I'm coming to terms with the fact that kneading is just not my thing. I think I get the hang out if it, and the next thing you know my hands (and entire kitchen for that matter) are covered in sticky dough and flour. So, as you can imagine, it frustrates me that most of the best foods in life require this skill. I have yet to figure out the extent to which a dough hook can work for kneading. Anyone know?

But oh...this bread. It looked so incredible I had to give it a try. After making this four times I finally got the hang of kneading. The dough failed before I even got to roll it out the first time, the next two I finished but weren't quite perfect, and the last one was great. This recipe only has one minute of kneading, so I realize a 25 percent success rate is somewhat pathetic. Oh well. None of mine rose as much as the bread on 'Top with Cinnamon' where I got the recipe from, but it's so darn amazing I don't even mind. First of all, pull apart bread is fun. Everyone loves fun food. Secondly, every piece is like the inside of a cinnamon roll. Sometimes I feel like the outside of cinnamon rolls are wasted bites. I just want the inside, and I'm trying to quickly get the other part over with. Other examples of this: pecan pinwheels, grilled cheese sandwiches, pop tarts. It's amazing the extent to which I analyze food.

It seems like there are many steps to this recipe, and don't get me wrong, there are. However, if you aren't a terrible kneader like myself, this recipe is relatively simple and made from things you probably already have on hand. By the third loaf I felt like a pro! Enjoy!

Cinnamon Roll Pull Apart Bread
Recipe from Top With Cinnamon
and Inspired by Joy the Baker's Cinnamon-Sugar Pull apart bread

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp dried active yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cornstarch

1/4 cup butter, melted

For the Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
hot water

**I found the pictures of the process extremely helpful, but unfortunately I made this at night all three times, so phone pictures will have to do for now!

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, place the cornstarch, sugar, yeast, salt and 2 cups of flour.

Heat the milk and butter together in a small saucepan until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and add the water. Let this cool for about a minute, then add the vanilla, and pour all the liquid into the bowl with the flour. Stir this all together until all the dry ingredients are moistened.

Start the mixer on a low speed as you add the eggs one at a time until they're just incorporated. Stop the mixer and add 1/2 cup more flour to the bowl. Mix again at low speed for about half a minute. Add 2 more tbsp of flour and mix in on medium speed until you get a smooth, slightly sticky dough (about 45 seconds).

On a work surface sprinkled with 2 tbsp of flour, knead the dough until it's not sticky (about 1 minute). Place the dough in a large, oiled bowl and cover it with cling film. Leave the dough to rise in a warm place until it's doubled in size which should take about an hour.


While the dough rises, make the filling by combining the dark brown sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch in a small bowl.

Once the dough is ready, lightly flour your work surface and gently tip the dough onto it, sprinkling a little more flour on top of the dough. Roll the dough out into roughly a 40 x 40 cm square, then brush about 2/3 of the butter over the entire surface of the dough.

         

Sprinkle 3/4 of the filling mixture evenly on top of the butter on the dough, then roll the dough tightly into a log.

Place the log horizontally on your work surface. Take a piece of thread and place it vertically on your work surface. With the thread still vertical, place one end of the log on top of the middle of the thread. Move the thread to the left or right, so it is still under the dough, and is 1 cm in from the end of the log. Take the ends of the thread and hold them above the log. Cross them over each other once and pull them away from each other until the thread has cut through the dough completely.
**This description confused me. You are basically tying a knot over the dough and pulling it tight until it cuts through. Then you tie another knot...and another. Repeat until you've cut all the dough into 1 cm thick slices.

 

On a piece of baking paper, use a rolling pin to flatten each slice to 3-4 mm thick *** I used the lazy method which I like to call steam rolling. Flattened them all at once! Brush the top of each flattened slice with a little of the remaining melted butter, ans sprinkle on about 3/4 tsp of filling mixture. Place them on top of each other so you have 4-5 stacks each containing about 5 slices.

