Adventures in Baking

There's a bruise on my finger from a slight hissy fit that resulted in my hand coming into sharp contact with my rolling pin, my kitchen is permanently covered in a light dusting of flour and my entire home has the faint smell of cinnamon...but I have victory. I embarked on a baking adventure last week; setting out with the goal of homemade cinnamon and caramel rolls for my husband's office. So, last Saturday I did a test run. Perfection! The dozen rolls came out perfectly puffy and golden brown. The icing melted down the sides like one of the pictures in a Betty Crocker cookbook, and much to my surprise they DID taste like a Cinnabon, just as the recipe promised! My excitement grew as my husband and family agreed they were delicious. I was eager to get started on the six dozen I needed to make for his co-workers. Let the baking begin!

Now before you get excited too, let me ask you: Have you ever made cinnamon rolls from scratch? They are tricky little buggers! Not complicated; tricky. You must proof yeast, mix ingredients in a certain order, and with just the right amounts and temperatures. And for a girl whose general culinary philosophy is more "throw it in and see how it goes" than "measure twice, pour once", this was a bit daunting. Unlevel measurements or milk that's too warm or too cold may result in disaster for your would be confections! That's a lot of pressure!! And a few of the batches had me looking for an eye to put my finger in (because I needed both of mine to continue baking!)

A few of the pans ended up being more cinnamon swirl bread than true cinnamon bread. After several attempts to cut too soft dough, I finally gave up and mushed it all back together, re-rolled and tried again (thus, the hand-slamming-rolling pin incident!). Let this be a lesson to me: Always use the recommended amount of flour...ALWAYS! Oh, and don't make six dozen of anything on a day when your hormones are out of whack, your dog has stepped in his own poop and then wiped it on your jeans, and people have been rude about your newly tinted do! Just a mental note for next time!

Anyways, here is a picture of five out of the seven pans I made. I got a little excited and started taking pictures before the last two pans came out of the oven! My hubby's co-workers LOVED them, gave them rave reviews and told him he's NEVER allowed to come in to work and complain about me...EVER! Ha!Here's the link to the recipe. I highly recommend it! Oh, and I don't have a bread machine, I just followed other reviewer's suggestion on how to make it without! Happy Baking!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Clone-of-a-Cinnabon/Detail.aspx