I somehow got a little ahead on the BBA Challenge so I have already made my cinnamon rolls. Honestly I couldn't wait to try out this recipe because cinnamon rolls rank very high on my list of top favorite foods. I don't think much of anything is better than a perfect cinnamon roll - big and doughy, just slightly sweet and pillowy soft. I have tried a few different recipes, and I haven't really been crazy for any of them. So I was very excited for this challenge.
The rolls turned out beautiful - big and soft with the perfect texture. However, I thought the taste was just so-so. Reinhart seems to be a huge fan of the lemon extract, which was called for in both the buns and the frosting recipe. I decided to use orange zest for the frosting, which was actually delicious. But the lemon flavor was too overpowering in the buns. It's all I could taste. I am a fan of lemon, but lemon extract has a very strong and distinct flavor, and I just don't think it should have gone anywhere near my cinnamon rolls. Of course, that didn't stop me from inhaling a few. I will definitely be making these again sans lemon.
Want the recipe? You can find it here.
In other baking news...
I've also already made the ciabatta...twice. Both times have been failures. The first was really horrible. All I could do with it was make it into bread crumbs. After reading the recipe again I realized my dough had way too much flour, and that it needs to be very moist and soft. So I tried again, and here's the final product:
The taste was amazing, but I still didn't manage to get the big holes in the bread like ciabatta should have. This time I didn't add enough flour! I was so worried about adding too much flour that I didn't put enough on the counter when I let it rise. Then, when I picked the bread up again I had to yank it off the counter, popping all the wonderful gas bubbles that had formed and would make those holes in the bread. I think next time I'll get it just right. (Hey, if it worked for Goldilocks...).
I also already made the cornbread. Beth and I are moving and we're trying to work our way through all our canned food, so I thought I would make chili one night with the 5 cans of black beans we have for some reason. I went ahead and made the cornbread to go with that. This cornbread recipe is crazy because it has bacon on top! Since I am a vegetarian I used veggie bacon strips and it was actually really good. The cornbread had that perfect combination of sweet and salty that makes me drool. Since Beth doesn't like cornbread it was a lot of effort (a night of letting the cornmeal soak in buttermilk) for just me, but it would be a fun thing to bring to a winter potluck.
Happy eating!
4 comments:
Your cinnamon rolls look wonderul! Can't wait to try to cornbread too :) I was also planning on using the cast iron for mine, and looks like yours came out beautifully
Wow... you've been busy!!Your cinnamon rolls look lovely. And I feel your pain with the ciabatta. Mine was less than thrilling also. Your cornbread (and the photo) look awesome. I might have to look into that veggie bacon.
Your cinnamon buns are beautiful. Very artful drizzling with the fondant glaze. I agree with you on the whole extract issue. I only ever use vanilla. The other flavours are just too overpowering. I used lemon zest and it was very subtle.
Good for you for redoing the ciabatta. You get extra credit!!
Glad to hear that veggie bacon was good with the cornbread. I may try it. Good luck with the move.
That looks killer. You are absolutely right about ciabatta dough (and many doughs) needing to be worked with wetter than you might think. That seems to be the key to getting that amazing open crumb texture with big holes.
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