Cinnamon Bread

I love how fresh baked bread smells. And how butter smells so yummy. And also how cinnamon smells are mega irresistible.

So I decided to be adventurous and just baked my own set of cinnamon rolls after looking at Jenny's rolls, which recipe was from Smitten Kitchen. It didn't turn out to appear as cinnamon rolls, so to call it cinnamon bread suits more. Or cinnamon roll bread? -_-

It was very fun making this bread. It was my first time ever baking my own bread. I had never kneaded any dough before and all. Thank God it turned out to be pretty decent.

I sprinkled the leftover filling mixture on top of the dough that's why it's very brownish (like burnt brownish). It's not burnt or anything. I'm not a big fan of overly sweet stuffs, and the reason why sometimes I prefer Saint Cinnamon buns to Cinnabon's is because Saint Cinnamon's buns don't actually have extra glaze. So instead of the milky and sweet glaze, I sprinkled the leftover filling... which was so GOOD.

The warm and milky bread that smells so good... oh YUMS. My whole house smelled like cinnamon yesterday and I could not be happier by that. I always dig Saint Cinnamon and Cinnabon buns... no matter how overpriced they are, just because I love the smell of cinnamon and the warmth feeling those buns present to my tummy.

I did make several crucial mistakes during the process.

First of all, the baking pan. I didn't have pans that are bigger than the one I used. Instead of having slight distance to each other, the dough had to cram in a small pan. My baked bread looks like a deformed Quasimodo thanks to that. Mistake noted... won't do that again. Will buy bigger baking pan.

I'm also embarrassed by the fact that I fell asleep!

YES! I fell asleep while waiting for the dough to rise!! :(

For the second dough rising time -- which was after I arranged the dough in the pan for it to double its size -- I fell asleep, so instead of 45 minutes according to recipe, my dough was left for merely 3 hours! When I woke up I felt so angry at myself. THANK GOD again the bread turned out decent or else I might be suicidal. Kidding.

Anyway after day one my bread hardened... anyone knows why?

Cinnamon Rolls-Bread

recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Dough

1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise or instant yeast (from 1 envelope yeast)
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray (I didn't have this so I used olive oil)

Filling
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch of salt

For dough:

Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, about 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add additional 2 1/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. (You may also use a KitchenAid’s dough hook for this process.) Form into ball.

Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

For filling:

Mix brown sugar, cinnamon and pinch of salt in medium bowl.

Press down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15×11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture evenly over butter. Starting at the longer side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, trim ends straight if they are uneven (we baked them in a ramekin, incapable of discarding such deliciousness) cut remaining dough crosswise with thin sharp knife (a good serrated worked well here) into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes (an 8-inch square metal pan worked just fine, too) with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes, though yours, like mine, may take longer. Don’t skimp on the double-rising time.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.

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You can also put glaze on top of your rolls (Cinnabon does this). It's totally optional.

This is the Smitten Kitchen version of the glaze.

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine cream cheese, sugar, butter, and vanilla. Using electric mixer beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls.