar is dissolved. While hot pour to the top of the cinnamon rolls. Let them cool.
                              

If you prefer to serve them hot, you may, but if you'll have to pack them like for school snack, you have to let them cool totally so the syrup will set.