Grease a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place your stacks of dough into the greased loaf pan, cover loosely with clingfilm, and leave to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes (I preheat the oven for a few minutes, turn it off, and then put the bowl in there with the door cracked..pictures show my before and after).

Bake the bread for 25-35 minutes when it should be golden brown on top. Let it cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Meanwhile make the glaze by stirring the vanilla then the hot water, a little at a time into the powdered sugar in a small bowl until you get a slightly runny icing.

Run a butter knife around the edge of the pan and gently tip the loaf out onto the wire rack. Put the bread the right way round again and then brush with the glaze.

Tailgate food. Can anyone ever get enough? I know I can't.  I could eat appetizers every meal for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy. I would also be 400 lbs..but still happy. Something about bite-sized foods always gets me. I'll sit there and eat 10 mini pigs in a blanket without ever thinking I've had 3 full hotdogs worth. Whoops.

This weekend was the Duke-UNC football game. I've mentioned before how my brother and I are UNC fans (he's a 2009 grad), and the rest of my family is full of Duke fans. This year the game happened to fall on Thanksgiving weekend, and it was at Duke. This meant I was forced to tailgate with the enemy since I was home for break anyways. Truthfully, I didn't mind because I have been bookmarking tailgate recipes all year just dying for a chance to make them. It's not that I couldn't come to a UNC tailgate with a batch of mini hotdogs in hand...but it is.

So, when my mom told me we were having a big tailgate I immediately started listing off the items I planned to make. I ended up limiting it to buffalo chicken dip (since I have never made anything that receives as amazing of a reaction as this always does), caramelized onion dip and mini homemade pretzels stuffed with ham and cheese. We of course brought many other things as well, but those were my addition. I'll stop rambling now and get to this recipe because these were GREAT! Simple, delicious and awesome for a tailgate. We served them with honey mustard which was especially good. And on top of everything, they have yeast...still conquering my fear of yeast one recipe at a time. I see a great friendship in our future.

Oh, and UNC won. Go heels!


Ham and Cheese Pretzel Bites

Recipe from Pennies on a Platter

Yield: 48 bites

1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast (or instant yeast)
2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon packed brown sugar, divided
1/4 cup warm water (110-115˚F)
1 cup warm milk (110-115˚F)
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
1/2 cup finely chopped ham (about 3 ounces)
1/2 cup shredded cheese of choice (I used cheddar)
6 cups water
4 teaspoons baking soda
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1-2 Tablespoons coarse salt

Combine the yeast, 1 tsp brown sugar, and warm water in a large bowl. Set aside until foamy, 5-8 minutes.  (If using the instant yeast, you can skip this step and just add it to the flour.) In another bowl, stir together the remaining 2 Tbsp brown sugar and warm milk until dissolved.

Add 2 1/2 cups flour and milk mixture to the yeast. Stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Add the remaining flour as needed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times, forming a smooth ball.

Brush the inside of a large clean bowl with olive oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm, draft free area for about 2 hours, until dough has doubled in size and bubbles appear on the surface.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Lightly dust your hands and rolling pin with flour. Roll one of the four sections into a 12×4-inch rectangle. With the long side facing you, gently press 1/4 of the ham and cheese into the bottom third of the dough, and roll as tightly as possible, starting with the end that has the filling. Cut into 12 1-inch pieces and transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining 3 portions of the dough.

Let rest, uncovered, at room temperature for 30 minutes. (Again, if using instant yeast you may choose to skip this step as it only requires one rise.) Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400˚F.

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the baking soda and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Boil pretzels in batches, cooking about 20 seconds each, turning once. They should be slightly puffed. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them back to the baking sheets.

Bake until puffed and golden-brown, about 15 minutes.

Brush warm pretzel bites with melted butter and sprinkle with salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.

