Husband’s Pick #2: Cinnamon Rolls

Cravings have really been taking over, impairing our decision to eat healthy this year and cinnamon rolls were no exception! We live fairly close to the mall and we’ve already made at least a trip to Cinnabon in the last month. We think about going again but we decide against it because we’re responsible adults.. and would drive even further for Coldstone (smh).

Anyway, since I was on a roll last weekend, I wanted to make something special for my husband when he woke up and decided to make cinnamon rolls! I used this recipe. It was wonderful! I did use yeast that was probably a couple months too old and it took a while for the dough to rise but it did eventually rise.

dough- before

dough- after

I didn’t think it would rise for the second proof but it did and all other steps after that was a breeze. I mixed the frosting by hand instead of a mixer as suggested in the recipe and that was difficult. It was also a cold day so use a mixer to help you out and soften everything out a bit.

 

butter, sugar and cinnamon

frosting

By far, I think this is the best recipe for cinnamon rolls and I’m definitely going to make more in the future!

cut and ready for second proof

ready to bake!

post bake

 

So try it out and make some cinnamon rolls this weekend!

Cece

Husband’s Pick: Pretzels

This past weekend my husband suggested that I use my sourdough starter to make something new: pretzels. I’m sure he had intentions to encourage me to broaden my knowledge but I’m also sure that he was probably craving pretzels as well. Either way, we both benefited this weekend.

I actually wanted to bake another round of bread this weekend but I’ve had such a hard time lately that I decided to just skip it. The morning of my levain hadn’t risen as much as I would have liked it to anyway. And just when I decided to discard the whole thing, I decided to use it for the pretzels. After limited searching, I came across a recipe on the King Arthur Flour website and it seemed to fit what I was looking for. Luckily, I had everything on hand. I usually don’t have dry milk on hand but I had to use it for something else earlier in the year (SCORE!).

The recipe I used was this one. I pretty much followed everything listed except the last part when they brushed sugar(?) on the pretzels to achieve the brownish color. I read a lot of the reviews and other pretzel recipes and they all pretty much mentioned the baking soda bath that this recipe lacked. I agree with most of the commentators, how can it be a pretzel if it doesn’t look/taste like one? Then it would just be… bread right?

Starting out was pretty simple. Mix everything and let it rise:

levain

everything mixed

rise

Then it was forming and making sure it didn’t dry out:

I thought I did pretty decent with the twist!! Especially for it being my first time. The only thing I wish I had was pretzel salt. My husband LOVES that! But he’s trying to cut back on salt, so it really didn’t matter that I didn’t have it. Kosher salt it is!

At first, I had taken it out too early. My husband took a bite and we can clearly see that it was still a little under cooked and so back into the oven it went. It looked nicer with a deeper brown color. They were good. I could definitely improve but it was a good first try and it fulfilled a craving. They were chewy and salty. My husband said it was a little sour from the starter but not overwhelming. I wish they were a little bigger like at Wetzel’s Pretzels! I should try making pizza pretzels…

Process: 10/10
Taste: 6/10

Cece