Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I've definitely been getting a bit braver when it comes to baking with yeast. My failures still outnumber my successes, none of which I've bothered to blog about. I'm not too proud to admit my failures but I don't see the point in recanting them here, when this where I look to reproduce my favorite recipes. But this recipe, was definitely a success. The recipe came from Cook's Illustrated, and I baked this bread on day two of the flu/cold virus that had claimed both my children and kept them at home from school. Which, surprisingly, freed up my time, as they were basically zombies on the couch and I didn't have to leave the house to pick them up from school and cart them off to their usual activities. Had that not been the case, I definitely couldn't have tackled this recipe on a weekday. It was definitely time-consuming in the way of 'waiting'. Plus said virus hadn't yet claimed me as another victim - at least not at the time that I baked this bread, but it did shortly thereafter.

This recipe is perfect for a Sunday project, or on another day when you know you'll be home. Don't be intimidated by the long instructions. I promise, it's easier than it looks and it's so worth the time. I've even provided step-by-step pictures in case you're like me and take great comfort in seeing what it's supposed to look like. I modified the recipe by omitting the raisins, but have provided the recipe as written in case you're a freak and actually like raisins in your bread. ; )

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

(Source: Cook's Illustrated | April 2012)

For the Dough:

8 Tbsp. unsalted butter

3 1/4 cups (20.5 ounces) bread flour, plus extra

3/4 cup (2.25 ounces) nonfat dry milk powder

1/3 cup (2.33 ounces) granulated sugar

1 Tbsp. instant yeast

1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) warm water (110 degrees)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 1/2 tsp. salt 

1 1/2 cup (7.5 ounces) golden raisins *optional (I omitted)

For the Filling:

1 cup (4 ounces) confectioner's sugar

3 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. salt

For the Egg Wash:

1 egg, lightly beaten

pinch of salt

For the dough: Cut butter into 32 pieces and toss with 1 Tbsp. of the flour. Set aside to soften while mixing dough. Whisk remaining flour, milk powder,sugar and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add water and egg using the dough hook on medium low speed until a cohesive mass forms (about 2 minutes), scraping bowl as necessary. Cover with plastic and set aside to rest for 20 minutes.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and place loaf or cake pan on bottom of oven. Remove plastic from mixer bowl, add salt and mix on medium low speed until dough is smooth and elastic and clears the sides of the bowl (7 to 15 minutes). With mixer still running, add butter a few pieces at a time and continue to mix until butter is fully incorporated and dough is smooth and elastic, 3 to 5 minutes longer. (If you're adding raisins do so now, mixing until incorporated about 30 to 60 seconds). Transfer dough to large greased bowl and fold dough over itself by gently lifting the edge of the dough and folding towards the middle. Turn bowl 90 degrees, fold again and continue turning and folding until you have folded 8 times total. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and transfer to middle rack of oven. Pour 3 cups of boiling water into the loaf pan in the bottom of the oven, close oven door and allow to rise for 45 minutes.

Remove bowl from oven and gently press down on dough to deflate. Repeat folding step (another 8 times), re-cover, and return to oven until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.

For the filling: Whisk filling ingredients together until well-combined; set aside.

Grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pans. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and divide into 2 pieces. (If you have a scale - it's best to use to ensure even loaves). Working with one piece of dough, pat into a rough 6 x 11 inch rectangle.

With the short side facing you, fold sides in like a business letter to form a 3 x 11 inch rectangle.

Roll dough away from you into a ball. Dust with flour, flatten with rolling pin into a 7 x 18 inch rectangle (with even 1/4 inch thickness).

Using spray bottle, spray dough lightly with water. Sprinkle with half of the filling mixture evenly over the dough, leaving 1/4 inch border on sides and 3/4 inch border on top and bottom. Spray filling lightly with water until speckled with water over entire surface.

With short side facing you, roll the dough away from you to form a cylinder, 

Then, turn loaf  seam side up and pinch closed. Pinch the ends closed too.

Dust the loaf lightly with flour on all sides and let rest for 10 minutes while you repeat these steps with the second half of the dough. Use a bench scraper to cut the loaf in half length-wise, turn halves so that the cut sides are facing upwards.

Gently stretch each half into 14 inch length.

Line up the two halves and pinch two ends together. Take piece on left and lay over the piece on the right.

