Day ELEVEN: Top-Of-The-Morning Cinnamon Rolls

I started to feel like baking was becoming a chore, rather than the adventure it first felt like. So in my efforts to make it adventurous again, I took a break for a few days and rekindled my love for the hobby.

A few days ago, right before my epiphany, I tried making dough for homemade cinnamon rolls. I had a hard time getting the dough to rise, so I threw it in the fridge and figured I'd take it out later and dissect the problem. Later turned into five days. Sue told me I may have killed the yeast when I was mixing the butter, milk and water together. The recipe calls for the mix to be between 120-130 degrees. I checked mine and found it at 140 and rising. I didn't think that would make that big of a difference, but it really DOES matter. I decided to scratch the old dough in the fridge and start over completely.

Today, I gathered almost all of the ingredients I'd need and headed over to Sarahbeth's house for our baking extravaganza! I started with the dough to allow it enough time to rise. An hour and a half later, it doubled in size! Good thing SB was monitoring the warmth of the mix... it was perfect. As I rolled out the dough and added the butter and cinnamon/sugar, I started to get excited. I think it's because I've never made a dough before! I rolled it up in one long 'log' and cut it into one inch sections. It looked so pretty! I threw it in the oven later and after it cooled, I brushed on the glaze mixture (honey and melted butter). I was a tad disappointed with them as they were a little dry. Next time, MORE BUTTER!

I have seven cinnamon rolls left in the fridge. Maybe tomorrow morning I'll revise them a bit before baking. We will see how they turn out!