Easy Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls

On Sunday, I woke up with a whole day ahead of me and no rush to do stuff by Monday. So I set to the task of making cinnamon rolls, using the recipe I posted two years ago, with the addition of chopped balsamic strawberries snuck into the dough. As much as I love the result of that recipe, the fact remains that it took me a full five hours from start to finish.

See, I love cinnamon rolls, but I make no secret about the fact that I am one of the laziest people in the world (okay, total exaggeration). So I searched for another recipe that would only require one hour (one and a half, at a push), and my other must have is that the recipe uses yeast instead of baking powder or baking soda. There's just something about it, you know? Cinnamon rolls are essentially a bread... so, I want the bread texture that yeast yields but minus the half day of waiting.

I found just the right one, after searching for two days and trying out multiple recipes (thank God for large families!); I think this is it. This works perfectly, and dare I say it... is actually better than my previous one! So without further ado, here's the recipe, adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction.

Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls with a Dark Chocolate Glaze

Yields 12(ish) rolls

• 2 3/4 all purpose flour
• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant dried yeast
• 120ml water
• 60ml milk 
• 40g unsalted butter
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cocoa powder for dusting

Filling:

• 40g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Dark Chocolate Glaze (actually a simple ganache):

• 1/4 cup double cream
• 150g dark chocolate, chopped

1. Mix 2 1/4 cup flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl and set aside. Reserve 1/2 cup flour for step 3
2. Heat the water, milk, and butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan then pour into the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to get all the ingredients wet
3. Add the egg and the reserved 1/2 cup flour, mix until a soft dough forms
4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 3-4 minutes, then place the dough in a lightly greased bowl (wipe down a large mixing bowl with some oil or butter). Allow to sit for 10 minutes
5. After 10 minutes, roll the dough out into roughly a 14x8 rectangle, spread the butter over it and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mix (stir the cinnamon and sugar together into a small bowl), and dark chocolate chips
6. Roll the dough (long edge) into itself and cut the log into 1 inch pieces, arrange the rolls cut side up in a lightly greased and floured 8" round baking tin. Cover the rolls with a clean cloth and allow to sit in a warm, dry place for 1 hour
7. When the hour is up, the dough should have plumped up into fat little rolls, preheat the oven to 180°C, brush the top of the rolls with milk and dust with cocoa powder and bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are a golden brown
8. Cool the rolls on a wire rack for 10 minutes. In the meantime, make the dark chocolate glaze by heating the cream in a saucepan, then pour over the chopped chocolate and stir until it melts and comes together. Pour the glaze over the rolls right before serving and enjoy! 

Sweet & Savoury Pizza

The first time we attempted to make pizza dough was a bit of a mess... Al and I had neglected to read the whole recipe and used the wrong type of yeast. We just sorta... rolled with it (gettit?). Yikes. So, as I had a bit of free time this week, I thought I'd give it another shot. This time, I made sure I had all the ingredients needed and read it word for word, and all the comments, and various other recipes to cross check if it would work.

This recipe for the pizza dough is incredibly simple, it only takes an hour minimum to rise, but you can keep it overnight if you would prefer a lighter, softer crust. I usually like my pizza crust a little on the crispy side, but as it was far too late for pizza when I made the dough last night, I decided to let is rest and have it today instead.

My family's always been a bit torn when it comes to pizza topping, as my dad likes the spicy stuff, mum prefers the hawaiian, and my siblings are all over the topping chart. I do think that I'm the only one in the house who appreciates vegetarian pizzas, so today I was on a mission to civilize. I wanted to highlight the freshness of the ingredients, the mix and play of flavours, and just really... to let the fresh toppings speak for themselves. No sauce was prepared for these mini pizzas, and instead I just slathered on various cheeses.

Let's not waste anymore of your time, as you'll be knead-ing (heh) it while you wait for the dough to rise before dinner time.

Easy Peasy Crispy Pizza Crust
Courtesy of thekitchn.com

• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp sea salt

1. In a large heavy mixing bowl, pour the lukewarm water over the yeast and let it sit untouched for around 10 minutes. Then stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve the yeast
2. Add the flour and salt, then combine with the spoon until you get a messy-ish, but dry (as in doesn't stick to your fingers to create a webbed look) dough
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it gently for around 5 minutes. Pop the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a clean, damp cloth to let it rest and rise for a minimum of 1 hour
4. If you're not using the dough immediately, then just put it into a ziploc bag, or wrap in clingwrap, then just leave it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Before using, be sure to take it out and let it sit on the counter for at least 30 minutes
5. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 200C/fan, cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle a tsp or less of semolina onto the paper then with your lightly floured hands, spread the dough out using your fingertips into the desired shape and thickness
6. Drizzle with olive oil, and then pop your toppings on. Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden

I'll also share the two toppings I prepared today with you here, but really I just don't wanna forget what I put on so I can recreate them soon.