At long last, I worked up the courage to try a recipe with yeast. Thank goodness because I don't know how I could have survived another day without these cinnamon rolls. I'm not sure what scared me off from yeast my whole life. Kneading, maybe? I now know my mixer handles that part. I honestly didn't even know what yeast looked like. How can you be terrified of something you've never even seen? I pictured something along the lines of baking soda or baking powder. That's a negative.

But the funny part about it is that some of my favorite things (read: carbs, carbs, carbs) require yeast. I don't know what I was thinking not at least attempting a recipe with it before now. I must admit I'm still a little scared of active yeast since it requires "warm" water.  The use of the word warm throws me off. Warm is subjective in my book. I'll just save that one for another day.

Back to the point: these rolls are incredible. They are light and fluffy with an incredible glaze over the top. They are also pretty easy to make. Most cinnamon rolls are thick and filling. I can't tell you how many times I've passed the IKEA cinnamon rolls or the Cinnabon stand and resisted because I just couldn't think of a justification for eating one. I can definitely justify these. They taste light, therefore they are light. Right? Whether you are conquering irrational yeast fears or not, these rolls are a must-make!


Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze
Recipe From My Kitchen Cafe

*Note: to make these rolls ahead of time, once the rolls are formed and placed on the baking sheet, immediately cover them with lightly greased plastic wrap and refrigerate them; do not let them rise. Refrigerate overnight, up to 16 hours. Let the rolls sit at room temperature, covered, until they have doubled in size about 3-4 hours and then uncover and bake as directed. The rolls can also be frozen at the same point as mentioned above (cover with a layer of greased plastic wrap and a top layer of tin foil). They will need to sit at room temperature for 9-11 hours to defrost and rise before baking.

Makes 12 rolls
Rolls:
¾ cup buttermilk, warm (I pour the buttermilk in a glass liquid measuring cup and microwave for 1 minute on 50% power)
6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs
4 ¼ cups (21 ¼ ounces) flour
¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces) sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
Filling:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Glaze (or use the delicious cream cheese frosting from this recipe):
1 ½ cups (6 ounces) confectioners sugar
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons buttermilk or milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the dough, whisk the warmed buttermilk and butter together in a large liquid measuring cup. Combine 4 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt together in a standing mixer fitted with dough hook (or you can use a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or electric handheld mixer). With the mixer on low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and eggs and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Increase the mixer to medium speed and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes (knead for 15-18 minutes by hand). If after 5 minutes of kneading, the dough is still overly sticky, add 1/4 cup flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough clears the sides of the bowl but has a slight tacky feel when pressed between your fingertips. (See this tutorial for a visual.)
Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover the top tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, around 2 to 2 ½ hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
Meanwhile, lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish (if doubling the recipe, I’ve found using a large rimmed baking sheet, 11X17-inches, works great). In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.
When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter (I use my trusty roul’pat for this step) and press it into a 16 by 12-inch rectangle (if you have doubled the recipe, split the dough in half and roll out one half at a time). Gently brush the softened butter over the rectangle, using an offset spatula or rubber spatula. Sprinkle on the brown sugar mixture, leaving a 1/2-inch border along the top and bottom edges. Lightly use the palms of your hands to press the brown sugar mixture into the butter, adhering it to the dough.
Lift the longest edge closest to you and begin rolling the dough into a tight log. Pinch the seam closed and roll the log so it is seam side down. Gently stretch the log to be 18 inches in length with an even diameter all the way throughout and pat the ends to even them up.
Using a serrated knife, slice the log into 12 evenly sized rolls (or more if you like your rolls thinner). Arrange the rolls cut side down on the prepared baking pan and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden on top and cooked through but not overly browned.
While the rolls are baking, mix the softened cream cheese and buttermilk together until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix. Whisk in the confectioner’s sugar. Add additional milk or buttermilk one teaspoon at a time until desired glaze consistency is reached. It should be thick yet pourable. Drizzle the warm rolls with the glaze.