Repeat, keeping cut side up, until the pieces of dough are tightly twisted. Pinch bottom ends together.

Transfer loaf, cut side up, to prepared loaf pan. (Press any exposed raisins, if using, into the seams of the braid.) Repeat with second loaf.

Cover loaves loosely with plastic, return to oven, and allow to rise for 45 minutes. Remove loaves and water pan from oven; heat oven to 350 degrees F. Allow loaves to rise at room temperature until almost doubled in size, about 45 minutes longer. Top of loaves should rise about 1 inch over the lip of pan.

Brush with egg mixture.

Bake until loaf is well-browned, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees, tent loaves with foil, and continue to bake until internal temperature registers 200 degrees, about 15 to 25 minutes longer.  Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pan, return to rack,  and cool to room temperature before slicing.

Soft White Buns

I've been looking a long time for a good bun recipe. Not a kaiser roll with its crispy exterior. And not a dinner roll, or a butter pan roll, or a parker house roll. A plain, white, round bun. The kind of bun that could be used for a sandwich or, perhaps even a hamburger. 

With so many recipes to choose from, it took me while to finally settle on one. Most of the recipes out there are for the kind of buns I was not looking for. Then I finally found a recipe that looked like what I wanted, it was the picture that was the deciding factor for me. The buns looked exactly like what I wanted but the only way to know for sure was to try it.

As with most new recipes, I tend to stay true to the original recipe for the first round. Even though the recipe calls for half butter and half shortening (which I rarely use unless making a pie crust), I wanted to taste the buns as they were intended before I decide whether or not they need adjustments. These ones were perfect. They are soft white buns - which makes them ideal for sandwiches as a soft bun is more akin to bread.

The instructions, unfortunately, did not say how many the recipe yielded. So I cut my dough off into 3.5 ounce pieces before rolling into balls, and got 19. My buns came out large enough to be used for a hamburger, which is good to know for next time I need homemade burger buns. I think I'll try them with 3 ounces of dough next time, which would give me closer to 2 dozen buns, and they'd be the perfect size for a smaller sandwich or alongside a bowl of soup. Not that anyone was complaining about the size of these buns, however, they were so good. They were still really good the next day - having just sat out on the counter over night. They were still fresh and soft which means they are perfect if you want to make them a day ahead.

Recipe for Soft White Buns
(adapted from Mennonite Girls Can Cook)

1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees F.)
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. yeast

2 cups milk (I used 1%)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sugar

6 cups bread flour (or you can use all purpose)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the warm water, 1 tsp. sugar and the yeast. Allow to rest for 10 minutes until "poofed".  (If your mixture doesn't poof, either your yeast is old, or the water was too hot and it killed the yeast.)

In a medium sauce pan over low heat, melt the butter and shortening. Add the milk and just warm through. If your mixture exceeds 110 degrees, allow to sit for a few minutes to cool off.

Add the beaten eggs to the stand mixer bowl where the yeast mixture is. Add the warmed milk mixture. Add the salt and 1/3 cup sugar and mix until incorporated. Add the flour, one cup at a time, allowing each cup of flour to become incorporated before adding the next. Allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before proceeding. Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes, either by hand or with your dough hook (I used the latter) until smooth and elastic adding a tablespoon of flour at a time (if needed) to keep from sticking. (I didn't need any additional flour, my dough was tacky but not sticky).

Let rest for 1 1/2 hours covered. (I actually put the dough in the fridge at this point to run errands. 2 hours later, the dough had doubled in the fridge. I allowed it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding.)

Punch the dough down and allow to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare your sheets by either lining with parchment or spraying with nonstick spray. (Parchment is best.)

Make the dough into buns by cutting off small portions and squeezing between your thumb and your forefinger approximately the size of a small mandarine orange. (If you have a kitchen scale, then weigh each ball to ensure consistent buns. 3 ounces for medium sized buns, 3.5 ounces for hamburger buns.)

Place on prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 to 3 inches between each bun. Cover and allow to rise until doubled, about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and bake until golden brown, about 15 to 25 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of your buns. (Mine were large buns 3.5 ounces and were done at 22 minutes.)

Pork Souvlaki with Homemade Pitas

Every once in a while, inspiration visits on the same day as opportunity. It's rare, but it happens. I think that's why Pinterest is so popular. We see pictures of food that inspires us, but what are the chances we have the time to make it the same day? Almost never. So it gets pinned on the on-line bulletin board so we can find it when we actually have the time required to tackle whatever project it is.

