Breakfast Rolls - 4 Versions

Traditional Cinnamon
No Topping

Okay I don't know a single person who doesn't love breakfast rolls. Heck that "Yummy-Bun" place, you know the one I am talking about, makes a fortune off just that. People buy them like crazy in the can to bake at home, from their local bakery and more. Thing is, they are actually super easy to make and you don't have to limit yourself to just 1 type.

Orange Rolls
Cream Cheese Frosting

So I am going to break it down for you with 1 dough recipe, one I use for practically everything and show you different fillings you can do to keep things interesting at home. Today I will be giving you 4 different fillings and 4 different frostings.

All are super simple to do and you can prep all this the night before and just toss in the oven in the morning. (Which I love because I can prep everything in like 30 minutes before bed, after the kids are asleep so they are not under foot, and then just bake fresh in the morning.)

Candied Bacon
Maple Cream Frosting

Nothing will get the family out of bed and into the kitchen faster, willing to do what ever chore you want them to, like the smell of Breakfast Rolls roaming through the house. ^_~  Just remember that with great power comes great responsibility.

Before you start you need to get the most important thing....The dough. My "Go To" Dough. I swear by this dough and if I could only have one recipe in my kitchen it would be this.

I swear it is the best dough recipe to know because I have yet to find a dough related item - From English Muffins to Doughnuts to Pizza that I could not use this dough for. Learn it, love it, astound people by it! Mwahahahah! ~coughs~ okay, back to the task at hand.

What you need to prep and do:
 *Prep your choice of filling - Recipes provided below
 *Prep Go To Dough - Follow to step 13
 *Prep your choice of frosting - Recipes provided below

Now we will start on step 14 lol

14. Preheat oven to 350F.
15. Take the dough out of the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface.

Strawberry

16. Roll out gently until you have a rectangle that is 15 by 24 inches - Get a ruler, lol.
17. Smear your choice of prepped filling over the dough. Leave a 1/2 inch clean edge around the dough.
18. Roll up snuggly but not too tight.
19. Cut into equal slices using a serrated knife, careful not to squish your roll. 1.5 inches is my preferred thickness.
20. Place in a greased pan and cover. (With a cloth and let rise until double if you are baking now. With plastic wrap taunt if rising in the fridge overnight.)
21. Bake 20-30 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
22. Let cool ten minutes before frosting with preferred recipe.
23. Serve warm!

It is really that simple. Now for filling and toppings!!!!

Fillings

Traditional Cinnamon

• 3/4 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Room Temp Unsalted Butter
• 2 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon

Place all in a bowl and mix together well before smearing on the dough.

Strawberry

• 2 Cups Thinly Sliced Fresh Strawberries
• 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
• 1/2 Cup Room Temp Unsalted Butter

Smear butter over the dough. Mix together cinnamon and sugar before sprinkling evenly over butter. Toss strawberry slices in cornstarch before placing on top of the sugar.

Candied Bacon

• 1 Cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar
• 1 Cup Room Temp Unsalted Butter
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup Chopped Cooked Bacon (Real Bacon Bits work)

Combine the sugar, butter, cinnamon and extract until smooth. Smear over the dough. Sprinkle with bacon.

 Orange

• 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
• Zest of 1 Medium Orange
• 1/2 Cup Room Temp Unsalted Butter
• 2 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Combine everything in a bowl until smooth. Smear over the dough.

 Frostings


Classic Cream Cheese

• 8 Ounces Softened Cream Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Sifted Confectioners Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract

Mix together in a bowl until smooth before smearing on warm rolls.

Berries & Cream

• 8 Ounces Softened Cream Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Strawberry Preserves
• 1/4 Cup Sifted Confectioners Sugar
• 1/2 Teaspoon Lemon Juice

Mix together in a bowl until smooth before smearing on warm rolls.

Maple Cream

• 1/4 Cup Softened Cream Cheese
• 1 Teaspoon Maple Flavoring (Found with extracts)
• 1 1/4 Cup Sifted Confectioners Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Room Temp Unsalted Butter

Mix together in a bowl until smooth before smearing on warm rolls.

