I have had a lifetime commitment to cinnamon rolls. There is something about that cinnamon sweetness all rolled up that just speaks to me. My mother always made whole-wheat cinnamon rolls and I loved them but when I tried my Swedish friend's recipe I really liked the lightness and flavor of her's. This recipe combines the things I liked about both recipes and I have yet to find a cinnamon roll that I would rather eat.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
4 cups warm whole milk
3/4 cup warm vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 whipped eggs
8+ cups white flour
1 cup gluten
2 cups wheat flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup melted butter
4 cups brown sugar (approximately)
1/4c cinnamon (approximately)
Instructions:
Begin by combining the yeast, water and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Allow the mixture to rest for 5-10 minutes. It should be nice and bubbly if you have good yeast.
Then add the rest of your ingredients. This recipe makes a hearty breakfast type roll. If you prefer a lighter dough you can trade out the wheat flour and gluten for white flour. Mix the dough either in a large mixer or by hand. Before I had my big mixer I would combine all the liquid ingredients and as much of the flour as would fit in my KitchenAid and then I would pour it onto the counter and mix the rest of the flour in by hand. Add enough flour that it is no longer sticky but still moist feeling.
Cover the dough and allow it to sit in a warm place for 1-2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
Now it is time to roll out the dough. I usually do it on my counter or the table. It rolls out to approximately 3 feet by 2 feet. The thinner the dough the better it is for cinnamon rolls because then that means there will be more layers of cinnamon not just the dough.