Last week I had a really slow day. No appointments to attend to, no play dates, no dance classes etc... so I tackled this meal that I'd originally seen on Pinterest. I altered it, subbing pork tenderloin for the chicken (have I mentioned my husband is anti-chicken breast?), and I opted to use a ready-made tzatiki sauce because I happened to have some in my fridge and wanted to use it up.

Homemade pita bread is super easy to make, and the end result is so much better than the bought variety. Being a novice bread maker, to put it mildly, I generally avoid yeast. But in this particular case, the bread came together very easily and it was so worth the effort. The other great thing about this pita bread recipe, is that you can make some minor adjustments and make pizza crusts out them. I knew my kids would be less than thrilled with the pork souvlaki, so I deflated two of the pitas while baking in the oven, (they balloon up when baked) and voila - they each had their own individual pizza crust to "decorate" as they put it. Two separate dinners using the same recipe, and everyone was happy. This, unfortunately, is also a rarity.

For the souvlaki marinade:

(adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

Juice of 1 lemon (2-3 Tablespoons)

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 heaping Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper

1 pork tenderloin cut into cubes (or 1 lb of chicken breast)

Combine all the marinade ingredients. Add the meat and allow to sit in your fridge anywhere from 1 to 4 hours. Soak some skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before using, and thread your meat onto the skewers. Grill until cooked through. (In the alternative, you could broil them in your oven, but I've never tried it and have no suggestions in that regard. Sorry.)

For the pita bread:

(adapted from Annie's Eats)

Yield: 8 pitas

3 cups bread flour, plus 1/2-3/4 cup more as needed (you can also use AP flour)

1 ½ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. sugar 

2 1/2 tsp. instant yeast

1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups water, roughly at room temperature

2 tbsp. olive oil

Mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the olive oil and 1 ¼ cup water and mix with a dough hook until all of the ingredients form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water.

Once all of the ingredients form a ball continue mixing it at low speed for 10 minutes. As the dough is mixing, continue to add flour, a tablespoon or two at a time, until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and is tacky but not sticky. 

When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the dough around so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.

When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into 8 equal pieces. I used a scale to get even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the dough to relax so that it will be easier to shape.

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 450°. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while it is preheating. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.

After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between ¼ – 1/8” thick – 6 inches in diameter. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently, you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5-10 minutes before trying again.

Place discs on a lightly greased baking sheet or parchment paper and let rise, uncovered, until barely doubled in thickness, about 30 minutes.

Open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. I baked two at a time. They should be baked through and puffy after 3 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, but it isn’t necessary.  (After the 3 minutes, I flipped them over and baked for an additional minute). Remove from oven and allow to cool. they will deflate as they cool.

Like I said, these also doubled as some great pizza crusts. If you want to go that route, prick the rolled dough a few times before baking it in the oven. Top the baked pita/pizza crust after baking it, and then put back in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly. My kids were thrilled with their own personal pizzas, and had fun adding their own toppings. (They're not exactly adventurous eaters.)

In case you're wondering, my little guy's pizza above has a pepperoni spider on it. This was his idea, not mine. Some nights I'll do just about anything to make that kid eat.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

I've surprised myself by really jumping on the pumpkin bandwagon this year. This is especially interesting when I've never been a pumpkin fan. I am, however beginning to see the light and these rolls deserve a lot of credit for that small feat. 

This recipe is very manageable. It makes 12 rolls, the dough is mixed in your stand mixer (no kneading), and it comes together very easily. The hardest part is waiting for your dough to rise - and really, that's not hard, it's just annoying. 

If you like pumpkin and all the spices that go along with baked pumpkin goods, this one is for you. Personally, while I definitely liked these, I still prefer the plain old fashioned cinnamon rolls. The plain white dough version with absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever. 

PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS
(adapted from Recipe Girl)
FOR THE ROLLS:

1/3 cup milk
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
2 cups bread flour
FOR THE FILLING:
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. melted butter
FOR THE FROSTING:
4 ounces of cream cheese
2 Tbsp. butter
2 cups of confectioner's sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Heat milk and 2 tablespoons butter in small sauce pan over low heat until just warm and butter is melted.