Orange Glaze

• 1 Cup Sifted Confectioners Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tablespoon Pulp Free Orange Juice

Whisk together until smooth before drizzling over warm rolls.

Traditional Cinnamon W/ Classic Frosting

And that's all they wrote!

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The "Go To" Dough

Every baker has a recipe that is their "Go To." Heck I have several depending on the occasion. For cookies, for pie, for chicken, etc. Now I can safely say I have a "Go To" recipe for dough. Over the past week I have been on a baking kick and all of it was dough related. Now, this isn't really that uncommon for me. Back when I live in Ga., friends were always over at the house eating up cinnamon rolls, bread, coffee cakes, cakes, etc.

Thing is I had a different recipe for everything. So if I wanted to make say Pizza and Pretzels one evening and have cinnamon rolls ready for the next morning and bread loaves for lunch the next day I had to make 4 different batches of dough. For some not a big deal thanks to the Bread Machine. For me, big deal since I believe bread machines are the Devil! LOL

But 4 batches of dough in 1 evening can press even the best home baker. Now, not for more than anything because of time restraints. Dough takes time, even if you can multitask. It's gotta rise, once, maybe twice and that usually takes an hour or even 2 depending on where you are.

Yeah, well it did. Thanks to a find on the internet and some tweaks of my own I now have a recipe I can use for bread, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, pull apart brown & serve rolls, pizza, big fat yeast rolls & cinnamon rolls. (Lord only knows what else. This is just what I have managed this week.)

Now, this recipe is a rip off of a recipe for yeast rolls but I have found it very very useful. So here we go!!!!!

• 5 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 2.5 Tablespoon Rapid Rise Yeast (That's right, tablespoon! Skip packets, buy the jar.)
• 2 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
• 2.5 Cups Water or Milk - Heated to 120-130F 

1. In your mixing bowl combine 2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar and salt.
2. Mix until combined.
3. With a paddle attachment and your mixer on low, slowly stream in the water (or milk).
4. Mix well.
5. Add oil.
6. Slowly add more flour, half a cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the bowl.
7. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead the dough vigorously 7-8 minutes.
8. Add more flour if too sticky but do not add too much where it is dry. A little stick is okay! Form into a ball.
9. Grease a large bowl that you can fit into another bowl with shortening.
10. Drop the dough into the bowl and then turn over to fully coat in shortening so it does not dry out during the rise.
11. Cover with a dry cloth.
12. Take another large bowl, fill 1/3 the way up with hot water and place your dough bowl on top of it. (This makeshift water batch will help the dough rise faster.)
13. Let rise until the double in size. 10-20 minutes. (Seriously, it will rise fast with the heat from the water and all that yeast.)
14. Now, just use it as per any other recipes instructions for what ever you need.

