CINNAMON ROLLS WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Makes 16 cinnamon rolls
Common sense says we should have a healthier start to the day than cinnamon rolls. I hope you have that common sense most of the time. But sometimes, like Christmas morning or other family gatherings, we throw common sense aside and eat these cinnamon rolls for breakfast. There are 360 days a year for green salads and turkey burgers.
- For the cinnamon rolls
- 300 grams All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husks
- 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon instant yeast
- ¼ cup (50 grams) organic cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (125 grams) warm water
- ⅓ cup (100 grams) whole milk, at room temperature
- For the filling
- 8 tablespoons (115 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ⅔ cup (140 grams) organic cane sugar
- 4 tablespoons (58 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 batch Cream Cheese Frosting
Make the dough. Put the flour, brown sugar, psyllium husks, salt, and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until the dry ingredients are aerated. Add the sugar and cinnamon and mix until everything is incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and add the warm water and milk. If the dough feels dry, dribble in a bit more water. Keep the mixer running until the dough is fluffy and slumping off the paddle, about 5 minutes.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm space until the dough has hydrated and become kneadable, about 90 minutes.
Melt the butter. Set a large skillet over low heat and melt the butter.
Roll out the dough. Set half of the ball of dough onto a lightly greased piece of parchment paper. Lay another piece of paper on top of it. Going slowly, roll out the dough until it is about ½ inch thick and has reached the edges of the parchment paper. Peel off the top piece of paper.
Fill the rolls. Brush half of the melted butter over the top of the dough, leaving a 2-inch edge of dough with no butter on it all around the dough. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle a third of it over the butter. Grab the bottom of the parchment paper and pull it toward you a bit. The edge of the dough should flop over onto the filling. If not, give it a nudge with your fingers. Press it down onto the filling, then make another roll of the dough. Make a tight roll, using the parchment paper as your guide, moving slowly and patting the dough down gently as you go. If the filling oozes out as you reach the end, that’s okay. That’s a sign you’re going to have good cinnamon rolls.
Cut the rolls. Grab a long piece of dental floss. Nudge the middle of the dental floss under the log of dough, about 2 inches from the end. Bring the two edges of the floss together to cross over the top. By doing this, you will slice a piece of the log. This makes for lovely, neat pieces instead of jagged hunks. Make your way down the log of dough with the dental floss. This should give about 8 pieces of dough.
Repeat the process with the remaining dough and filling.
Rise the rolls. Pour 2 tablespoons of the melted butter into the bottom of a pie pan, then repeat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and another pie pan. (A glass-bottomed pie pan works best.) Sprinkle the remaining sugar on top of the melted butter. Put the sliced rolls into the buttered pans, filling side up, tightening the rolls if they have begun to unravel. Set them aside to rise for at least 1 hour. The rolls will fill out.
Prepare to bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the rolls. Bake the cinnamon rolls until they are firm to the touch when you press on both sides of one, but still with some give, about 25 minutes.
Allow the rolls to cool for 10 minutes, then invert them onto two plates.
Frost the rolls. Frost the rolls with the cream cheese frosting when they have come to room temperature.
