Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Palmiers


http://ooh-look.blogspot.com/2010/09/elegant-palmiers.html

Some day I am going to make my own puff pastry but this time just let me use the frozen ready-rolled version.  Just follow the recipe.  This is super easy to make.  


Monday, September 20, 2010

Cinnamon Rolls



It all went very well until...
I had about 3 tablespoons of melted butter left and didn't want to waste it so I decided to mix the butter with the eggwash.  I drenched the cinnamon rolls with this concoction and started baking.  After about 19 minutes, the rolls looked like they're going to burn so I quickly took them out of the oven.  The top was too "golden" (not burned) and the cinnamon rolls were already done.  OMG, they might not look divine but they sure tasted great, even without the icing (I decided not to do the icing because my husband doesn't like it). The rolls were fluffy and moist.  They would definitely become a staple at my house.


Ingredients: Dough
2 packages active dry yeast (5 teaspoons)
1 cup warm whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
5.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground mace (I didn't have this ingredient)
2 tsp. salt
Grated zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp

Ingredients: Filling
6 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. freshly grated cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted



Method: Dough1. In a large bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk and let stand until foamy.
2. Add the granulated sugar, eggs, 5 cups of flour, orange zest, and butter.
3. Mix until the dough is smooth and elastic (around 6 min). The dough should be soft, but not sticky.
6. Form the dough into a ball, and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for around 2 hours, until it has doubled in bulk.
7. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface.
8. Divide the dough in two.
9. Roll out half the dough into a 10 x 16 inch rectangle.
Assembly
1. Butter the sides of two 9-inch cake pans (I lined the pan with parchment paper instead).
2. In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon.
3. Spread half the melted butter oven the rolled out dough, and then sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar mixture on top.
4. Starting from the short side away from you, tightly roll the dough towards yourself.
5. Cut the dough into 2 inch rounds.
6. Repeat with the other half of the dough.  Arrange the cut dough in the prepared pans.  Cover the pans with towels and a
llow to rise at room temp for another 30-40 min. 
7. Preheat the oven to 400F.
8. Bake until a toothpick placed in the center of a bun comes out clean - around 25- 30 mins.
9. Serve immediately!

These can also be warmed up in the microwave for 15seconds the day after, and they still taste amazing.

Taken from Williams -Sonoma Essentials of Baking