• For yeast rolls: pat out into a rectangle, about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into rectangles, place in greased pan, cover, let rise a second time, bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes.
• For Loaf Bread: Punch dough down, divide in half. Form into loaves, place into well greased breadpan, brush with butter. Cover and rise until double in size, bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. If unsure if done, carefully roll bread out of pan and thump the bottom with your finger. If it sounds hollow, it's done.
• For Pizza: Rip off baseball sized clumps, form into a pall, roll out to half the thickness you want, place into greased round cake pans, cover and let rise 5 minutes. Parbake for 10 minutes 400. Add toppings, place back in oven and cook until cheese has melted and crust is golden. (Or freeze parbaked crusts for later!)
• For Cheesybread/Bread Sticks: Place dough into a well buttered 9x13 pan and press out to fill whole pan. Spread softened butter over the top and either A) Cover with 2 cups of 3 blend Italian cheese or B) Sprinkle with Parmasean Cheese and Italian Seasonings. Cover, let rise 5-10 minutes, bake at 400 until cheese is bubbling or golden brown.
• For Hotdog/Burger Buns: Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick and cut. Circles for burgers, rectangles for hotdogs. Fold dough over for hotdogs. Stack 2 circles on top of  each other for burgers. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes or until golden. 
• Pull Apart Brown & Serve: Butter down a large glass pan. Flatten out dough to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into small squares. Put in pan, cover and rise a second time. Now, either par bake for 7 minutes at 400 to freeze for use later or brush with melted butter and bake for 10-12 minutes and serve.
• For Cinnamon Rolls - Roll out dough to 15 by 24 inch large rectangle. Coat with favorite cinnamon roll filling, roll up, cut into rolls 1.5 inches thick, place in greased pan, cover with cloth and rise a second time, then bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Top with favorite icing. (If you want these to be overnight rolls, once in pan, cover with plastic wrap, place in fridge overnight and then just uncover and bake straight out of the fridge at 350 for 25 minutes.) **I like to add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon to the flour as I am making the dough for these.**
• For Pretzels: Cut into strips, roll out into a thin rope, form into a pretzel, dip in a mixture of 8 parts water 1 part baking soda. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet, sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake at 425 for 7 minutes or until golden.
• For Pretzel Dogs: Cut into strips, wrap around a hot dog, dip in same mixture as pretzels, sprinkle with salt, bake for 10 minutes or until golden.
• For Bread Bowls: Cut dough into 6 pieces, form into balls, place on 2 large lines cookie sheets, cover and let rise for 10 minutes, brush with egg whites, bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until dark brown. 
• For English Muffins: After first rise, roll out until it is a little under a 1/2 inch thick. Cut out with a glass, empty can or cookie cutter, dust with corn meal on top and bottom. Cover and let rise a second time. Heat up your griddle, that's right, your griddle with some grease. Pan fry them on each side for 7-12 minutes on medium heat. (Push down is getting slightly too puffy with your spatula.) Let cool fully, cut in half, toast.

And there you have it!!!! My Go To recipe!

Examples of things from this week. Sorry the pictures suck, took them with my phone camera.

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Buttermilk Biscuits

Well it has been a few weeks since I have managed to make a post. I hope everyone has had a wonderful start to the new year and had just a great Christmas and/or Holiday Season in general. Out here in the Gibson home we did but it was bittersweet.

My husband found out right before Christmas that they were terminating his position with his employer. Not that they were firing him but just removing the job completely. Needless to say it has been a hard month to deal with that reality.

Thankfully the job lasted till December 31st, which he spent part of the time on vacation (paid) and the other part in training with the company in various places.  He spent 2 weeks doing nothing but traveling up and down the west coast. Not fun but you do what you gotta do to keep going.

Now we are in January and he has been sent to a temp position in another state for the next 30 days, alone. Hopefully he will find a new job before the 30 days is up. If not, we have back up plan on top of back up plan to keep going. Sadly we will have to move since there is nothing in town. So already started packing so we are ready to move the day he finds a new job.

In the mean time it is just myself, the kids and a lot of the hubby knives, lol. He couldn't take them with him, lol. Anywho, kids have been down lately. Heck I have been down. Don't want to bake a lot for two reasons.... 1) I just don't feel that bloody creative right now and I need to pack to be ready to move the moment he finds something. 2) I don't want the kids to build a relationship with food that they eat for comfort. Just leads to a lot of bad.

But I have turned to a few food related items for the kiddos anyways. Last night was pancakes and bacon for dinner. The kids just adore breakfast for dinner. Tonight was buttermilk biscuits and ham with fruit. Won't keep this up but it is nice to just be able to relax and let them have fun with dinner.

Each child takes their biscuits differently. One just likes them plain, as is. The other wouldn't have one without strawberry jam and the last will only take will some butter and honey. ~shrugs~ What can a mom do? I guess just make sure each one gets the right plate when dinner is served. LOL

Oh well, hope these pics tide everyone over till things calm down around here, the hubby finds a new job and we get moved. Also, gonna take this chance to point up to the - My Recipe Cook - tab and say - Go buy my book! LOL Hey, we are gonna have moving costs to cover soon. ^_~

See you all later!

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