Melt in your mouth cinnamon rolls using only freshly milled whole grain flour! I was ecstatic to finally nail down a great recipe after many not so yummy attempts.
This recipe was a natural result of trying to make my recipes dual purpose. Why have a recipe for every single item you make? I like to make pizza dough and hamburger buns from my everyday bread recipe, dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls from my Easy 100% Whole Grain Challah recipe. It makes it so much easier to bake when you can use a few recipes to make myriads of your favorite foods.
Some Notes Before You Begin:
I try to keep my recipe posts short and sweet. No reminiscing about my childhood connections of cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning here! I do however have a few important things to talk about before you begin. That way you get the BEST results from this recipe!
Auto-Layse
The auto-layse step allows the gluten forming proteins in the flour to fully hydrate, making your bread easier to knead and giving the best texture possible without adding any white flour.
The initial step of mixing in the water,honey, salt, and yeast and then allowing the dough to rest is not optional. It truly does take at least 35 minutes for the whole grain flour to absorb all of that moisture. If you live in a dry climate it may even take a bit longer. If you’re worried about the yeast over proofing the dough you can omit it and about 1/4 cup of water from the recipe and wait until right before you begin kneading to add. This will mean the dough is a bit sticky at first, but it isn’t terrible and works in while you knead. I like to do this if I want the dough to have an extended auto-layse.
A Word About Kneading
If kneading by hand: I specify to knead in the bowl you mixed everything in because if you turn it out on a work surface the dough would be so sticky you would have to add flour just to make it workable. Adding more flour will create a dryer dough which results in crumbly loaves. The dough will be sticky on your hands for a bit, but it’s amazing to see the transformation of the dough. It goes from being sticky on your hands for the first 10 minutes to being delightfully supple and smooth out of nowhere. You will still have a bit on your hands, but you can pull it off and add to the dough before giving it a last knead and letting it go back to bowl.
If kneading with a machine such as a stand mixer, I recommend that you start kneading on the lowest setting and don’t let the mixer go too fast. The highest I put my stand mixer on is a two. You’ll know the dough is done kneading when the bottom of the dough is no longer stuck to the bottom of the bowl, and stays together in a nice roundish shape when the mixer is off and the dough hook is removed. I usually knead in my stand mixer for 7-10 minutes. Every batch will vary slightly in its kneading time.
A Quick Rest
Most recipes instruct you to have all of your pans ready to go before mixing up the dough, but Challah requires a bit more handling when making bread or cinnamon rolls. After kneading, let it rest for a few minutes while you get your baking pan ready to go. You don’t want to let it set so long it begins to rise, but allowing the gluten in the dough to rest for 5 minutes makes it easier to handle the dough while rolling it out.
That’s pretty much it! I try to keep my recipes simple without sacrificing quality or taste and I think this recipe is pretty straightforward. Whole grain milling can be a steep learning curve at first. Implementing techniques such as the auto-layse produces fluffier loaves with less kneading time.
Now for the recipe!
Easy 100% Whole Grain Challah Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 4 1/2 cups freshly milled hard white wheat flour
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp honey or sugar
- 1 3/4 cups warm water
- 1 tbsp instant yeast
- 1/4 cup melted butter or oil if using melted butter, allow to cool
- 1 egg
Filling
- 1/2 cup Butter or coconut oil softened, not melted
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- pinch sea salt
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered cane sugar
- 1/4-1/3 cups milk or dairy alternative of choice for a thicker glaze use lesser amount, thinner glaze use more
- 1 tsp pure vanilla
Instructions
- Mill the hard white wheat on the finest setting your mill will allow. 3 cups of grain usually yields 41/2 cups of flour
- In a large bowl, combine water, honey/sugar,salt and yeast, add flour and stir until flour and water are just incorporated. It's not time to knead yet! Allow to rest (called an auto-layse in the baking world) for 35-40 minutes. If you prefer a longer auto-layse, simply hold back 1/4 cup of the water and yeast and do not add until just before kneading. A longer auto-layse produces a deeper flavor and can be nice for when you want a jump start for the next day, but isn't necessary.
- Once the dough has rested, add the oil/butter and egg.
- If kneading by hand: Knead the dough in the bowl: press down in the center of the dough with a fist, then pull up one of the sides over onto the opposite side. give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat for 15-20 minutes or until the dough stays "balled up" and easily pulls from your hand. The dough will be sticky at first, but becomes less so as the gluten develops.
- If kneading with a stand mixer: using a dough hook attachment, start the mixer off on a lower setting (I usually just start on 1 on my Kitchen Aid) until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Then put the mixer on a 2 or 3 and allow it to finish up that way. I've found that using a stand mixer cuts the kneading time in half and usually only takes 7-10 minutes to knead. Always go by how the dough looks over the time it has been kneading. Once the dough is clinging to itself, and no longer attached to the bottom of the bowl, I know the dough is almost done. You can turn the machine off and feel the dough with your hands. If it doesn't stick to your hand too badly and looks pliable you should be good to go!
- Allow the dough to rest for a few minutes while you butter or oil a 9"x13" baking dish. Also prepare a lightly floured work surface and turn out the dough onto it. Lightly dust both sides of the dough and begin rolling out the dough with a lightly floured rolling pin. I roll my dough until it is about 1/2 thick in a rectangular shape.
- make the filling by incorporating the ingredients together with a fork or with a mixer. By not melting the butter, you are making it easier to roll up the dough without leaking filling. Spread the filling evenly over the entire dough with your hands or a spoon. (I usually end up using my hands). Once all of the filling has been spread, fold in the two short ends by about 1" then choose one of the longer ends and begin folding as tightly as you can manage without tearing the dough. I usually start with the long end farthest away from me and roll towards myself. once done rolling, make sure the dough is sealed by lightly pressing the dough together. Using a very sharp chef's knife, cut into 10 slices about 1" thick each. I don't do exact measurements! A thinner slice will result in thinner cinnamon rolls.
- Place rolls in the prepared baking dish, cover the rolls with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest and rise until doubled. While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350 °F
- Place the baking dish on a middle rack of the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. My oven usually takes about 28 minutes, so start with 25 minutes and if the rolls aren't golden enough or look a bit doughy, keep them in for a few minutes longer.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool while you make the powdered sugar glaze. Drizzle the glaze all over the rolls, then cut and serve. If there's any leftovers, store them in a container with a tight fitting lid and keep at room temperature if you plan to eat them within 48 hours, or freeze for up to 2 weeks.
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