Not so Sweet Cinnamon Rolls
I had another gluten-free disaster last night. Well, it wasn't exactly a disaster, but the end product wasn't all that fabulous. In my own defense, it was a first attempt and I will be trying again soon. A work in progress...
What I attempted to make was Cinnamon Rolls. I am not totally new to gluten-free bread making, but my experience had never included sweet rolls. Most of the gluten-free bread recipes that I hsd come accross or experimented with were soft spreadable doughs. To make cinnamon rolls, I knew I needed a dough that I could roll and cut. Something supple and manageable; not the typical "spread with an oiled spoon" type.
So with that, I began my search for the right recipe. I stumbled accross a dough recipe that sounded simple enough and could actually be rolled out (finally!). This, I later discovered, was my mistake. It was a pizza dough recipe. I had only been concerend with roll-ability, not with actual results. It didn't occur to me that pizza dough isn't even close to resembling a sweet bread dough. It is denser and doesn't rise as much. I really wanted something flaky and soft.
But clueless as I was, I proceeded as usual with making cinnamon rolls. I prepared the dough and let it rise. Amazingly, it smelled and rose like actual dough. When I started to roll it out, however, I realized that it was a little...odd. The dough was spongy, as most all gluten-free doughs are. Instead of being soft, the dough was just squishy. This didn't seem to inferfere with the rolling, but due to the lack of gluten, it didn't make it the easiest to roll out. Still, I pushed onward. I topped it with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon and rolled it into a log. I cut the dough into rounds and placed them in a pan for their final rise. Even at this stage, they looked like real cinnamon rolls. They obviously didn't have flaky layers, but they were puffy!
It was during the baking, however, that I realized they wouldn't turn out. Instead of expanding with the heat (or at least maintaining their size), they actually contracted. They shrunk! This caused all of the sugary goodness to seep right through to the bottom of the pan. When I removed them from the pan, they were soft-ish, but dense like bricks. They had a good chew, but besides lacking in sweetness, they were lacking in cinnamon roll-ish ness. Decent flavor, but far from the real thing. So now I am on a mission to invent a great cinnamon roll dough recipe. It will take me a few more tries, but I am confident that it can and will be done.
I did have a success though yesterday with a batch of Cocoa Fudge Crinkle Cookies! They were delicious and honestly closely resembled the real deal. I had intended to give most of the cookies away, but they were so good that my boyfriend requested that we keep them. He's a tough judge of sweets, so to hear that was like music to my ears! While I do normally share my recipes, this one is too good to give up just yet. But I will include a picture for your eyes to feast upon! Tonight's cooking adventure is yet another gratin: Truffled Potato Gratin. Basically, I had a bunch of leftover potatoes and wanted to make them into something cravable. Stay tuned to hear how it turns out.
What I attempted to make was Cinnamon Rolls. I am not totally new to gluten-free bread making, but my experience had never included sweet rolls. Most of the gluten-free bread recipes that I hsd come accross or experimented with were soft spreadable doughs. To make cinnamon rolls, I knew I needed a dough that I could roll and cut. Something supple and manageable; not the typical "spread with an oiled spoon" type. So with that, I began my search for the right recipe. I stumbled accross a dough recipe that sounded simple enough and could actually be rolled out (finally!). This, I later discovered, was my mistake. It was a pizza dough recipe. I had only been concerend with roll-ability, not with actual results. It didn't occur to me that pizza dough isn't even close to resembling a sweet bread dough. It is denser and doesn't rise as much. I really wanted something flaky and soft.
But clueless as I was, I proceeded as usual with making cinnamon rolls. I prepared the dough and let it rise. Amazingly, it smelled and rose like actual dough. When I started to roll it out, however, I realized that it was a little...odd. The dough was spongy, as most all gluten-free doughs are. Instead of being soft, the dough was just squishy. This didn't seem to inferfere with the rolling, but due to the lack of gluten, it didn't make it the easiest to roll out. Still, I pushed onward. I topped it with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon and rolled it into a log. I cut the dough into rounds and placed them in a pan for their final rise. Even at this stage, they looked like real cinnamon rolls. They obviously didn't have flaky layers, but they were puffy! It was during the baking, however, that I realized they wouldn't turn out. Instead of expanding with the heat (or at least maintaining their size), they actually contracted. They shrunk! This caused all of the sugary goodness to seep right through to the bottom of the pan. When I removed them from the pan, they were soft-ish, but dense like bricks. They had a good chew, but besides lacking in sweetness, they were lacking in cinnamon roll-ish ness. Decent flavor, but far from the real thing. So now I am on a mission to invent a great cinnamon roll dough recipe. It will take me a few more tries, but I am confident that it can and will be done.
I did have a success though yesterday with a batch of Cocoa Fudge Crinkle Cookies! They were delicious and honestly closely resembled the real deal. I had intended to give most of the cookies away, but they were so good that my boyfriend requested that we keep them. He's a tough judge of sweets, so to hear that was like music to my ears! While I do normally share my recipes, this one is too good to give up just yet. But I will include a picture for your eyes to feast upon! Tonight's cooking adventure is yet another gratin: Truffled Potato Gratin. Basically, I had a bunch of leftover potatoes and wanted to make them into something cravable. Stay tuned to hear how it turns out.
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