Eating Healthier in Today's World

Sticky Buns and Sweet Rolls or How To Satisfy Your Inner "BUNHEAD"

Fancy sweet rolls and buns are always a hit with the breakfast crowd or even the snack crowd around our home.  They are amazing served warm on a cold winter morning.   Nothing says lovin" as some wholesome bread mixed with some extra sweetness like frostings, or syrups or nuts.  The beauty of the rolled dough is that we can make some interesting shapes with the buns (like heart-shaped or a Christmas tree) as well as changing the recipe for the insides to make the same recipe of bread dough taste completely different by adding a different filling.  If you are a "BUNHEAD" (someone with a cinnamon bun addiction) or you have one or two in your family, try some of these great ideas for Rolled Sweet Buns.

First of all when making rolled buns you need to select a good dough.  Many times we use are basic 100% Wheat Bread dough and just make buns with some of the excess.  The best dough for rolled buns usually have some eggs in it which make it lighter and richer in texture.  Our Basic Sweet Dough recipe is also made with whole wheat flour but uses 4 eggs and is a good roll-making dough and turns out much fluffier than the regular bread dough recipe.  Another good dough recipe for rolls is this Creamy Wheat Cinnamon Roll recipe that uses part white flour and milk as well as the eggs, to make a great smooth dough that is rich tasting.  We also have a Basic White Bread recipe here that also can be used for not-so-healthy family members that insist on white bread only.

Once the dough has been made in the Bosch Universal Kitchen Machine, you can take it right out of the machine and start shaping your rolled buns.  When shaping the bread, roll one loaf's worth of dough into a big rectangle.  The basic cinnamon buns just have melted butter brushed on the rectangle of dough with about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of brown sugar sprinkled generously on top and 1 to 1 /2 Tbsp. of cinnamon sprinkled on top of that-chopped walnuts too, and a few raisins if you like.  Roll up jelly-roll fashion, sealing the end well.  Now, using a loop of dental floss or strong thread cut into the roll by crisscrossing the floss and pulling as seen in the picture.  Arrange comfortably close together on a greased baking pan, and let rise in a warm place until very soft.  Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 20 min. to 40 min. until nicely brown.  Thin rolls will only take about 20 min. and big puffy ones about 40 min.  To make the heart-shaped buns picture, just roll the buns half way from each side and then cut. (perfect for your favorite valentine)

Techniques for Making Great Sweet Rolls:

• Be careful to let the rolls rise until they have all their volume, a very soft dough.

• Increase the quantity of the frosting and the fillings by 15 to 20%. It’s hard to have too much.

• Roll the dough out until it is 1/4 to 3/8-inch thick. We know that makes the dough a little tougher and not as fluffy as rolls rolled to 1/2-inch thick. But people don’t care; they want lots of filling between thin layers of bread.

• Try applying the butter and sugar filling in three ways: cutting the butter into the cinnamon sugar with a pastry knife, creating a slurry with melted butter and sugar and spreading the slurry on the dough, and brushing the dough with melted butter and then the cinnamon and sugar. We liked the last. We heated the butter in the microwave until just melted and then spread it edge to edge on the rolled out dough. We sprinkled the cinnamon sugar over the melted butter and used the pastry brush to make sure that it was evenly distributed. This provided the best distribution of filling between the layers with less melting out to the bottom of the pan.

The richness of the roll, how many coils the spiral has, how big it is, and how many you get---all these depend on your whim.  If you roll the dough very thin and use lost of goodies, you can rapidly approach candy.  Big tender light rolls with a single graceful swirl of cinnamon my be just as appealing at the breakfast table, and a whole lot less reprehensible nutritionally.

Swedish Tea Ring

You can make a Swedish Tea Ring by using the same roll but don't slice the individual rolls.  Instead join the ends together to make a circle and place in a greased 10"or 12" round pan that is sprinkled with part of the following carmel bottom recipe.  With a clean pair of scissors, cut from the outside of the ring, almost to the center at 1 1/2" intervals.  Turn each section cut side up all around the ring.  Let rise until double and bake at 350 degrees F. for about 20 to 30 min. until golden brown.  Remove from the pans immediately and when it is cool you can ice it and sprinkle it with chopped nuts.

Another Carmel Bun recipe for Cinnamon Buns that you can put in the bottom of any of the sweet buns you make is cooked for one minute on the stovetop in a saucepan.  Pour it into the baking pans and sprinkle nuts, cherries or raisins over the sauce and then place the unbaked rolls over it and let them rise and bake.  When finished baking, invert the rolls immediately onto a plate with the gooey-ooey sweet carmel on top.  YUM!

Carmel Cinnamon Bun Filling:  Cook for one min. and then pour onto baking sheets and add rolls.

• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 Tbsp. vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 4 Tbsp. corn syrup
• 1/2 cup margarine or butter
• 1/3 tsp. salt

Poppy Seed Rolls are a favorite in Europe and many of the sweet pastries have poppy seed fillings.  Try this filling for a great change of pace and a not-too-sweet roll

Poppy Seed Filling:  Mix and cook on low until thick and place on prepared dough and roll.

• Grind 1 1/4 cup poppy seeds in a coffee mill or your Bosch Blender Attachment
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg 
• 1/2 cup chopped raisins

Orange Sweet Rolls  Experience the sweet flavor of ripe oranges in a delectable cinnamon roll.  These sweet rolls are laced with a delicate mixture of orange zest and orange juice and then drizzled with a light orange frosting. You will love these rolls!  Again use your choice of dough and add this scrumptious Orange Roll Filling and add a few pecan for good measure.  To finish the buns give them a generous coating of this  Orange Frosting.

 Orange Frosting - Mix in a small bowl creaming butter until fluffy, beating in icing sugar, peel and vanilla and adding enough orange juice until frosting consistency. 1 cup

• 1/4 cup butter softened
• 2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1 tsp. grated orange peel
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla
• 2-3 Tbsp. orange juice