Pear and Gorgonzola Pizza

• 1/2 golden pear, peeled and sliced thinly
• Gorgonzola cheese
• Light mozzarella, sliced
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh rocket leaves
• Balsamic glaze

Spread the Gorgonzola over the top of the crust, then place the mozzarella slices where you want them. Cover with the pear slices, season and bake for 15 minutes. When done, garnish with a handful of rocket and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

Caprese Pizza

• Salt and pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Parmesan cheese
• Mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 1 fresh tomato, sliced
• Fresh basil
• Balsamic glaze

Drizzle olive oil over the crust, then season with salt and pepper, then rub the garlic over the entire crust. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese, then place the mozzarella slices where you want them, and top with the tomato slices. Go ahead and twist some more black pepper on there if you are so inclined. Bake for 15 minutes, then top with balsamic glaze and fresh basil. 

The pizza crust turned out great, though next time I'm not gonna make it so far ahead as I prefer a crispier base. The toppings were fresh, ingredients tasted beautiful, and it was just enough for an early dinner. I even got my brother to eat the pear pizza! Shocker!

Now that I know how easy it is to make my own pizza, I'm definitely going to have a lot of fun coming up with different toppings for my lunch and dinners. Who knows? Maybe I'll pack some dough and we can make fresh pizza over lunch?

Lots of love, Nabs

Cinnamon Rolls

My friend, Al, who has been mentioned quite frequently in my last few posts, surprised me with a bundle of big aromatic cinnamon sticks yesterday. Her father came for a visit recently and brought with him these wonderful cinnamon sticks from Bario, which is well known in our home state of Sarawak (North Borneo) as the unofficial capital of the Kelabit Highlands (home of one of our Sarawakian tribes: the Kelabits). As mentioned before (I think) Al's family is of the Kelabit tribe, and thus I get to enjoy goodies such as these cinnamon sticks!

I know, I know I only arrived at home around 8pm after being stuck in traffic for the better part of the evening. And yes, I know that my favourite cinnamon roll recipe takes roughly 2 hours from start to finish... and there was the matter of finishing that book I've been reading (which I love and now have a massive book hangover for: shoutout Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss)...

But how could I resist the draw of that wonderful aroma? Could you? I make no claims at being a strong-willed person, as made quite clear by my cuddly form (heh heh heh) I am a slave to my palate. So I weighed, I measured, and I rolled... then at 1.45am I was rewarded with the smell of cinnamon spreading far and wide through the house to reach my bedroom, and I fell asleep and dreamt that I was an elf in Santa's workshop.

I found this recipe last year while browsing through my favourite magazine (delicious UK) and have had it bookmarked ever since. It's been waiting for the right time, the right inspiration, and hello baby, here it is!

Cinnamon Rolls
adapted from Emmanuel Hadjiandreou c/o Delicious magazine UK

• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 20g caster sugar
• 70ml warm water
• 200g all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon, plus 2 tsp for sprinkling
• 1 egg, lightly beaten, plus 1 more for the egg wash
• 40g unsalted butter, softened

Ready and risen

1. In a large mixing bowl, pour in the yeast and sugar and warm water over it. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then stir until all the sugar and yeast has dissolved
2. Add 100g of flour and mix with a wooden spoon until you achieve a soft wet dough, then cover with a damp towel for 1 hour until it rises to double the size. This wet mixture is called the "pre-ferment" mix. Gross right?
3. Then while waiting for the dough to rise, besides reading 6 chapters of Wise Man's Fear, mix the remaining 100g of flour with the salt and cinnamon and set aside
4. When the pre-ferment is ready, add in the flour mixture and the egg then mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Mix in the butter with your hands (this is a lot easier than trying to get an even mix with the spoon, trust me), then let the dough sit covered again for 10 minutes
5. After 10 minutes, leaving the dough in the bowl, pull a piece of dough from the side of the bowl and press it into the middle (folding it like you would your clothes), repeating 8 times around the dough while you spin the bowl slowly. Cover again and leave for another 10 minutes
6. Repeat the folding step 3 times, resting the dough for 10 minutes in between each fold, and leave it to rest for another hour after the final fold
7. After 1 hour, punch the dough down and transfer it to a lightly floured clean surface, pressing with your fingertips to get it flattened out into a rectangular shape
8. Brush with egg wash, then sprinkle with 2 tbsp caster sugar and most of the extra cinnamon. Roll the dough on the long side then cut into 2 cm blocks, arranging them cut side up onto your prepared baking dish (greased with vegetable oil and dusted with flour). Cover and leave to rise to just under double the size for 45 minutes - 1 hour
9. 20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 200C/fan180C, and place an empty roasting in on the lowest rung of the oven. Prepare a cup of water, which you will pour into the roasting pan after you pop the cinnamon rolls into the oven
10. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes to 20 minutes or until golden, then when it's done, take them out of the oven and turn onto a wire rack to cool. Serve these warm, with a brush of melted butter, and a dusting of icing powder and cinnamon

Fresh out of the oven, waiting to cool enough before I can tear it apart

These cinnamon rolls are great for anytime, breakfast, tea, a mid-morning snack, elevenses, second breakfast, Christmas morning, rainy afternoons... it just requires a bit more effort than most of the recipes I share do. It's simple and really doesn't need a lot of heavy lifting, however, it takes up a lot of waiting time. So I suggest you take the time to catch up to that book you've been putting off, or to cleaning out the oven *facepalm*

They tasted great this morning, and I can't wait to make another batch with the special cinnamon sticks to give out to friends and family. Thank you, Alena/Alena's dad! I'll be sending some rolls your way soon x