Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Cinnamon Rolls

Quick Cinnamon Rolls

Makes 8 Rolls

Difficulty: ** Easy

Dough Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus a lil extra for the counter
2 T of sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/4 cups of buttermilk
6 T unsalted butter, MELTED

Filling Ingredients
3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 T unsalted butter, melted

Glaze
3 T of cream cheese, softened
3 T of buttermilk
1 1/2 cups of confectioners' sugar

Directions
Preheat your oven to 425 Degrees.  Coat a 9" nonstick round cake pan and wire rack with non stick spray. 

For the dough:
 Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.  Whisk the buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter together.  Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until absorbed, the dough will look shaggy, as shown below. 



Lightly dust the counter top with flour.  Then knead until smooth


Then press the dough out flat in the shape of a 9 x 12 inch rectangle using your hands.  Brush the dough with  2 T of melted butter. 

Directions for Filling
Combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, cloves, salt and 1 T of melted butter together in a medium bowl until the mixture represents wet sand.  (see below)



With your dough laid out on the counter and melted butter on top.  Begin to sprinkle the filling onto your dough firmly, leaving a 1/2 border.  Press firmly.




Loosen the dough from the counter top using a spatula or scraper.  Starting at the longer side, roll the dough pressing lightly for form a tight log.  Pinch each end to seal.  Evenly cut the roll into 8 peices and place in your generously coated 9" round cake pan.





Then brush the remaining 2 T of butter on the rolls



Bake for 20 to 25minutes or until golden brown on the edges.

Use a knife to loosen the buns from the pan.  Flip the pan upside down onto a wire rack.  While hot, pull the buns apart carefully!! They are hot!!!  Then durn upright and let cool for 5 minutes before glazing. 




For The Glaze:
Set the rack of buns over a sheet of newspaper or parchment paper (for easy cleanup).  Whisk the cream cheese and buttermilk together in a large bowl until thick and smooth.  Sift the confectioners' sugar over the mixture and whisk until smooth, about 30 seconds.  Spoon the glaze evenly over the warm buns. 


Sunday, May 6, 2012

Nat's Pizza Dough

How To Make Nat's Pizza Dough

Difficulty: ***** Hard

Ingredients:

1-2 tsp yeast
2 tsp salt
4 cups of flour
1.5 cups of water
1-2tsp olive oil


Mix all the ingredients together except the flour.  Whisk.  


Then slowly add in the flour a little bit at a time.  Use all except for about 15% of the flour.



When thick, use a wooden spoon to continue mixing.  This is what it should look like:


Then allow it to sit for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, begin to knead your dough with the remaining flour.  Make sure to flour your hands to avoid sticking.



The "FOLDING" technique.

See video below

After folding, place dough in mixing bowl covered with saran wrap overnight.

The dough will have double in size overnight. Divide dough evenly into 3-4 balls, depending on the size you want each pizza. 

Once you split the dough, you leave it set out on a pan for about an hour - hour half. Cover with a kitchen towel or clothe napkin.  The dough will then warm up to room temperature an allow you to stretch dough. 

 The picture below represents double the ingredients for 4-6 pizza's.


We can't give away all our secrets, so we're not going to tell you how to grill your pizza.  However if you're family, call me and I will give you tips. 




 Buon Apetito!