In bowl of a stand mixer, combine pumpkin, 2 Tbsp. sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Add warm milk mixture and beat until well mixed. Beat in egg and yeast.  Add half of the flour to pumpkin mixture. Beat on low speed for 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly. The dough will be very soft and sticky. Turn into medium sized bowl sprayed liberally with non-stick spray, turn dough over so that the top of it is greased, cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface. Knead a few times to form a smooth dough, sprinkling with extra flour if it is too sticky. Roll into a rectangle approximately 12x10 inches.

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Brush surface of dough with 2 Tbsp. of melted butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Beginning with long side of dough, roll up jellyroll style. Pinch seam to seal. With sharp knife, cut roll into twelve 1- inch slices. Place rolls, cut side up, into a greased 11x17 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 30 to 45 minutes. 

Bake rolls at 350 degrees about 15-20 minutes or until golden.  Cool 10 to 15 minutes.

While the rolls are cooling, combine the frosting ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Spread on slightly cooled buns. Serve. (Yields 12 rolls)

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

When I first saw these on Abby's blog, I immediately knew that I would have to try them. My kids love dinner rolls, and the idea of hiding a little nutrition in what would otherwise be just a plain white roll was too good to pass up. Since making them, I've seen a few of the other bloggers post about them - all with the same great result. These went over really well with everyone, including the non-pumpkin lovers. 

The pumpkin is barely noticeable in these rolls, aside from the orange hue they tint the rolls with.  The dough is super easy to work with and the finished bun is soft, moist and tender. They're perfect. 

I finished mine with a sprinkling of coarse salt after the egg wash, which I would definitely recommend. The original recipe calls for traditional yeast, but I used instant and I didn't modify the amount, mainly because it didn't occur to me that I should. This didn't affect them at all, so you could use either type of yeast here. They also freeze well, and despite their irregular shapes from tying the dough into knots, they make for a good sandwich. Give these buns a try - they're delicious!

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Recipe for Pumpkin Knot Yeast Rolls

(adapted from Food.com)

1/2 ounce instant or traditional yeast (2 x .25 oz packages)

1 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F.)

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filing)

2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

51/2 to 6 cups flour, divided

Egg wash

1 Tbsp. cold water

1 egg

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk. With the paddle attachment and on low speed, add the butter sugar, pumpkin, 2 eggs, salt and 3 cups of the flour and mix until incorporated. Slowly begin adding the remaining flour about 1/2 cup at a time, switching to your dough hook when the dough becomes to come together. Kneed the dough in the mixer until it becomes a smooth and elastic, this should take about 4 to 5 minutes. Place the dough into a large greased bowl turning once to grease the top of the dough. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch dough down, cut in half, and place one half on a lightly floured surface. Cut the first half into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 10" rope, tie into a knot and tuck the ends underneath. Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches space between each knot. Repeat with second half of dough. Cover and allow to rise again for about 30 minutes.

For the egg wash, whisk together the egg and Tbsp. of water. Once the knots have finished rising, brush them generously with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt if desired. Bake at 350 degrees F.  for 15 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Place on wire racks to cool slightly. Serve.

Lion House Dinner Rolls

To simply call these rolls "good" would be a gross understatement. They are so good. They're soft and tender and ridiculously delicious. They're made with white flour so you won't be getting any points from the fiber fairy but who cares? These are the rolls you make when you just want something indulgent. Eat them on their own, or serve them with dinner. They won't last, that I can promise. I made them earlier this week and will be making them again tomorrow. 

The instant yeast speeds things up, which means making them is not an all day project. In fact, I made them mid morning and they were ready for lunch. These here are a new favorite in my house. They're the kind of thing that will save you when you make soup for dinner. Your husband won't be able to give you dirty looks if these are served along-side. Honest.

Recipe for Lion House Dinner Rolls
(Recipe Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

1 1/2 Tbsp. Instant Yeast

2 cups warm (not hot) water

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 egg

2 1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 cup nonfat dry milk

5-6 cups flour

In the bowl of your stand-mixer, combine the yeast, water, sugar, butter, salt, dry milk, 2 cups flour and egg. Beat together with the paddle attachment until very smooth. Add remaining flour gradually (about 1/2 cup at a time) until a soft but not sticky dough is formed. At this point, if you haven't already done so, switch to your dough hook. (I switched to mine when I had about a cup of flour left to add. Knead the dough for at least five minutes, adding additional flour if the dough is too sticky about 1 Tbsp. at a time. When the dough is smooth, supple and elastic, place it in a lightly greased large bowl, flip the dough over so the top side is greased, and cover with plastic wrap until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. 

Punch the dough down and then separate into two equal portions. Roll the first dough mass out to an 11x14-inch rectangle. Brush the top with melted butter. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into two pieces lengthwise. Then slice the dough into five or six strips across so you end up with 10 to 12 small rectangles. 

Roll each small rectangle up and place on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet with the roll resting on its seam. Repeat with the second portion of dough.

Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap and let them rise until doubled, approximately 1 hour. 

Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 12-14 minutes or until they are nicely browned, rotating your pan halfway through the baking time.

These freeze nicely.

Mini Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Breads

This weekend my husband is in Vegas for a "golf"[insert  heavy sarcasm and an eye roll] trip with the boys. As per usual, my kids are both sick for his absence, rendering me completely at my children's mercy for 4 very long days. How does that happen?  Whenever my husband leaves, they always come down with something, undermining my confidence as a mother that I can run the show solo for a weekend.

To pass the time, I decided to pull out a recipe I've been dying to make for weeks. Only I decided to switch things up a bit. Instead of making one large loaf of pull-apart bread, why not cut the dough into smaller squares, and bake them in a muffin pan.I love the idea of a bread that you get to just pull small pieces off - but I like having my own little parcel to dissect and do with as I please. Besides, I don't feel like having my kids' sticky germ-infested fingers on my bread. They can have theirs, I can have mine, and we're all happy.

I followed the recipe as written until it came to the assembly. I brushed the dough with the butter, but found that I could only use about half, there was just too much butter to spread. So I reserved the excess butter for drizzling later. After sprinkling the sugar and cinnamon onto the dough, instead of cutting the dough into larger strips meant for a loaf pan, I cut them into small squares, approximately 2 inches.

Don't be too particular here. Just cut, you're just going to cram them into a muffin pan anyway, and the messier it is, the more rustic. 

Once my dough was all cut, I just started forming piles. I stacked them into 12 piles, as high as I could without them tumbling over.

Then I placed the piles sideways into a very well-greased muffin pan. 

I squeezed in the extra squares of dough, trying to even out the size of each. Now, I'm not going to lie. This is messy business. The sugar will fall out all over your counter. Don't be discouraged -  once my dough was evenly distributed in the muffin tray, I scraped up the lost sugar from my (otherwise clean) counter, and sprinkled it onto the bread.

I also drizzled the remaining butter that I didn't use earlier. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 to 25 minutes (mine were perfect at 23 minutes). Now this is important - PUT A PAN UNDERNEATH TO CATCH ANY DRIPPINGS. Just do it. I, however, did not have the benefit of this wisdom: 

Please learn from my mistake. This was the single time this weekend I was actually glad my husband wasn't home. I could just see the look he'd be giving me as smoke billowed out of the oven and filled our kitchen and dining room. That look is not helpful. Nor is it appreciated. Once the smoke cleared and me and my kids were able to breath without coughing, and our eyes had stopped watering, this is what was waiting for us:

Totally worth the trouble. And the smoke damage. 

Recipe for Mini Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Breads
(adapted from Joy the Baker)
For the Dough:
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ounces unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned

In a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set aside. Whisk together eggs and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted. Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract. Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115 to 125 degrees F.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes. (I got sick of stirring and dumped the whole mess onto my counter and kneaded it until it came together.) The dough will be sticky.

Place the dough is a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm space until doubled in size, about 1 hour. *The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning. If you’re using this method, just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below.

While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon for the filling. Set aside. Melt 2 ounces of butter. Set aside. Generously spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray. When you think you have enough, spray a little more.

Deflate the risen dough and turn onto a well-floured work surface, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to approximately 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long. Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough. Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Slice the dough vertically and horizontally, making 2 inch squares. Stack the squares on top of one another creating 12 piles. Place the piles sideways into the muffin tins, using up all the dough. Place a kitchen towel over the muffin pan and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes. (Mine did not double in size - but I went ahead and they were turned out great.)

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Place muffin pan in the oven WITH A PAN UNDERNEATH TO CATCH DRIPPINGS and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and carefully take out of the pan and place onto parchment paper.